Book Description
The kitchen clone recipe king is back with a new Top Secret Restaurant Recipes collection—the first since his 1997 bestselling Top Secret Restaurant Recipes, which has sold over one million copies. Wilbur takes readers behind the scenes of big-name restaurants like Olive Garden, Applebee's, and Outback Steakhouse, revealing the key ingredients and tricks of the trade they use to keep diners coming back for more. The book will feature 150 recipes, including:
• Red Lobster® Cheddar Bay Biscuits
• Cheesecake Factory® White Chocolate RaspberryTruffle® Cheesecake
• Romano's Macaroni Grill® Penne Rustica®
• California Pizza Kitchen® Thai Crunch Salad
• Original Pancake House® Apple Pancake
• Chili's® Southwestern Eggrolls
• Houston's® Chicago-Style Spinach Dip
• Tony Roma's® Baked Potato Soup
Forget takeout—with these fun recipes and blueprints, all using ingredients you can buy at your local supermarket, you can re-create your favorite restaurant signature dishes right in your own kitchen.
Customer Reviews:
My first recipe out of this book was a total disaster........2007-09-23
I bought this book as a gift for my mother in law, who had the first and loved it. I thought I would try the "Cheesecake Factory Raspberry White Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake" out of it for a party. The recipe seemed a little different as I was making it. For example, usually when making a cheesecake you don't add the eggs all together, as it will curdle the mixture.
After I baked this cheesecake (for longer than specified, as it was obviously not done at his appointed time), it looked fine, although it was excreting a strange greasy substance from the bottom of the pan. But after I chilled it and removed the sides of the pan, it was still a very raw egg mixture.
I tried to bake it some more, but the cake refuses to bake. I have made successful cheesecakes before, and this recipe clearly is flawed and wasted a lot of money. Needless to say, I will be wary of any more of his recipes and I would say that if one of these recipes seems strange to you, you should probably change it if you would like a successful product.
GREAT RECIPES.......2007-09-12
This recipe book has some of the best restaurant recipes and they actually come out close to the actual restaurant's! :)
top secret restaurant recipes.......2007-09-02
i have made several recipes from this book and we just love them. i made 3 more last night to take to a luau party today, so see how my frineds like them. the coconut shrimp and the pinacola dip is delicious.
Famous recipes.......2007-08-27
Well, it's an ok book. I would liked to have read the index before I bought it, I probably would have looked for another book if I had.
Surprisingly good clones.......2007-06-27
Have not tried all recipes in this book but the ones I have tried my family has really enjoyed. For the restuarants that we frequent versus the clone recipes in the book they are surprisingly close!
Amazon.com
Long before scientists in Scotland cloned Dolly the sheep, Todd Wilbur was hard at work replicating recipes from some of America's favorite restaurant chains. Armed with Ziploc bags for transporting leftovers and plenty of questions for his servers, Wilbur has combined the skills of a private eye and a research scientist to devise the tasty clones included in Top Secret Restaurant Recipes. Wilbur honed his technique on convenience food, creating exact duplicates of everything from a Big Mac to a Twinkie; in this book, however, he sets his sights on slightly more sophisticated fare. Within these pages you'll find sure-fire recipes for such chain favorites as Hard Rock Cafe's Famous Baby Rock Watermelon Ribs, Cheese Blintzes from the International House of Pancakes, and The Olive Garden's Hot Artichoke-Spinach Dip. Denny's, Shoney's, The Cheesecake Factory, and Pizza Hut are just a few of the many chain restaurants from which popular menu items have been "cloned." So the next time you have a hankering for Tony Roma's World Famous Ribs or a slice of Red Robin's Mountain High Mud Pie, don't bother to go out--instead, eat in with Top Secret Restaurant Recipes.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful Recipes Especially the Cheesecake Factory Jambalya.......2007-10-09
I have only tried the Cheesecake Factory Jambalya but have read the other recipes. The jambalya tasted EXACTLY like that at the restaurant. I have been looking for this recipe for a long time. I have only read the others but they all look promising.
Good recipes.......2007-07-26
The recipes are good. You know how much salt and fat really goes into good restaurant food. I made two recipes and they turned out just like the restaurant type.
Top Secret Restaurant Recipes.......2007-03-10
The book was exactly what I expected. I have been busy so I only had time to make one recipe, but it did taste just like the restaurant and was easy to make.
Top Secret Restaurant Recipes.......2007-01-15
I really loved the recipes I have used. I received the book just before the holidays and have had lots of company to practice on. Everyone loved everything I have fixed. Thanks Todd Wilber.
Bon Appetite right at your own table!.......2006-07-31
Todd Wilbur has compiled a collection of recipes from many of the popular national and regional chains throughout the US. No doubt, eating out can be fun. . .no mess in the kitchen, no dishes to wash, but there are times when eating out is just not practical or affordable. Wilbur solves that problem by providing a book full of restaurant recipes, which he has "cloned." One of the main plusses of the book is that, in general, he uses ingredients found easily at home. After all, if you have to run out to buy the ingredients at the last minute, you might as well go to the restaurant instead. Wilbur also includes a brief history of each restaurant, which adds to the enjoyment of the book. The recipes included are perfect for family dinners, parties or special occasions. What are you waiting for???? Let's get cooking!
Book Description
This amazing title unites all four Incredible Cross-Sections books in one volume, enlarged and updated with brand-new illustrations-including the TIE bomber, Imperial shuttle, A-wing, and B-wing-along with revised technical introductions, behind-the-scenes pages, glossary, and index. (c) 2006 Lucasfilm Ltd. and TM AUTHOR BIO: Hans Jenssen Hans Jenssen has spent the last nine years in a galaxy far, far away, co-illustrating a total of ten Star Wars books with Richard Chasemore, with whom he has developed a close friendship. They have traveled across three continents, sampled exotic beverages with Boba Fett, and partied with R2-D2. He now lives a quiet life in Devon, England, with his partner and young son. RICHARD CHASEMORE Richard Chasemore has worked as an illustrator and 3-D computer artist in the United States and Europe, most notably on DK's Star Wars: Incredible Cross-Sections and, Inside the Worlds of the Star Wars series. Lately he has written educational books for budding digital artists. He lives on the south coast of England, where he enjoys sports involving boards and high speeds!
Customer Reviews:
OUTSTANDING REFERENCE TOOL.......2007-09-14
Previously, DK Books has release four volumes in their Star Wars cross-sections series, covering the various Star Wars films. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, they've now combines all four of those volumes, along with new illustrations into the massive Star Wars: The Complete Cross Sections. This coffee table-sized hardcover book packs information on every ship and vehicle used in the six films into 152 full-color pages. John Knoll, the Visual Effects Supervisor for episodes I - III, provides the foreword to the book.
The book is basically an encyclopedia for Star Wars ships and vehicles. The items are shown in a cutaway art, allowing the reader to not only see the outside, but also see the interiors as well. This gives fans a unique viewpoint as you generally didn't get a chance to see inside many of these ships and vehicles in the films themselves. Most of these are given a full two-page spread which include data files about each one. The data files provide information such as design and manufacture, wingspan, speed, crew capacity, armament, dimensions, ship or vehicle type, and other special features.
The book begins with Episode I, The Phantom Menace with each of the first three episodes getting their own chapter while the original three films are combined into the last chapter. In addition to the data files, a host of other information is provided on each vehicle as well. Text keys with map lines are drawn to each, pointing out important features of each vehicle. These are about the next best thing to the actual ships blueprints. The detail is simply amazing! On the Naboo Cruiser for example we see where the fuel tanks and fuel lines are located, along with coolant ducts, deflector shield projectors, sensor arrays and even mundane things such as the crew lounge and locker areas. These allow the reader to get inside these massive vehicles and ships and almost take a virtual tour through them.
Get up close and personal with Jango Boba Fett's heavily armed Slave I ship with its blaster cannons, laser cannons, missile launchers, and mine layers. Other ships included from the episodes I to III include Padme's Starship, ARC -170 Fighter, General Grievous's Wheel Bike, Pod Racers, and Palpatine's Shuttle.
The final chapter dealing with the three original films has certainly the most popular ships for fans including the Millennium Falcon, AT-AT Walker, Jabba's Barge, and Darth Vader's Tie Fighter. Several of the major ships and vehicles get fold out sections that provide four full pages worth of data. Chief among these is the first Death Star. The Slave I makes a second appearance here that includes the modifications made by Jango Fett's son, Boba.
Hats off to DK Books for also profiling the two artists whose brilliant work is on display here, Hans Jenssen and Richard Chasemore. The detail and effort that went into these drawings is truly phenomenal. This is one of those items that is tailor-made for the hardcore Star Wars fan, a reference tool that can be consulted over and over again.
REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON
5 stars for COMPLETE Cross-sections!!.......2007-08-23
People should get Star Wars Complete Cross-Sections.
Here are three reasons why anyone who likes Star Wars should get this book.
1. Star Wars Complete Cross-Sections includes information about ALL six episodes in one book. It's great to have it all in one volume instead of four separate books (Episodes I, II, III, and the Trilogy).
2. Star Wars Complete Cross-Sections has extra content not included in the separate volumes. The Imperial Shuttle, the RZ-1 A-Wing, and the B-Wing Star Fighter are new material in the combined book.
3. Star Wars Complete Cross-Sections is jam-packed with large full color illustrations and tons of fascinating facts. The pages are crowded, but the information is great.
The Star Wars Complete Cross-Sections book rules the galaxy and any Star Wars fan would just love to have a copy. I checked it out of the library, but now it's on my Christmas wish list!!
My 5 year old loves it!.......2007-08-11
I purchased this for my 5 year old because he loves Star Wars. We have a couple of other Star Wars guides. He loves the cross section book because "it shows all the ships and details and that's cool". He loves finding something small that I would have missed. Great book for all ages.
Not What I Expected But Great Nontheless.......2007-07-05
Don't know why but I was expecting technical drawings of the Star Wars vehicles. Instead I get beautiful drawings of the vehicles and some of the characters which was an unexpected plus. Especially for scale comparison with some of the bigger vehicles. The reason this item dose not get five stars from me is because when reading the book things can get somewhat confusing there is so much info on each page it practically spills out from the sides. I would recommend it to anybody who wants more information on their favorite Star Wars vehicles!
Star wars.......2007-06-09
My son has not put this book away since we bought it. It goes on every car ride with us, and even to school for free time reading. The pictures are beautiful. He absolutely loves it.
Book Description
As Peter Parker tries to sort out his relationship with the X-Men's Kitty Pryde - and continue his friendship with Mary Jane - a mall-food-court lunch turns into a free-for-all as Peter and MJ are interrupted by the debut of... the Ultimate Scorpion! But who is the Scorpion - and what sinister conspiracy is threatening Spider-Man's very existence? The clues have been laid over the past 96 issues... and it all starts to come together here, as we begin the most shocking, most mind-blowing Spider-Man story ever published! Collects Ultimate Spider-Man #97-104.
Customer Reviews:
The best issue yet!.......2007-10-17
I got started reading Ultimate Spider-Man a few years back. I liked the idea of being able to jump right into the story without reading 40 years of back issues.
While I have a lot of respect for the original Spider-Man (go Stan Lee), Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley have put together an awesome retelling of the Spidey legend.
The Clone Saga is the best volume yet! The storytelling is excellent; many twists and turns, yet not too confusing to follow. Many rewarding surprises and conclusions.
And the artwork is outstanding! I get tired of comics where every guy is super-ripped, and every girl is busting out of her clothes.
Mark Bagley's characters are attractive, expressive (love the eyes), and instantly recognizable (every guy and girl doesn't look exactly the same with a different color hair and outfit).
If you've been following the Ultimate Spider-Man series, you will love this book. But if you're just getting started, you will want to read some of the back story first.
things get a little nuts for Ultimate Spider-man.......2007-09-11
More than any previous TPB, the clone saga proves that the Ultimate Spider-man comics are not about regurgitating the original Spider-man characters and plots. The Scorpion and even Dock Ock featured in the Clone Saga are not at all the same characters conceived in the 1960s. The Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, and Aunt May are also very different characters than we would expect from the mainstream Spider-man universe, and they have very different relationships with Peter Parker. This is not at all a bad thing. It means that instead of grasping at someone else's vision, Brian Michael Bendis is telling the story that to him and his present-day audience is fresh and meaningful.
Don't get me wrong, though. This is still good comic book fun, with all the ludicrous, over-the-top twists and turns the genre implies; in fact, it is even more extremely so. But if you are the kind of person that can suspend your sense of disbelief for a little bit and enjoy some pure entertainment, it doesn't get better than the Clone Saga.
Penciller Mark Bagley is in top form here--there are some truly steller panels in this TPB. As Bagley leaves Ultimate Spider-man for other projects, his contributions to Ultimate Spider-man, and especially his work in the Clone Saga, will not be forgotten.
Bendis and Bagley pour it on for issue #100 of "Ultimate Spider-Man".......2007-04-05
I approached the "Clone Saga" that makes up "Ultimate Spider-Man, Volume 17" with great trepidation. After all, it was the cloning plotlines that became for me where "The Amazing Spider-Man" jumped the shark and I stopped reading it and the rest of Marvel's Spider-Man titles. Then there is the way that writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mark Bagley have consistently come up with creative twists and turns on the original Spider-Man stories, which becomes an additional concern when you are getting up to issue #100 of "Ultimate Spider-Man" because the first time around Stan Lee came up with Peter Parker creating a formula so he would no longer be Spider-Man and it backfired, ironically making him more like a spider by giving him two additional pairs of arms. So you link "Spider-Man" and "clones," and I start getting really nervous.
"Ultimate Spider-Man, Volume 17: Clone Saga" collects issues #97-104 (which means it does not include #105 containing the epilogue). At this point Peter is dating Kitty Pryde and since everybody knows her identity as Shadowcat, when she is seen romantically with Spider-Man that means Kitty cannot be seen dating Peter. However, the fact that Peter is still seeing Mary Jane is driving Kitty crazy: what she calls "hanging out" he calls "going to school together." Their relationship is not helped when MJ drags Peter to the mall so they can talk and he can get back on his game and Ultimate Scorpion shows up and a fight ensues. The ante is upped considerably when Spider-man unmasks the Scorpion and sees his own face looking back at him. Meanwhile, MJ is suddenly abducted from her own bedroom. Spider-Man takes the unconscious Scorpion to the Baxter Building so that Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four can run tests. The results show a 94.2% DNA match with Peter Parker and now the fun begins in earnest.
Bendis and Bagley really pour it on in this story line. In addition to the debut of the Ultimate Scorpion we have the first appearance of the Ultimate Spider-Woman, the "return" of Gwen Stacy, and another even more surprising appearance by somebody who is supposed to be dead. When Aunt May finds Peter and the late Gwen Stacy in her kitchen you figure that things could not be getting any more complicated, but it does, and all before we actually get to issue #100. We still have Ultimate Carnage, Ultimate Six-Armed Spider-Man in a Black Costume, and Ultimate Kaine (sort of), so there are more than enough clones to shake a stick at in this story arc. The net result is, in a word, excessive. I have not yet listed all of the clones let alone all of the major players that make up the "Clone Saga." In these issues Bendis and Bagley get to one of the landmark moments in the history of Spider-Man and because it happens in the middle of everything else that is going on the effect is rather diminished. Or maybe I was just numb after reeling from all of these things being dumped on our young hero.
One of the strengths of "Ultimate Spider-Man" has been the use of multi-issue story arcs so that Bendis and Bagley do not have to come up with a different villain each month (that is how you end up with the likes of the Terrible Tinkerer). If you count multi-part stories in "The Amazing Spider-Man," the Scorpion also showed up in the 17th Spider-Man story, which was issue #20, towards the end of the second year of Lee and Steve Ditko's run on the title. Taking multiple issues to tell a story involving Spider-Man versus the Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus or whoever, allows for more depth in the story telling. Here the piling on of characters and plot lines provides a sense of density rather than depth. The "Clone Saga" is certainly ambitious, more comparable to the "Ultimate Six" mini-series than anything else, but I actually found it to be the least satisfying volume to date.
Next up is the Ultimate Knights story arc, which will be significant because it will be the last "Ultimate Spider-Man" stories drawn by Bagley, which has announced he would leaving the title with issue #110. This ends one of the longest continuous runs by a creative team on a Marvel comic book, technically beating the record set by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby on the "Fantastic Four" (I understand ignoring the "FF" annuals that would mean Bendis and Bagley fall short in number of stories, but anything in triple figures is impressive since we are talking eight-plus years of work). Of course, Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragones did ten years on "Groo the Wanderer" for Marvel, but the witless barbarian was never one of the flagship characters of the company.
Average customer rating:
- A must-read!
- Best Spider-Man story in years
- Very Good
- What this is and what this isn't! Or, "How to make a quick buck if your name is Joey Q" ...
- Much better than the original "clone saga"
|
Ultimate Spider-Man: Clone Saga
Brian Michael Bendis , and
Mark Bagley
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0785126775 |
Book Description
As Peter Parker tries to sort out his relationship with the X-Men's Kitty Pryde - and continue his friendship with Mary Jane - a mall-food-court lunch turns into a free-for-all as Peter and MJ are interrupted by the debut of... the Ultimate Scorpion! But who is the Scorpion - and what sinister conspiracy is threatening Spider-Man's very existence? The clues have been laid over the past 96 issues... and it all starts to come together here, as we begin the most shocking, most mind-blowing Spider-Man story ever published! Collects Ultimate Spider-Man #97-105, Marvel Spotlight: Brian Michael Bendis/Mark Bagley, plus extras.
Customer Reviews:
A must-read!.......2007-08-01
I won't tell you anything, as that would spoil the fun, but Ultimate Spider-Man: Clone Saga is full of action, drama and much more! A must-read!
Best Spider-Man story in years.......2007-06-12
The worst part about this story was that it took years to put together. The Venom story, the Carnage story, it all ties together in a master stroke of comic-book writing.
Brian Michael Bendis truly frightened fandom by calling this one "The Clone Saga," invoking the most talked about (mostly jeers) Spidey story in 30 years. Rest assured, this isn't your daddy's Clone Saga.
This collection is action packed, filled with Mark Bagley's beautiful artwork (one of the few artists out there born to draw Spider-Man) and BMB's fanstastic pacing, plotting and dialogue. The climax is heart stopping, seat-of-your-pants reading that left me weeping and cheering, just pages apart.
And this story IS important, it DOES count. Sweeping changes come by the end of this, including and especially changes in all of Peter's relationships.
"The Clone Saga" is exactly the kind of story every Spider-Man Fan looks for in their lifetime.
Very Good.......2007-05-30
There is nothing more reviled, nothing more revolting, to a comic fan's ears then the term "Clone Saga." The storyline that ran through the mainstream Spider-man's comcis during the mid to late 90s (never read the original clone saga, but I'm led to believe that it is not vomit-inducing like the 90s one) was such a mess. It was confusing, aggravating, and completely silly. The plot just seemed to go from outlandish to mind-numbing. Indeed, the Cone Saga is widely regarded as one of the worst storylines in comic history. So much so that even Spider-man himself makes fun of the Clone Saga (don't have any issue numbers, but Spidey fans know I speak the truth).
Which brings me to the Ultimate Clone Saga. Bendis, as always, delivers and makes even asinine sotrylines completely enthralling. While not exactly his best work, it is certainly not among his worst. Plenty of laughs, great dialogue, and surprising revelations make this a must-read for Spider-man fans.
What this is and what this isn't! Or, "How to make a quick buck if your name is Joey Q" ..........2007-05-27
Patience, fanboys! Just because this is a $30 hardcover doesn't mean it's the one people are needing to continue their collection. For one thing it is unnumbered. For another it is 1/2 inch shorter and 1/2 inch less wide and 50 to 100 pages thinner than the other USM hardcovers! In my opinion, this was pushed out to stores so it would be on the shelves once Spider-Man 3 hit theatres. Which it is, and it's selling.
BUT WAIT ... I am pretty sure that this is one of the releases that are often referred to as a "Marvel Premiere" Hardcover, which is an early-bird edition of an upcoming trade, in this case the Vol. 17 Clone Saga trade.
In my opinion, the Volume 9 oversized hardcover will come out, late summer or fall, and will of course contain these issues as well as the final Mark Bagley issues, of which there will only be 5 1/2 more (he will leave after pencilling part of #111). In this way the first 9 oversized hardcovers, or the first 18 TPBs, will give collectors the complete Brian Bendis / Mark Bagley run on Ultimate Spider-Man! But you have to wait another few months!
Buy this if you really need to immediately read a Bendis version of the storyline that almost ruined Marvel a decade ago. But it is not "Volume 9" folks, or they'd have slapped a 9 on the dust jacket somewhere.
Much better than the original "clone saga".......2007-05-27
The original Spider-Man Clone Saga was one of the most fan-hated story arcs in the history of Spider-Man. So attempting to do an Ultimate version of this would be tricky at best. But they pull it off wonderfully. This was a spectacular story arc, filled with twists.
I don't want to go into the story too much, because the element of surprise is this collection's greatest strength.
Suffice it to say, if you enjoy Ultimate Spider-Man, this is definately something you want to buy.
Amazon.com
Todd Wilbur has baked, boiled, digested, fried, and tested--all in the name of duplicating some of America's favorite convenience foods. He now shares 41 of these naughty but nice gastronomical delights in Top Secret Recipes. If you've ever craved a McDonald's Big Mac at 3:00 A.M. on a Sunday morning, then Wilbur has just the recipe for satisfying your junk-food desires. Even better, no cordon-bleu expertise is needed for this particular clone--just simple frying and chopping skills! Simplicity is the key to all of Wilbur's replicated recipes--all are composed of rudimentary ingredients available at any store, needing only minimal preparation. These recipes are fun and fast--two dozen Snickers Bars in less than 10 minutes (plus cooling time), a delicious Orange Julius in less than 60 seconds (that's considerably quicker than waiting in line for the real thing)! These culinary creations are organized in alphabetical order by manufacturer or restaurant, and illustrated with simple pencil drawings. Top Secret Recipes is a chatty and informative guide to recreating the burgers, candy bars, and cookies of your strip-mall dreams. --Naomi Gesinger
Customer Reviews:
Non Fiction.......2007-09-03
A fun book that looks at how to make your own home made facsimile versions of some famous junk food. At least famous in America, some of them some other people probably will not have heard of. If you want some cooking silliness, this one is definitely for you, or to throw a version of something passable by way of some of those mini-humans.
Fun recipies.......2007-02-01
I've had a lot of fun with some of the recipes in this book. People have asked for the recipies of items I've taken to potlucks and BBQ's. There are a few items that don't quite hit the mark, but overall it's a good cookbook.
Hit and miss oversimplified clone recipes.......2006-10-21
I bought this book out of intrigue to find out the secret sauce behind famous recipes. While there are a few select recipes where the secret sauce is let out, there are dozens of others where the recipes are plain oversimplifications and superficial replicas. What should be an exciting book is mostly common sense.
The book was frustrating because the clone recipes produced average mimics at best. Detail is replaced by simplicity as most recipes seem embarassingly easy and unrefined, lacking the clarity that makes a famous fast food recipe truly unique. I didn't buy this book to be told that a Quarter Pounder with Cheese recipe requires 1/4 lb ground beef and a Kraft cheese slice. Each recipe comes with pointless engineering diagrams showing the assembly, with notes showing the reader to place the cooked hamburger patty in between the top and bottom of the bun.
The book does contain some interesting fast food history with each recipe. However, 95% of the recipes are common sense that could have been derived by the most casual of cooks. For a book that appeared to have a lot of promise, it hasn't turned my hamburgers into Big Macs or my milkshakes into Blizzards.
AWSOME cookbook!.......2006-01-02
I love to cook, hope to go to college at the Culinary.
My sis' Laura, got this for me for Christmas.
The book is sooooo cool!
The hint on it was 'no more fast food!!"
LOVE IT!!!
I will let everone have my e-mail; svgypson@yahoo.com
Todd Wilbur is KING!.......2002-11-19
I made my own Twinkies and Reese's cups!! They were pretty darn close, that's good enough for me because everything was delicious!! (My hips aren't crazy about the book.) It's fun to impress people as well as make their mouths water when you tell them what you have accomplished. If you like to have fun in the kitchen, this book will not disappoint you. Then again, I do not know you. Enjoy!! :o)
Amazon.com
Todd Wilbur, the master of fast food replication, is back, and accompanying him are 37 new recipes. More Top Secret Recipes follows triumphantly in the footsteps of his first tryout with kitchen clones, Top Secret Recipes. Included in this new collection are recipes that fans steadfastly demanded--including A&W Root Beer and an easy concoction for creating the perfect Oreo in less than an hour. All that's needed for this magical cookie is cake mix, shortening, sugar, and vanilla. Simplicity is the key to success for all of Wilbur's duplicates--nothing more than simple ingredients and basic cooking skills are required. Other culinary clones include Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls, Little Caesar's Crazy Bread, and a divine recipe for Bailey's Original Irish Cream. Quirky diagrams of these tempting bites illustrate the book throughout. Snack time has never been this much fun! --Naomi Gesinger
Customer Reviews:
Awesome!!!!.......2007-04-06
What a great book! I actually had it before and lost it in a divorce. I really missed this book.
Check the table of contents first!.......2006-10-19
I LOVE this book simply because I've been trying to recreate popeye's fried chicken on my own and failed miserably! I checked the table of contents and found it was there and that alone was worth the $9 investment. I'm not going to make everything but its fun to see how you could make Mary Jane's. :D
Check the table of contents first, then if there's a recipe you would like, take a chance. Most times, its pretty good!
Oh and the chicken recipe? Its not exactly right but it's pretty darn close and makes really good spicy fried chicken!
Thrallz.......2006-03-13
This is a very cool cook book, lots of fun recipes to try and of favorites. My husband and I had fun just flipping through it when it first arrived planning what we could fix.
The Olive Garden Alfredo is yummy and so close to the original chain version.
Are Charles Holcomb and Melissa actually Douglas Hensley (and Pattie Hensley's husband)?.......2006-01-07
A reviewer, "Charles Holcomb", has reviewed all the books written by Douglas Hensley and Pattie Hensley. Reviewer "Melissa" is also now curiously reviewing the same list as "Charles Holcomb". He has also reviewed several competing books -- such as this one -- and used those reviews as an opportunity to mention the "superior quality" of the book written by Douglas Hensley or Pattie Hensley. The Hensley titles are as follows:
- "Lost Stories From Hell" by Douglas Hensley
- "Magic Voodoo Spells" by Douglas Hensley
- "Hell's Gate: Terror at Bobby Mackey's Music World" by Douglas Hensley
- "Automobile Sales Training and Tips From The Pros" by Douglas Hensley
- "Book of Dreams & Dream Interpretations" by Douglas Hensley
- "Bloody Bones" by Douglas Hensley
- "Grandma's Cook Book and Recipes" by Pattie Hensley
- "Grandma's Country Recipes" by Pattie Hensley
- "Copycat Restaurant and Bakery Recipes" by Pattie Hensley
My Wife says pass on this one.......2006-01-01
JUST OK. My wife says to look under COPYCAT RESTAURANT RECIPES or COPYCAT RESTAURANT COOK BOOKS here on Amazon to find a better selection.
Book Description
Re-creations of brands such as Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Guinness, Foster's, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Good, but dated.......2007-03-02
I wanted to give this a higher rating and it does have a lot of better ratings from many others, but I just couldn't do it. There are quite a few recipes and I have made a few. If I hadn't done so, my rating on this would be higher. The book is well written, instructions are clear, but it is not for a complete novice, as some of the recipes are in need of revision. The yeast parings are questionable on a few recipes, as are a few of the recipes themselves. There was a recipe for one beer I know how to make quite well, and it was quite off.
A few notable items that are due to the books age: their knowledge of yeasts is limited and the brand of extract has long since changed their name. Muntons & Fison is now just Muntons. These are small things, but they show this book would benefit from an update.
Don't get me wrong, this book is good, but I would suggest that it is better for those brewers that have enough experience to adjust the recipes as needed. I know it was written about a decade ago, but if you are buying this book, you should know what to expect. I'm hoping for better things in Beer Captured.
Clone Brews.......2007-02-09
Good book for the begining brewer. It will give you recipies for some of the best beers in the world. It is a true test of your brewing abilities, to try to replicate one of the beers in this book.
BREWING WITH CLONE BREWS .......2007-01-03
This book is well written and the recipes are very easy to follow. The recipes created by Tess and Mark are so close to the store bought beers you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. I have been home brewing for many years and have won several competitions using the recipes from this book. The Pilsner Urquell and the Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout are exceptional (just to mention a couple)!! Follow the recipes, be patient while the beer carbonates, and enjoy.
Great gift for my husband!.......2006-12-05
My husband recently began brewing his own beer, so I thought this would make a nice birthday gift. It turns out that his brewing friends had already recommended this as a good book to add to his library, so he was thrilled to receive it!
Nice assortment of beers from around the world.......2006-10-07
The book begins with a very short section on calculations and basic identification. There is a good assortment of beers from around the world contained in this book. The authors concentrate on extracts, but the recipes offer choices for alternate methods and different yeast. Not a bad book, but I have not utilized it like I have other brewing books. It is unique in that it tries to duplicate popular beers, with alternate methods. You will find that it is quite difficult to copy a commercial beer perfectly. One should have a good understanding of brewing before attempting to use this book.
Customer Reviews:
Fun Book With Great Duplicates.......2006-08-03
This is a superb way to duplicate some of your favorite snack items like Cinnabon CinnabonStix , KFC Honey BBQ Wings, and Cheese Nips. I've tried several recipes and all of them came out great.
The Boston Market Meatloaf, one of my favorite take-out foods, was right on the money. I also recreated Cheese Nips and got them to taste just like the original, though the color was off slightly. The KFC wings were perfect and delicious (as is his cloned recipe of KFC original recipe chicken in an earlier boook). The recipe for Devil Dogs came out as dry as the actual Devil Dogs you can get in a store. So I made a few slight changes and produced a wonderfully moist version. They're also good with a chocolate glaze and/or a chocolate cream filling.
That's one of the reasons why people want to have these recipes even though you can buy most of these products quite easily. We like to make slight changes or additions that make them more fun. I've made Twinkies with a ton of different fillings, extra-large thin mints, Cinnabon buns with chocolate chips, and a host of other personal variations of popular dishes. It's for cooks who like to have fun. I recommend this highly, along with all of his other books.
Fun and interesting, but I got mixed results.......2004-08-02
If the poor condition of the library copy is any indication, Even More Top Secret Recipes is a very popular book!
Todd Wilbur has a number of books, and it can be a little confusing sorting them out. There are three "Top Secret Recipes" books, Top Secret Recipes, More Top Secret Recipes (this book) and Even More Top Secret Recipes. These books focus on what Wilbur calls "convenience foods." That is, most packaged sweets and fast food. He also has a book Top Secret Restaurant Recipes, in which he attempts to duplicate the foods of mostly casual dining restaurants like Chili's and Applebee's. He also has a book solely on drinks.
Wilbur explains in the Introduction of More Top Secret Recipes that these are not the actual recipes used by restaurants, and he did not obtain them through bribery, theft other illegal or illicit means. He starts with the ingredient list on packages of food and modifies the relative amounts, or with fast food, tries to identify the ingredients by taste. He admits that the real producers of these foods often use custom ingredients unavailable to the consumer, and that the goal was to match the texture and flavor of the food, and appearance is secondary.
So why try to clone commercially-available food? In both More Top Secret Recipes and Even More Top Secret Recipes, the author mentions availability. Some of the foods are regional, and you may not get them where you live. In the introduction to More Top Secret Recipes, he gives a list of reasons including low cost and curiosity. I'm not so sure about the cost argument, since I have to sacrifice two boxes of Macaroni and Cheese to make half a box of Cheese Nips, but the curiosity is what applied to me. I just wanted to know, "Can I really duplicate these commercial foods at home?"
This book contains 88 recipes, a big increase over the 37 of the previous book. The recipes clone the likes of McDonald's, Nabisco, Carl's Jr. and Taco Bell. Every recipe includes a history of the food item, something alone which makes this book valuable, and a dimensioned engineering graphic of the product. Even More Top Secret Recipes includes an interesting introduction discussing the fast food industry, and gives some tips on creating the clones. The recipes make as much use as possible of premade food and mixes. For example, most candy bars are coated with melted chocolate chips, so you will not find that you have to crush cocoa beans, or perform any such low-level task.
From this book, so far, I attempted to make Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, (I AM a Girl Scout after all. Really. My wife signed me up. It was a surprise to me, too!) and Nabisco Cheese Nips. The thin mints turned out pretty good. The flavor and texture were pretty close. The only problem is that the chocolate was a little thick. Applying it to a desired thickness is difficult. Also, the chocolate remained quite soft. A little more experimentation with cookie thickness and baking time and temperature might make the centers a little more consistent, too. The Cheese Nips are made using the cheese packets from Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (Cheese and Macaroni?). They turned out crispy, and although bright orange like the real thing before baking, turned out grayish-tan when done. Although crispy, they weren't light and bubbly like the real thing, but were more like crispy cookies. They needed to be cheesier. They tasted like the flour and shortening. They weren't bad, though, and my wife liked them, but they weren't much like Cheese Nips. A lot of recipes would benefit from the use of rolling pin rings to establish uniform dough thickness.
I also had mixed results with the recipes from More Top Secret Recipes. You can read my amazingly similar review on that book for more details.
Using this book was fun and informative. I've had mixed results using these books. In short, have fun, but don't expect miracles with every recipe.
Save your money.......2003-09-30
The recipes in this book are mostly on the website and are nothing special.
Worst of the series.......2003-04-06
I own all of the Top Secret books from Tood Wilbur, and this one is the absolute worst of the series. Contains repeats from previous books, and some from his website. A few new, but I was not impressed. If you are new to the Top Secret series, I would recommend the Restaurant Recipes, and the Soda/Smoothies one. They are the best of the series.
Enjoy the dash of humor added to the recipes.......2003-03-08
These recipes cover common brand-name favorites which are now reproducible in the home kitchen, from Girl Scout cookies and Cinnabon to candy bars and Wendy's chicken filet sandwich. Even More Top Secret Recipes will prove particularly intriguing to fans of brand name items and fast foods, who will enjoy the dash of humor added to the recipes and food descriptions.
Average customer rating:
- Great book for the Star Wars fans
- Very Good Book
- Indispensable
- My Padmae, Haven't You Grown.
- Star Wars Episoce II: Attack of the Clones -- The Visual Dic
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The Visual Dictionary of Star Wars, Episode II - Attack of the Clones
David West Reynolds
Manufacturer: DK CHILDREN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Similar Items:
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The Visual Dictionary of Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
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The Visual Dictionary of Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace
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The Visual Dictionary of Star Wars, Episodes IV, V, & VI: The Ultimate Guide to Star Wars Characters and Creatures
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Incredible Cross-sections of Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith: The Definitive Guide to Spaceships and Vehicles
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The Ultimate Visual Guide to Star Wars
ASIN: 0789485885
Release Date: 2002-04-23 |
Amazon.com
A thousand years from now, someone might find a dusty collection of DK's Star Wars titles buried in a library vault and wonder at the ancient strife, fashions, and droids of this unusual, unmarked era in history. For one who didn't know this was a series of film characters and situations being analyzed and explained, it would be an extremely believable history resource. For those who do know, it's a fantastic reference guide for all things Star Wars. David West Reynolds's impressive scientific writing style renders this "visual dictionary" a veritable bible of intergalactic information related to Attack of the Clones, the second prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy. The most intricate details of the characters, creatures, and equipment of the film are revealed in crisp, annotated photographs and authoritative text. We see, close-up, the meltproof Ceramoid mesh of a scouter's pack; the traditional Ansata pattern on Jedi Jocasta Nu's tunic, symbolizing knowledge and learning; and the alarming features of Poggle the Lesser, ruler of the Stalgasin hive colony of Geonosians. Star Wars fans and future anthropologists alike will be wowed. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter
Book Description
Star Wars: Episode II -- The Saga Continues... Marks the return of fan-favorite Dr. David West Reynolds as author, whose background as a professor of archaeology and deep knowledge of Star Wars informs the "pseudo-scientific" writing style that has become the hallmark of DK's Star Wars titles. Highlights the new array of characters, including: Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme Amidala, Mace Windu, Count Dooku, also the young Boba Fett, plus new bounty hunters, battle droids, clone troopers and some major new species.
Customer Reviews:
Great book for the Star Wars fans.......2006-03-13
My son and his friends are big Star Wars fans. They are all between the ages of 5-8. They loved this book. They really enjoyed finding out all the details in the movie. While my son watches the movies he looks up and reads about the movie. It is a great book. Lots of fun...
Very Good Book.......2005-07-08
This book is very informative and it gives a lot of background information on characters that many star wars fans wouldn't know about. I am a HUGE star wars fan and this book is not a waste of money. There is a lot about Coruscant and the droid foundries of Geonosis. I learnt alot from this book, and it is ideal for any star wars fan's library.
Indispensable.......2003-12-25
For a Star Wars Fan, it is a must. However, as I described in the other books of this series, it has missing the starships pictures, but is is not a major problem, since the book depicts all hardware and aliens that appear in the film.
My Padmae, Haven't You Grown........2003-09-11
The Visual Dictionary of Ep2 once again gives us a more detailed review of the charcters from Ep1 and the arrival of new stars such as Jango Fett and his young cloned son, Boba.
However the best parts of this book is the development of Obi wan, Annikan, and of course the accidental [physcial] symbol of the new Star Wars generation, Padmae Amidala, executed in purfect form by Natalie Hershlag-Portman. Her now famous white combat suit is complemented by her other eyepopping outfits...Very nice.
A must for those who are keeping a library on this epic tail.
Star Wars Episoce II: Attack of the Clones -- The Visual Dic.......2003-03-06
Actually my son loved the book but it fell apart as did all the similar Star Wars books. (He is not hard on books, our pop-up books all survived his early years intact.) I bought a copy for the library at my son's elementary school and that one fell apart too. These books are to expensive to have the binding be so shoddy.
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- What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About(TM): Premenopause, Balance Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifty
- Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung?: Inspiring Stories for Welcoming Life's Difficulties
- Work Hard, Have Fun, Make Money: The Tractor Supply Story
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- A Lifetime To Get Here: Diana Ross: The American Dreamgirl
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- The Ticker Symbol Book
Top Secret Restaurant Recipes: Creating Kitchen Clones from America's Favorite Restaurant Chains
Even More Top Secret Recipes: More Amazing Kitchen Clones of America's Favorite Brand-Name Foods
More Top Secret Recipes: More Fabulous Kitchen Clones of America's Favorite Brand-Name Foods
Top Secret Recipes: Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits, & Shakes
Top Secret Recipes: Creating Kitchen Clones of America's Favorite Brand-Name Foods (Plume)
