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Rating: 
Summary: Not even for $1.99
Review: Alas, I've joined the group of dispointed consumers! I love Alton Brown, but this so called "book" is less (WAY less) than steller. I actually saw this at Chapters for $1.99 and couldn't bring myself to part with the Twoonie required to purchase it. All the previous reviews sun up my feelings - but I just had to add my two cents.
Rating: 
Summary: blank journal
Review: I would give a 5 star rating if I were looking for a blank journal. I am an avid Alton Brown fan and ordered this "book" months before it was published, expecting to get pearls of wisdom similar to his awesome book, "Food + Heat = Cooking" (which I would give 10 stars out of 5 if I could). I felt really foolish to find that I had ordered a completely blank journal. It actually is a nice one and contains a handful of quotes such as, "the least used utensil in the kitchen is the brain." I guess that is his whole point, "do your own cook's notes!"
Rating:
Summary: This is not a book. Do not buy it.
Review: If Alton Brown saw this book at his local megamart, he would not buy it for all the reasons he recommends people go to hardware stores and restaurant supply stores to buy less expensive and more functional versions of high priced items. Do not buy this item. It is not a 'book'. It is simply a blank book with AB's brand recognition mug on the cover. Must be the former advertising producer coming out. You will be much better served by going to the local office supply superstore and purchasing a small, inexpensive three (3) ring binder and a 3 ring hole punch to punch holes in all the recipes you download from the internet.If AB really wanted to sell something for your 15 bucks, he would have: 1. Made it loose leaf bound instead of spiral bound, so that you could buy additional blank pages at the aforementioned office supply superstore, or even at the local drugstore.
2. Included a comprehensive set of unit of measure conversion tables.
3. Included tables of cooking methods and times for a wide variety of meats and vegetables. A perfect tie-in to the organization of the book whose success this item is milking.
4. Included tables of various flours and grains, and the things for which they are best used. For example, the best applications of: Bread flour, all purpose flour, cake flour, whole wheat flour etc. Similar things could be done for beans and lentils.
5. Included checklists of the best dry and fresh spices and herbs to keep on hand and the time it is safe to store them. The list should indicate which are best used fresh and which are quite acceptable used dry. Most sources, for example say that dry basil is a very poor substitute for the fresh herb while dry thyme is quite acceptable for almost all applications. A selected list of internet spice dealers would be peachy here as well. I think AB should attone for this shameless marketing ploy by doing a 'Good Eats' show on how to economically store kitchen notes and recipes. If Martha Stewart can do it, I'm sure he can do an even better job.
Rating: 
Summary: A fun product
Review: The other reviewers seem to feel they've been mislead. The description clearly says that it's a journal. I purchase journals all the time for various uses. I usually try to find something with a nice cover design that appeals to me. Why not have a journal with Alton Brown's face on it for my cooking notes??? I love the show. I love his other books. I don't see what the big deal is! And I don't think he's "sold his soul" as someone else mentioned. It's OK to provide a kitchen journal that matches your cookbooks! If you want to be cheap and use notebook paper--OK. But maybe some of us want something a little nicer or a little more fun?
Rating:
Summary: It's BLANK!
Review: This is the last time I buy a book just because I had liked the author's other works. The description does say that it's a perfect place to jot down your favorite tips etc., but it didn't click in my head that this ISN"T A BOOK AT ALL because the title "Cook's Notes" means
Cook = Me
Notes = My Notes, not AB's In short, this is A BLANK NOTE PAD with celebrity picture on the cover. A totally juvenile and 20th century merchandizing product. As much as I like AB's cooking show Good Eats, I would not have bought this had I known what it is. This is also not very much in the spirit of modern and scientific way of life/cooking for this day and age. Recommended only for devoted Alton Brown fans who don't have a PDA.
Rating:
Summary: Selling out for the green back.
Review: Why can't we give 0 stars? Alton Brown has now joined the ranks of others who sell out the very fabric that made them famous just to make more money. If you like a spiral bound book with nothing but lines on the blank pages, go ahead and buy this. However, you're better off taking the 10 bucks and going to a store to buy three or four reams of paper. You'll get more use out of it. I've lost some respect for the guy. It's a shame that Alton is now groveling at the Emeril level.
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