Did you forget something?

No, I didn't get a new haircut. No, this is not a new recipe post. No, the trash doesn't need taking out....

It's my blogversary! I guess you don't scroll waayyyyyyyyyy down on the right margin of my blog to read my blogversary countdown badge. LOL. It's ok, if you have one, I wouldn't know where to find yours either.

Hard to believe that on New Year's Eve I made a such big decision and it STUCK. Think of all those diets, exercise routines, fads, promises that we've never stuck to or lost interest in....

My blog was a great decision. I love it. Wow, the time FLEW by and over the past 365 days I've posted over 250 times. I think if I was ever asked by a boss or professor to write that much due to THEIR request/demand in one year....I would have passed out or quit. I guess when you truly love doing something...it comes easy and it hits all my creative buttons.

Well since I don't have any food companies banging my door down (I don't know how some of you bloggers get so many of these companies to send you free stuff!) so I will go out on my own and have a giveaway that I will purchase with my own hard earned teacher's salary.

Knowing this blogversary was coming up I've been thinking long and hard to what I wanted to GIVEAWAY......hmmmmm. I thought since many of the blogs I've been reading was what influenced me to start a food blog. THAT would be my giveaway. Whatever blogger's cookbook you'd like...I'd send you. I have many bloggers cookbooks but NOT all of them. There are some other books that have stories with recipes that I also like perhaps you'd like to try one of them....

Here's the gist of my GIVEAWAY:

Write a comment and tell me which of the books that I suggested down below that YOU WOULD WANT for your collection. If you'd like to suggest a new book that YOU have and think I should get to add to my collection do comment about it.... and then add to your commentWHAT BOOK you WOULD like that Santa didn't bring you this year!

Here's my list of goodies I think everyone should get:

One of the first food blogs my cousin Sue referred to me was Orangette. I became a fan and soon enough during my first year of blogging Molly Wizenburg published her first cookbook. Her book is based on her food influences that turned her gift of writing into a passion of writing about food. She is currently crazy busy running a newly opened restaurant with her husband. Things are settling down and she is slowly returning to blogging more. Would you like her book? Here is one of my posts about one of her recipes.








Now, this author is NOT a food blogger but I've been a fan of two Culinary Murder Mystery writers. This is Joann's Fluke's most recent book. She has 12 total, a new one arriving in Feb 2010. I have used many of her recipes and I am very excited about her new cookbook that encompasses ALL her recipes from her books being published in Oct 2011. Here is one of my posts using one of her recipes.








The other Culinary Mystery Writer who was my first is Diane Mott Davidson. Here is my post about her books. Her latest came out this summer called Fatally Flaky. DO know that her books ARE a series.






Dorie Greenspan's book was probably one of my second blogger books. Her blog is about a group of food bloggers who pick a recipe to cook each week and blog about it. A very tough group to join but personally when it was open to me....I decided I couldn't handle that type of pressure to produce. Kudos to many of my friends who do follow the Tuesday with Dorie clan plan. Here is my post of the first recipe I made when I needed to 'break in' my new birthday KA mixer!







I have all these books by David Zinczenko. After I pour through them....I mainly use them in my classroom with my students. Some scary food truths in them. Here is my post about this book. Cook this, Not that is now HOT out in the stores on 12/29. What is cool about this new book is that recipes are included now. Finally. I can see some future posts in it already. Shall I pick you up a copy?






I found this book cross referenced through Amazon.com since they keep track of the many things you order and make suggestions. Baking Boot Camp is writer being assigned to attend the CIA for their baking training and write about it. Of course many recipes are included and they are top culinary school level!










Of course I like the baking boot camp book so much that I went and got the culinary school boot camp one as well. This book was written first and done by a different author both were interesting, especially if you think you'd like to enroll to in any of these CIA classes. I did....notice the past tense.









I love this book! Jeff Hertzbery (one of the authors) even commented on my post from recipe I made from this book. He must have one of those 'robo-search tools' that finds sites who cross reference his book. Ironically, I was also having my first giveaway of ANOTHER book, not his. I know stupid rookie blogger move. But I won't go into the stupid food porn picture site reasons why I wasn't thinking straight. Live and learn. Anyhow, I've made a few recipes and LOVE how easy the dough is to use. Here is my post about the sticky buns I made!

Jeff, if you are reading again. I'd love to try your Healthy Breads in 5 five minutes cookbooks to review and another of for future giveaway! Sorry about my food blogger faux pas! I've learned.




Confections of a Closet Master Baker I saw reviewed on another blog.
Honestly when I found out it was written by Sandra Bullock's sister (former resident of Arlington VA, like me) I was curious. Since it was a memoir and had recipes in it, I got it. It was a fun read. Sorry no post yet.








Not sure how I got into Ruth's books. I guess since I love reading biographies/memoirs, when I found out these were the memoirs of a food critic and recipes my curiousity was piqued. I tested out her first one Tender to the Bone to see how I liked it. Really wondering how she became fell upon such a prized job as a food critic. OMG. You GOT to read these....you will be amazed over the stories about her mother's horrible cooking and wonder how she developed such a fine palate. The second book is Comfort me with Apples and Garlic and Sapphires is the last. Wonderful memoirs! Here is my post from the G & S book.






Too many Cooks was one of the those books I grabbed to take on vacation with me. When I was going through the shelves the looking for more reading material....it caught my interest....again I love the storytelling fused recipes thing. This is a story about a stay at home mom who has 4 kids and how she struggles to expose her kids to food preparation and a variety of foods. Sorry no post from her book yet.









Oh Hungry Girl cookbooks are so fun! I subscribe to her site to my email where I get sent very informative things about lower calories foods and how to tweak recipes to make them less evil. I am working through her cookbook like a mad woman. Like here and here and here. Love HER!







Speaking of Love, I also LOVE PW. Pioneer Woman Cooks food blog came into my life shortly after I found Orangette. Ree Drumond is soooooo funny and a hellacious great cook. No way she has the figure she does and eats the amazingly evil food she cooks too! She must eat only like ONE spoonful and then eat a salad! Sheesh I've posted so many of her stuff....like this. She also now has an AMAZING recipe sharing site called Tasty Kitchen. Sorry you are going to have to go around and find more of the stuff I've posted of her because at this point in this post...I am wiped. All these reviews are making me tired and hungry for dinner.



So there you have it! My suggestions. I know that there are many other wonderful and fun books that I do not have. I haven't had the chance to peruse through Steamy Kitchen yet. I have the new Cake Wrecks book but she isn't about recipes just funny pictures yet I adore her site.

OK my friends and FANS....comment and tell me what BOOK YOU'D LIKE to win for my BLOGVERSARY GIVEAWAY! YOU PICK AND I WILL SEND YOU THE BOOK YOUR HEART DESIRES....sorry, I was screaming I get excited like that sometimes....

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED....CONGRATS TO NORAOLSON
Tick Tock!