Robert H. gets a no-prize that'll fuss pedantically while the bacon starts to burn for bringing us a software engineer's rant on cooking. I like Alton Brown's stuff precisely because he not only tells you what to do, but why it works. The former gets you started, the latter helps guide you when things go wrong. Little wonder that the most successful recipes I've ever tried have been Alton's. Especially that stove-top mac & cheese. MMMM!!!