Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2. [antikvár]

INTRODUCTIONI feel out of place at the ritzy Stirling Club in Las Vegaslike a Macho Nacho Burrito at a caviar tasting. But there I am attending an invite-only shindig where impressionist Rich Little speaks in his own voice, and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous host Robin Leach works the room. It's a very Vegas momentThen someone drags singer Clint Holmes over to our group. He's the Tom Jones-esque crooner headlining at Harrah's who was voted "Best All Around Entertainer in Las Vegas." I mention that I saw him perform in Atlantic City at the 1990 Miss America Pageant I was covering as a TV news reporter When he ignores my comment I wonder; "Did I just insult the man?" Now I'm not sure what to sayThankfully a friend cuts through the awkwardness to tell Clint what I do for a living, "Todd writes cookbooks."She looks back my way expecting me to elaborate. "The books are called Top Secret Recipes," I tell him. "They show people how to make famous food at home with common ingredients."From past experience I realize that at this point I haven't provided enough information to make Clint understand my strange career path, so here's where I open up my stance and bend forward as though I'm carefully studying a piece of food. "I reverse-engineer brand-name foods, like a Big Mac or a Twinkie or Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits, and then create clone recipes that instruct you how to easily duplicate the taste of these foods in your own kitchen using ingredients you can find in any supermarket."Now I wait to see if the ball will fall on red or black. About half of the people appreciate the unusual cookbook concept, and many of them have used the recipes before, either from theXV