Even More Top Secret Recipes

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 1. JAN. 2003

In the seventh installment of his Top Secret Recipes series, the king of "clone cuisine" offers homecooks the chance to recreate almost 100 convenience foods, from the sandwiches and sauces traditionally found on fast food menus to the cookies and candy bars available ready-made on supermarket shelves. For people who prefer their food to bear trademarks, Wilbur's book is a gold mine of information: divulged here are the building blocks of KFC Extra Crispy Chicken, Drake's Devil Dogs, French's Classic Yellow Mustard, Girl Scout Cookies Thin Mints and Kraft Thousand Island Dressing. Wilbur provides a little history along with his hints, too: before imparting the secret to Boston Market Meatloaf (complete, as most recipes are, with a very official-looking diagram of the dish), he briefly traces the company's shifting fortunes (quick expansion and a name change had the company filing for bankruptcy in 1998; McDonald's later purchased the chain and made it profitable again). Why labor over a burger that can be cheaply purchased virtually anywhere, some readers will wonder, and why hand-produce a candy bar that's already mass-produced? It's best not to ponder such obvious questions, and better just to enjoy this book for what it is: an oddball project with a few solid recipes for treats like snickerdoodles and stuffing, and a lot of kitsch appeal.