I knew of Paula Deen, of course, who could not have heard her name in this business?

But I thought she was the typical grandmotherly southern lady, cooking buttered pies, comfort food and fattening you up all those damn pounds over the Christmas holidays.

I had no idea that she was also a collector of extravagant southern receipts, stuff that would make your eyes, mind, mouth and stomach explode with gusto (and over abundance, obviously, "ça va sans dire").

Take a look at this, Crab-Stuffer Flounder. First of all, how in the name of Goodness, can you get the idea of stuffing a flounder with crab meat? I mean, come on... I'm Italian and I really cannot fathom such a monstrosity.

But then, you read on with a mixed of horror and awe, wondering how wonderful it would taste and then you notice it and you lose it, the last straw : the fish, filled with crustacean meat, is, for obscure American reasons, COVERED IN BACON!!!

I'm slightly kidding, of course, I'm a little startled by how different these receipt are from what I'm used to but I really really love to try new things and this is a beautiful books, well written and very clear in all details. I just love it.

And if, out of it, I get a new appreciation of mixing fishes and fried bacon, so be it :D

I will have to remember to hide this side of myself from my Italian friends (who are already horrified that I like Americanized long coffee).

But nobody could argue that North African cuisine isn't healthy. And I especially love Algerian and Egyptian cooking so I really really appreciate all the more the second present that my kind and generous Secret Santa sent me, Magda Mehdawy's "My Egyptian Grandmother's Kitchen", a wonderful and big book full of traditional receipts of sweet and spicy dishes, meat, fish, vegetables, all mixed together with a clever usage of spices derives from centuries of culinary history.

I love when you can feel the tradition in what you eat, it gives your meal a different meaning, in some way. You are dining the same way that men and women were in the past and that move you closer to them in spirit.

This book is full to the brim with good stuff and suggestions on how to prepare it, and it adds, for us not so familiar with the traditions of the middle east, a quick guide to the typical festivities and the traditional meals consumed during each.

So, thanks again to my Secret Santa, it has been a wonderful surprise. I loved these two books and I will use them often (not together, however, they are very different from one another).

A last curiosity : the package, a nice cardboard box, was delivered in a large bag, a USPS bag. I must say, over the years I have received many a parcel from the US and from all around the world but it never happened that I received the original vector bag. Unusual, isn't it?