Bakechef - I would buy the American Test Kitchen book before any other if only because it lays flat. I hate those cookbooks that you have to stick in a cookbook holder and even then you can't see half the page. I looked up reviews for it; what I can't understand how it can be hard-covered, over 500 pages, and then be relatively inexpensive. What's the catch. Anyway it explains why certain ways of baking "work". That is what I want to know.
Urmaniac, we are on the same page here, aren't we, re that wonderful stuff called Butter. Really glad to see your post!
Re chocolate chip cookies & Bittman's writing. I have to read this. I follow the instructions on the back of the bag but they seem never to work. Oh, the family eats them, but they are not the way c.c. cookies are supposed to be. I need to figure out why.