Gift Idea: Your Kitchen Table

Photo by Trisha: This is the book I gave my sister

Today, on Favorite Things Friday, I would like to tell you about my favorite cookbook and recipe site.

(I am having company tonight, so you can understand why recipes are currently on my mind. We're having breakfast for dinner, FYI.)

When my sister-in-law joined the family, I wanted to buy her the perfect gift. Understand that I admired this girl long before she met my brother. And I was elated that she was going to become a part of my family forever.

I searched for the gift that would say as much. No piece of jewelry, no item off of her registry, and no giftcard would do.

And then I discovered tastebook.com.

Known as the "iTunes for recipes," this site allowed me to create the perfect gift. I was able to upload the family favorites--along with the little jokes and anecdotes that have been kept in the family for decades--and when it was printed, it was a classy, colorful book for her kitchen shelf.

But there's more. I love this website because it allows me to enter and store my recipes online. Friends and I have swapped recipes via this website for years.

Tonight I'm using a recipe that I passed on to my sister-in-law. Nearly 4 years after my sister-in-law joined the family, she's a fabulous cook and a permanent fixture in my life.

Though I am sure it has nothing to do with me, I like to think she knew from the beginning that she was a part of this family.

And there's the timer . . .