Here in the Fat Cat Test Kitchen, The Best Recipe from Cook's Illustrated is our trusted workhorse when it comes to cookbooks.

But my favorite and most meaningful cookbook is a gift from my grandmother, Joy. As you know, it's those small, thoughtful things that always make the best gifts.

With handwritten recipes of Down East Maine cooking, I find myself reaching for it quite often. Granted, these prized recipes aren't tested as rigorously as The Best Recipe, but they're still no-fail recipes that Joy has made year after year, plus these dishes bring back fond memories of my life as a Little Fat Kitten.

The best feature, though, is the cooking tips that Joy tucked into the front:

Fat Cat Joy Swan's Cooking Tips

1. Cake or muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes away clean.

2. When making donuts, make the dough as soft as you can handle. The temperature of the fat (we love that word!) is the key to good donuts. Make sure oil is really hot to begin frying, then lower the temp and cook slow. (Bonus tip: fry one donut first to check temperature of fat.)

3. To sour 1 cup of milk, add 1 tablespoon vinegar.

4. To steam pudding or brown bread, put mixed ingredients in steaming dish or coffee can. Put coffee can in large cooking pan with water (+/- 5 inches) in bottom. Then steam on very low heat, just high enough to produce steam. (Bonus tip: watch carefully so pan doesn't go dry).

5. All recipes need salt and sugar (hear! hear!).

6. Most recipes need oil or shortening (around here, we call it "fat").

Joy's cooking tip every Fat Cat can live by:

You can almost always make your own recipes. Just remember: every recipe needs a rising ingredient -- 1 tsp baking powder to 1 c flour or 1/4 tsp baking soda to 1 c flour.

Final advice: Experiment, just remember the rules!