Kitchen Copycat

If you're anything like me, urban legend has caused you to swear off KFC. But what if you could enjoy those 11 delicious herbs and spices battered and fried on a piece of free-range organic chicken — or, dare I say, tofu? Thanks to Ron Douglas, now you can.

The New York Post reports that the Glen Cove, Long Island, man quit his day job to crack the Colonel's code. His crazy and improbable endeavor has proven to be anything but; Douglas inked a deal with Simon & Schuster, who recently published and released his book, America's Most Wanted Recipes.

The former JP Morgan finance manager used his epicurean sixth-sense to build a website dedicated to nailing the secret ingredients of other sought-after recipes, mostly of the chain restaurant variety. The site boasts copycat formulas for dishes from IHOP to Benihana to TGIFriday. SecretRecipes even claims to be able to replicate V8. Douglas' major online following allowed him to self-publish 50,000 copies of his own book before catching the eye of a big-name publisher.

Go on, take a look. I guarantee you'll be whipping up a batch of Girl Scout Thin Mints in no time — as you should.