What? Do I look like Rachael Ray? Well come to think of it, I have put on a few pounds

It turns out you’ve hit on this PropellerHead’s hobby…cooking. It probably has as much to do with the eating as the cooking, but I really enjoy messing around in the kitchen.

The short answer to the omelet: use fresh ingredients and buy a high-quality non-stick omelet pan (surlatable.com or cooking.com). Oh yeah…you’ll also need to crack a few eggs.

When I need a recipe, I use several Internet resources. A good, basic site is allfood.com. This site reminds me of the old Betty Crocker cookbook. You’ll find everything here with little pretense. Of course, you could also go straight to bettycrocker.com. I still refer to Betty anytime I need to make a frosting or glaze. These sites cover basic cooking techniques in a very digestible format.

The site that would make Julia Child burp is foodnetwork.com. This is the Internet space for the venerable cable TV network. In addition to promoting their on-air personalities, this site is a smorgasbord of cooking help. The recipes are indexed extremely well and recipe variations are frequently provided.

You can also search by chef. So, if you’re in the mood for something spicy, BAM! Next thing you know, you’re looking at Emeril Lagasse’s favorite egg dish. Feel like a little Tuscan? Mario Batali can help. Want to stay thin? Check out what Ellie Krieger has dished up.

Another nice feature of the site is that it stores your recipes for you in your own recipe box. You can also print recipes out in several convenient formats.

Allrecipes.com is also a nice site. It has a convenient shopping list feature that lets you find recipes and build a grocery shopping list as you prepare a menu. It also supports culinary social networking with a recipe exchange, cook profiles, and a newsletter. This might be the site for you if you want to feel like part of a gastro-community. Bon appetit!

Want to be the next Top Chef? Well, start with bravotv.com/Top_Chef_2. It covers the show’s competition, contestants, recipes, and techniques, and has some fun extras. If cooking smack-downs wet your appetite, taste what Gordon Ramsay is dishing out at fox.com/hellskitchen.

Then, check out starchefs.com. This site highlights the latest in gourmet and leading-edge culinary. It includes chef profiles, exotic recipes, and the newest über techniques. Look up the Spherification for Beginners article and you’ll see what I mean. James Beard would be proud.

For the sweet tooth in us all, check out joyofbaking.com. Gale Gand wannabes will fall for this beautiful site that covers baking recipes and techniques including breads, cookies, pies, and all sorts of scrumptious deserts. You will flip over the stunning photos of their creations. Yummy.

Bless your heart, you lookin’ for some ol’ fashioned cookin’? Trust Paula Dean. This FoodTV star hosts her own site, PaulaDean.com, which features a buffet of all of your mama’s recipes with cute country names like, Beer-in-the-Rear Chicken.

I am going to age myself a bit…but I have a fondness for the Galloping Gourmet. You can still catch this show sometimes on PBS. Graham Kerr’s website at grahamkerr.com is minimal, but he always has nice basic, healthy recipes, that pair well with wine. Salud!