Yes, really, a cookbook by Miss Piggy

What, exactly, is the attraction of a cookbook authored by an actor, athlete or musician? Or one of the new breed of celebrity who are famous just for getting on TV or for just being famous?

Maybe it’s the appeal of recipes you’re sure can’t possibly be intimidating since they aren’t presented by real chefs. Maybe people think they can look like Eva Longoria Parker if they eat the recipes from her upcoming book, Eva’s Kitchen: Cooking With Love for Family and Friends, slated for release in 2011. Maybe it’s just the star appeal and our seemingly bottomless appetite for celebrities any way we can get them.

Whatever it is, over on The Stir blog, there’s a brilliant and far too short post about Celebrities Who Write Cookbooks … But Maybe Shouldn’t. It includes:

• Skinny Italian by Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice. Really?
• Kill It and Grill It: A Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish by Ted Nugent. This one is more than a little scary.
• In the Kitchen With Miss Piggy: Fabulous Recipes from My Famous Celebrity Friends by, you guessed it, Miss Piggy. Really. It has 4.5 stars on Amazon.com. Really. Ok, only 5 people rated it, but still…

There’s more on the blog. Go read it. In the meantime, I’d like to add a few to the list.

• Chicago Cubs Cookbook: All-Star Recipes from Your Favorite Players
• Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood: Stories and Recipes to Share with Family and Friends
• Hot Italian Dish: A Cookbook by Victoria Gotti
• Cookin’ with Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price by Coolio
• Estefan Kitchen by Emilio Estefan

And then, further blurring the line between reality and television, there are the cookbooks based on TV series, because who doesn’t want to eat like the Sopranos?

• The Sopranos Family Cookbook: As Compiled by Artie Bucco by Allen Rucker
• Entertaining with the Sopranos by Carmela Soprano
• Desperate Housewives Cookbook: Delicious Dishes from Wisteria Lane by Christopher Styler
• The Star Trek Cookbook by Ethan Phillips and William J. Birnes

The only one I’m tempted by, because, hey, it’s Aunt Bee:

• Aunt Bee’s Mayberry Cookbook by Ken Beck

And lest you think it doesn’t look that bad, this list barely scratches the surface of the tip of the iceberg when it comes to celebrities who publish cookbooks.

With all of the fabulous cookbooks out there by respected professionals who bend over backwards to make menus and meals quick, easy, simple, sustainable, nutritious, organic and tasty, I don’t understand the appeal of celebrity cookbooks. Then again, I don’t have to.