One of my cooking/eating goals this year is to revisit offal. I'll pretty much eat anything, or at least try something once, but I've not been able get past my childhood memories of liver and tripe. I fear they were not well prepared by mother, who is not an enthusiastic cook, so I'd like to give them another try. I use oxtail a lot for braised stews (not sure if that qualifies as offal), and I've been pleasantly surprised when I've tried a dish, liked it, and later found out there was bits of liver in it. My questions. Where should I start? I'd like to try the whole range of "variety meats," but I think starting with something hardcore, like brains, will bring a quick end to my project. Should I bypass the liver I see at the grocery store and visit my butcher for best quality? Any preparation tips for the offal you recommend? Cookbooks that will make my project go easier? (I have The Good Cook book on variety meats, which has lots of helpful pictures and directions.)