Where is Alton Brown?

Flipping through the latest edition of the Food Network magazine I notice, for the second issue in a row, an Alton Brown drought. It makes me wonder what the marketing and programming execs think of his show. It's informative, entertaining, and above all it's about actual cooking. Being that Good Eats is the only real cooking show left on prime time Food Network; it appears that FN is headed down the road of mindless entertainment that History Channel and others have fallen to. If history is now about loggers and fishermen, then obviously all foodies want is reality shows about cake.

So, the magazine. No Alton, no Giada, but there is Sandra and and even Jamie Oliver talking about making lunches for his strangely named children. And of course Bobby Flay is all over. How did he become the poster child for FN? Really, can't somebody else rehash the same southwest dishes over and over now? There's also plenty from all of the newer stars. Is the FN magazine just an advertising campaign for the next generation of foodie fodder?

Where's Alton? There's plenty in this issue he could have contributed. Ellie Krieger is making granola bars, there's an article on punch, a question about if any chefs tape shows at home, Ted Allen answering food science questions (including broiling with the door ajar), etc. All classic Good Eats and Alton Brown themes. I like to think Alton is just too damn busy with all of his other projects to contribute. Yeah, that makes me feel better. OK, I've rambled enough and have to get back to painting the living room now.

Good Eats Sidekicks

It's just over a year old, but I ran across this video interview of Lucky Yates and Bart Hansard conducted by Mike Menn of the long standing Good Eats Fanpage.  You'll recognize these guys from their many guest roles on Good Eats; often antagonizing Alton.  Bart has starred as Sid the talent agent (one of my favorites) and the evil Cocoa Carl.  Lucky has also had several appearances, such as the Igor-esque dungeon keeper, Satan, and sometimes can be seen behind the butcher counter.

Brief bearded Alton Brown cameo as a bonus!
Enjoy!

Admiral Alton Brown Hits the High Seas

Feeling Punchy was a feather in that big hat Alton Brown was wearing aboard his trading ship on the latest installment of Good Eats.  I'd rate this as one of his best mixes of history, entertainment, food science, and recipe selections.  He hit all the bases and had his prop guys working overtime.  I had been expecting a more Caribbean theme after his exploits on the high seas to our south, so this was a pleasant surprise.

The opening scene is defintiely the picture that comes to my mind when I think of a bowl of punch.  A stuffy, yet not fancy event, and a big bowl of 7UP, fruit juice, and some nasty blobs of sherbet floating around.  The grandma dumping her own bottle of spirits into the bowl made the scene; though the follow up was even better.

Admiral Brown on this East India ship was hilarious!  I love the way he hams it up; flicking his hair and yelling at his sailor, while still running through the usual history lesson and making a bowl of punch.  Dunking his Dutch captive into the drink for ice was a great touch.

The lessons in spirits and mixing methods was very informative.  I don't buy much straight alcohol, so it helps to know what to buy and differences in labeling.  At first I was a bit put out because the punch looked so good, but I never have enough people over to enjoy such large batches.  However, knowing the rule of fives will make it easy to convert the recipes into something smaller to fit my needs.

Awesome job Alton!

New Good Eats Monday: Feeling Punchy

Alton Brown is working on some punch recipes for Monday night!  Perfect timing for the hot weather we have this week!  Two punch recipes and a hot toddy; all containing Demerara (raw cane) sugar.  Maybe Alton has some leftover Feasting on Waves footage in store for us from the sugar plantations.

Cape Fear Punch: This one sounds refreshing with a mix of hard liqour, citrus, green tea, and champagne!
Good Eats Company Punch: Black tea, limes, and Arrack.  I imagine a bunch of drunk sailors swilling down some of this concoction!
Hot Toddy: I'll save this one until January.  Scotch, sugar, and lemon.  Classic.

Alton Brown Diamond Salt Clip

There is an Alton Brown clip over at the All About Alton site in which he discusses the differences between table salt and kosher salt.  It was produced for Diamond Crystal, but is nonetheless pure Alton Brown in it's science and level of information.  As any AB fan knows, kosher salt is essential to just about any dish; even if it doesn't come out of a cute little salt cellar.  Here's an old link to one of the morning shows she mentions on the AAA site.

You can also find lots of Alton Brown salt info at the Diamond Crystal site along with another copy of the video. 

Alton Brown's Pork Wellington

Alton Brown's pork Wellington is now on my list of regular meals.  It was easy to make, did not require any rare ingredients or off the wall methods, and was fairly cheap.  I figure I spent around $8 for the ingredients to create an arguably fancy dish.  I'll have to wow some guests with this one!

 

(excuse the bad dough rolling)

The prep work was easy and quick.  Just thaw some puff pastry, trim and slice the tenderloin lengthwise, lay out the prosciutto and you're ready to roll.  Well, almost, the rolling comes later.  For many of AB's recipes I often use a lot of substitutions, but this time there were only minor adjustments.  I used fresh thyme and basil from my herb garden and some of my favorite mustard from Cherry Republic.  Now, time to roll!  The prosciutto slices I had were from the end, so it took quite a few to cover the loin.  Then into the puff pastry with a little egg wash and into the oven.  Cooking time was spot on.  I went with 30 minutes since I don't like pork underdone.  The crust was perfectly golden, except that it was blown out the bottom a bit.  There was a good bit of grease inside, so I propped it up on a cookie rack to drain and cool.

How did it taste?  Awesome!  The mustard really gives it a nice finish.  Thanks Alton!

Very Good Eats

I just finished a plate of Alton brown's Pork Wellington.  Damn it was good!  I'll have to do a write-up tomorrow.