This is the first Good Eats episode that has made me laugh out loud since the Dutch Baby incident. When the gingerbread man popped out of the oven I seriously laughed my ass off. I wasn't expecting that at all. The big gingerdude didn't do much for me though; not as cool as the Fighting Okra.
I haven't tried straight ginger in years. A decade or so ago I bought some candied ginger and did not like it at all; which is surprising since I'll eat just about anything. Maybe it's time to try it again since it looks pretty simple to make. Measuring out equal weights of ginger and sugar might be a good excuse to finally get a kitchen scale for my birthday. I don't bake much so I keep putting it off. I plan on making the ginger ale, so I'll need to buy some ginger anyhow. This could be my first step towards returning to beer brewing!
Speaking of buying ginger...Alton needs to curb his obsession with not-so-easy to come by ingredients and his over the top methods of transporting other stuff. I'm not going to bring a cooler to the grocery store just because I need to pick up some phyllo dough and I'm not going to shell out $10 for shipping to buy a piece of dried ginger. Sure, it may be better than the stuff in the jar, but unless I really, really like a particular food I'm not going through that much trouble. Aside from the extra effort, I think it may turn off some people who are new to the show or aren't too experienced in the kitchen. He could present these as options and not bash the common forms of the ingredients that most people are likely to have easy access to or even have on hand. And judging by the lab equipment he used to grind that bit of ginger leaves me wondering if my coffee grinder or blender would be up to the task anyhow. OK, off my soapbox now.
Finally, I have to say the hair was looking better; more Alton Brown-ish if you will. It's still long, but more towards the crazy Alton style than a tangly mess. Maybe he does listen to his fans ;-)
