Alton Brown's Grilled Pizza

Here's a a little teaser until I can finish my write-up on the grilled pizza.  I'm about to sit down and watch the taco episode right now!

Alton Brown Store Closing and cooking up Pizza, Pudding, and Tacos

Well friends, the store on Alton Brown's site is currently closed.  I'm hopeful though!  We haven't seen much in the way of innovative products in AB's shop over the years and maybe the clearance and closure portends many new and exciting things to come.  We'll just have to wait and see.  Speaking of, it's about time for me to rummage through Amazon and see what cool Good Eats gear I can find.  Just this past weekend I was lamenting the decision to put off my purchase of A Thermapen instant read thermometer.

In more exciting news: There is yet another new Good Eats episode coming our way!  American Classics VIII: Tacos will premiere Thursday night at 8:30pm EST.  In this show Alton will cover everything from making your own flour tortillas to taco sauce and, of course, the beef and fish in between.

Recent episodes and experimentation at my house!

Yesterday I made a batch of AB's roasted asparagus to go with some grilled NY strip steaks.  Awesome indeed!  He was right about the other flavors asparagus is capable of producing when cooked in various ways.  I've always just steamed mine, but roasting may become a new standard.  I didn't use nutmeg as the recipe calls for, though the lemon zest did add a nice touch.

I managed to find a jar of malted barley syrup at my local Italian produce/meat market.  I was thankful since the closest Whole Foods store is a ways off and that always gets multiplied when you have a toddler in tow.  I also picked up some mozzarella balls and nice, juicy large tomatoes for my first foray into grilled pizza.  I have both of my grills set up and need to decide which will take on this experiment.  Gas would be easier, though I just bought a new grate for my Weber (made BBQ ribs Saturday).  Lisa at the All About Alton blog recently fired up her grill, so head over there for some good pizza reading while I get mine going within the next few days. 

Finally, banana pudding.  This show got me excited!  I used to love the ol' vanilla wafer studded pudding when I was a kid and haven't had it in years!  I'm definitely going to make Alton's vanilla wafers this week; not sure if I'll go all out for the pudding just yet though.

Alton Brown's Grilled Pizza Recipe

Since Food Network has not posted it, Lisa at the All About Alton blog was gracious enough to transcribe Alton's grilled pizza dough recipe along with the variations AB made on the show.

Alton Brown Takes a Second Look at Pizza

Alton's grilled pizza looks good!  Since I have both grills out for some experimenting lately, I may have to do a test batch and see how it comes out.  The only difficulty may be finding a bottle of malted barley syrup; never heard of the stuff.  For what was supposed to be a simplified and quick dish, why did he have to pull out an uncommon ingredient that most people are not going to have around?  I do have some stock-up shopping at the mega mart tomorrow, so hopefully they have it.

Flat is Beautiful follows Age of Asparagus as another good episode focusing on the cooking without too much interruption and/or overkill on the technical details.  The eggs Benedict show annoyed me a bit with the constant use of that damned big red timer.  I've been watching a lot of Jamie Oliver on the Cooking Channel lately and off the wall style emphasizes how overly complicated Alton can get on occasion.  Really, how am I supposed to drop a temperature probe into a pan that I'm holding on to and constantly whisking while moving it from burner to burner while poking the timer with my nose?  While I appreciate the precise measurement and timing required for baking; other dishes need not so much rigidness.  I try to enjoy cooking and too many rules makes it more of a chore or akin to homework.  I don't need to be told that half an ounce of this cheese and 1.5oz. of that cheese is the specified amount for my pizza; that's something better left to individual judgment.

That said; the methodology in this episode was much more compact than the original Flat is Beautiful, which Food Network had the sense to air right before for comparison.  You can really see how far Good Eats has advanced in the 9 years between episodes.  There's no more stop/start action and tangents int he middle of a process; the layout and transitions is much more fluid.  I also noticed that Alton pokes fun at himself in both; labeling himself a 'nerd' in the first and the into commentary in the second.  And, of course, the Emma Peel gag made it's way into both.  In Good Eats: The Early Years, AB mentions a fan gave him a peel engraved with 'Emma.'  I guess that didn't make it into the new show.

If I can get my hands on some malted barley syrup and, hopefully, find a bit of time this week, I'll try to get some pizza making pictures up.  Don't hold your breath too long, I may not get out to grill until next week since I work all weekend.

p.s.  For a little eye candy, here's some chicken yakitori I made yesterday:

From Alton Brown and Good Eats

Good night and Good Eats!