Alton Brown's Steel Lotus

What's shiny, disc-shaped, and stacked on a thin column? No, it's not the Jetson's apartment complex, it's Alton Brown latest kitchen creation: a multi-tiered, non-unitasking, steamer basket. With a piece of threaded rod stock and a couple of stainless steel steamer baskets you too can create your own Steel Lotus! Plans for the three tiered steamer are on Alton's site. Heck, I could fit a six tier unit in the stock pot I use for corn!

His newest creation will be featured in the latest Good Eats episode, The Wing and I, airing Wednesday, January 30th and will be used for, you guessed it, chicken wings. This lead up to the Super Bowl will follow other party food shows like Dip Madness and Man Food. Maybe they'll break out the ol' Miller cardboard cutout of Alton Brown and we'll be all set of a long day of eating Sunday!

Monday Night Good Eats: True Brew IV and American Slicer

Monday night features True Brew IV and, if you missed it the other week, American Slicer. True Brew IV covers making chicken stock, which is a good foundation episode for any cook. American Slicer, however, falls a bit short on its task.

Slicer starts out promising to teach core knife skills, but becomes awkward and, in my opinion,
unfinished. Sure basic cutting techniques are there, slicing, chopping, chiffonade, etc., but key points are left out. For example, he doesn't cover anything about knife sharpening or shopping for a knife; though I did spot an Alton Angle in one scene. The awkwardness comes in two
varieties; the first is the poorvoice over quality in some of POV scenes where the tone of his voice and volume are off. He sounded either bored or annoyed in the voice overs . The second, as Lewis from Table Bread pointed out, is where the action comes to a halt and directs you to the Food Network website to find the recipes. It's not the information little intermissions with catchy music that Good Eats fans are used to and throws the flow out of whack. This show really could have been done as either an hour long episode or in two parts.

P.S. If you love to bake stop by Table Bread. Lewis has some great articles, and lots of baking action shots, over there.

Good Eats, Pickles, and Alton Brown's Culinary Circus

I think the "culinary circus" comment from the Sour Kraut really summed up this episode. There was even one point where Alton was visibly laughing at his own antics. Probably one of my favorite episodes in the past season or two.

Having ventured into preserving this summer and enjoying my jars of pickles I really took interest in the fermentation method. It reminded my of my adventures in home brewing but a lot less work. Now I just need to find a good crock or two. The crock Alton inherited from his grandmother had the thoughtful addition of the weighted lid; I wonder if anybody makes them like that anymore? I'll have to keep my eyes open.

Darth Vader, again? Alton definitely has a favorite Star Wars character! I'm surprised I have seen a Darth Vader cookie jar on the set counter yet.

P.S. The Zevro dispensers I bought for work and been popular! Of course, working midnights I can't see who has been partaking of my treats, but the M&Ms are going much quicker than the roasted peanuts.

Southern Good Eats: The other AB

Last night I caught an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations featuring Charleston, South Carolina. It brought back fond memories of days spent wandering aimlessly downtown amongst the old houses and alleys and eating way too much shrimp! I can't wait to go back in March to visit my parents for a few days. My favorite scene in the show was when he pulled out a picture of Rachel Ray, since she had done a $40/day spot at this place, and asked the waitress how well she tipped. It was perfect!
I used to think Bourdain was an ass, but either I've grown to like him or he has mellowed out enough for me to appreciate his edginess without feeling repelled. In fact, I don't think he gets as annoying as Alton Brown sometimes does when talking to people. I'll have to read more about him and watch some more of his show now that I'm hooked.

Alton Brown, Feasting on Asphalt Conclusion

Feasting on Asphalt Two has come to a close and with it another adventure in local food. While not as dramatic a finish as FOA1, the crew looked much less worse for wear this time. I'm sure the experiences gained on the first trip provided many of life's little lessons and they came more prepared; I didn't see many gravel roads this time :-)

FOA2 didn't provide as much of the cultrural diversity found in the first series, but there is plenty enough difference between making file powder in a bayou backyard to soaking lutefisk in Minnesota to make the trip worth while. The lack of variety really comes from the vast mid-section of the Mississippi, which is likely due to the way people migrated throught he country. New Orleans was an early port and has experienced many cultrual shifts and populatation influxes, such as the Acadians, which gives it more than one distinct flair and the large Scandanavian population adds its own taste to the northern regions. But then there is the heart of the Midwest. This wide, mostly flat expanse of land was populated mainly by pioneers from all along the east coast and also effected by the continuous transient population of many decades of folks heading West to find their fortune or start a new life.

I find an odd variety of this bland indifference where I live in Michigan. I can drive into the Metro Detroit area and find any variety of food imaginable within a few miles yet there is no defining culture that binds the people of this area. Living more out in the farm country I am lucky to have my local eateries, but there isn't anything on the menu that you couldn't get outside of this region. I had never given much thought to this until I spent some time living in Charleston, SC. It was the first time I really felt part of a larger group or community without having to belong to a certain ethnic group or racial type. Everybody is a Southerner in Charleston, but in Detroit it's every man for himself. A traveler, and likely many a Detroiter, would ever have guessed that the French settled this region; there is hardly a trace left and no lasting influence that I can see. Maybe it was all wiped out by the Industrial Revolution which repopulated Motown. I'll have to pay cloaser attention to local nuances when I visit the Upper Penninsula this Fall. Has the Cornish pastie remained a local food or is it all for tourism nowadays?

Back on the topic of FOA. I received my copy of FOA season 1 last week and have really been enjoying every minute of the bonus features. You really get a sense of what Alton was thinking along the way and how worried he was that he had launched into this unplanned voayage of discovery to seek something that no longer existed. Luckily, he was wrong, at least to some extent and found much to love along the way. It will be interesting to watch the entire FOA2 series again after this behind the scenes look and I can't wait to get my hands on FOA2 when it is available with added material.

P.S. I was really excited about my free Viewmaster but felt so let down after discovering it only came with one disk!!!!!!! With so much great photography from the trip how lame! Oh well, it was free.

Feasting on Asphalt 2: Strong Brown God

The long-awaited first episode of FOA2 was Saturday and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. A good mix of Alton Brown, great scenery, and great local food.

As KimberlyKV mentioned in a post here, "There was a little too much fluff,...", referring to the scene outside Mulate's with the tourists gaggling around and his crew eating in the middle of the street. However, we both agree that the rest of the show went well. One has to wonder if Alton really thought he could just pop in at such a landmark restaurant on a busy night or if he had planned it that way in keeping with the 'unplanned ride' theme.

The other taste tests/interviews went much more smoothly. The guy at Big Fisherman cracked me up! All I could think of was Forrest Gump; espcially after eating at Bubba Gump's down in Charleston a few times. You have to admire the guy though; all that hard work and he has managed to build himself a good business from the bottom up. Reminds me of the local restaurants and farm stands around my hometown. There's nothing like getting to know the people who work there and being able to reward their hard work simply by being a steady customer.

The owners and employees at the other destinations, B&C Seafood, Bailey's Andouille, etc. all seemed to take pride in what they do and it's good to see some of that still out there. I'm glad Alton and his crew are able to get the word out there and hopefully bring in some business to the local establishments. Speaking of...if you are looking for info on any of the places from the show check out Alton's website for links. He has a guide broken down into episodes for easy navigation.

I'm looking forward to Saturday night!

Good Eats: Whithering Bites

Well, I missed the new episode this week. I had been looking forward to it since i love dried fruit, but I had more pressing matters to take care of. I put up 17 jar of dill pickles instead. Thinking ahead, I stopped in at Best Buy over the weekend to buy a DVD recorder, but was confused and somewhat let down with what I foudn there. I'll need to do some research first.

I'm also a bit put off at the long gap between re-airings of new episodes. If you miss one you're basically screwed. Whithering Bites doesn't air again until August 18th at 2PM; as if I'm going to be watching TV in the middle of a Saturday.

I will, however, be planted in front of the TV for the second episode of Feasting on Asphalt Saturday night!

Feasting on Asphalt 2 Places Update

Just a quick note: Alton Brown has some links to the places they visited during their trip up the Ole Miss on his site.

Read it here: Feasting on Asphalt 2

Good Eats: Sub Standards

New Good Eats with Alton Brown airs Monday July 16th at 8:00pm EST.

Sub Standards
Whether filling in for your French teacher or your favorite spice, substitutes can be every bit as successful as the original. Join host Alton Brown and a handful of substitute chefs as they take on a few good recipes with one ingredient tied behind their backs.

Pretzel Logic Revisited: Alton Brown Scores

After my disappointment over the poor 'acting' in the coconut cake episode; Pretzel Logic reminded me of why I have been watching Alton Brown and Good Eats for so many years. The first thing that comes to mind is the witty way he uses props and integrates them seamlessly into the show. It may not have been quite as stellar as some of his previous work, but it was much more well executed than some of his recent flops. I also think he managed to stay focused and icorporated the additional material into the theme without wandering off to talk to some old lady in a dark alley. The lawyers did a much better job of adding to the entertainment value while Alton stayed with the cooking and science end of the bargain.
Speaking of entertainment and information, I really need a good dose of Deb and W soon! There's not enough of Chuck lately either. We'll have to wait and see what the rest of the season has in store for us!

Good Eats Coconut Cake

So, with all his time on the road between FoodNetwork events, presentations, and filming Feasting on Asphalt II has Alton had to cut down on production time? More specifically has his availability for filming episodes been cut short? What lodged this thought in my mind was Alton's noticable lack of composure in the Coconut Cake episode tonight. I believe it was the espresso show where this behavior first popped up. I don't mind it at all, seems a bit more natural for him to show a fun-loving side, but it does contrast to what we have been used to for several years.

Of course I could be way off track. The less serious Alton may be part of a conscious effort or a change in film style; that is his background after all. Enough analyzing the host on with the show! I enjoyed this one. It was creative and the entire show was devoted not only to a single ingredient but more pointedly to the cake recipe itself. And although we had a cake historian instead of a food anthropologist, it is clear that certain recipes and foods run deep in the veins of our culture; especially local variations and traditions. While living in Charleston I never had a chance to sample a homemade coconut cake but I did become addicted to she-crab soup and sweet tea and eventually I even warmed up to boiled peanuts. Back here in Michigan I miss the grand scheme of a single unifying culture but can enjoy several different ethnic cuisines within a few miles of home.

The coconut cake. Now I can't see myself going through the effort of making my own coconut milk and cream, but I'm sure it would taste darn good! I leave the baking side of the kitchen to my wife and mabe I can convince her of the need for a coconut sometime soon! Fo myself, pickling and grilling take up enough of my freetime. Speaking of pickling, I can't wait for that episode to roll around!

P.S. Looked like a new Viking stand mixer; needs some flames!

Good Eats Goes Prime Time

Whether it's just for the summer or if Alton's new 8:00pm slot will stick, it says something about the ever so slightly rising popularity of Good Eats. After years of having to stay up late to catch new episodes now the Food Network fringe can finally see their favorite host at a reasonable hour! Tonight kicks off the new time slot, sorry Emeril, with Coconut Cake Revivial and follows up Tuesday night with the recently aired Pretzel Logic.
So, sit back, enjoy, and don't worry about falling asleep during commercials!

Good Eats: Pretzel Logic

In case you missed it, Pretzel Logic will air again this Friday night at 11pm EST. I only caught a few minutes of it while working on a house project, so I've been waiting for it to re-air. Alton Brown will cover both soft and hard pretzels along with preparing your own mustard. All you need is a good, dark beer and you have yourself a meal!

Good Eats: Milk Made and Blueberry Preserves

Oh man! I missed a flippin' new episode! Looks like the kickoff for season 11 was Milk Made. I'll have to try to catch it on Friday evening if I'm home. I really need to invest in a DVD recorder one of these days.

On a positive note: my blueberry preserves turned out really well thanks to Alton Brown. I decided that, living in the country, I should learn the age old art of canning. I bought the basics to get me started and made two batches of jam to get some practice before the harvest comes in. My first two were Alton's blueberry preserves and the stock recipe from Ball's canning book for strawberry rhubarb.
I managed to get a couple stalks of rhubarb from a farmer's stash of the first crop and had a quart-bag of blueberries in the freezer from last year to get me started.

The strawberry rhubarb was decent, but too sugary for my taste. The rhubarb kick helped out though. On the other hand, Alton's blueberry recipe was awesome. I'm going to make a huge batch when the blueberries are in season this year.

Today I made a batch of starberry jam from Michigan's first crop of strawberry's. I love being able to go half a mile down the road and pick up, or pick for myself, fresh fruits and vegtables. We'll see how this batch turns out.

Alton Brown Midland Performance Review

Well, I'm still a bit bumbed that I couldn't go to see Alton up in Midland the other week. I would have been able to just make it in time, but would have been dead tired after being at work all day and then driving a couple of hours. It's bad enough that I spend two or three hours per day driving to and from work. One of these days I'll see him in person, but for now I'll just have to watch Good Eats!

Here's an article for those of you who, like me, could go or just want to read about one of his shows.

So Close, Yet So Far (from Alton Brown)

Well, I'm not going to be able to get out of work early enough to see Alton Brown up in Midland Friday. I left early today to oversee an installation project at home. At least I can try to comfort myself with the notion that I would have been too tired to really enjoy the even anyhow. One of these days I'll see him!

Jam Session

I finally broke down and bought my canning starter kit. Since strawberry season in Michigan is coming in only a few weeks I thought I had better do a practice run to make sure I know what I'm doing once the fresh fruit is in the fields! I naturally turned to Alton Brown for some guidance.
My trial run consisted of Alton's blueberry preserves and a strawberry-rhubarb recipe that was in the little booklet that came with the canning kit. Despite being a practice run I still managed to pack some local-ness into my preserves! I had one remaining bag of blueberries in the freezer from last summer and a local farmer gave me three stalks of her first crop of rhubarb! Gotta love livin' in the country!

All went well with both recipes, but I have to say Alton's blueberry was the winner. The Ball recipe had noticably more sugar which probably covered up some of the bite from the rhubarb, while the blueberry goodness came right through in the other batch. After a week of eating nothing but PBJs I'm ready for fruit picking season to open up!

Alton Brown in Midland, Michigan June 1st

Fellow Michiganders!!! Alton Brown will be coming to the Midland Festival this year! It's $34, but it's Alton Brown in Michigan!

MATRIX:MIDLAND FESTIVAL 2007 EVENTS
An Evening with Alton Brown “Crystals in the Kitchen:
The Effects of Extreme Temperature”

Friday, June 1, 2007 - 7:30 p.m.
You've seen him on cable television's Food Network as the creator, writer and host of the offbeat hit show Good Eats, and as commentator for Iron Chef America. Part jester, part scientist, and entirely entertaining, Brown improvises and ad libs his way through the evening using fun summer recipes plus a bit of liquid nitrogen! One hour cooking demo followed by Q & A and book signing.
Admission: Section A $34, Section B $30 - MCFTA Auditorium

Here's a link to the festival site

Feasting On Asphalt 2: Alton Brown Rides Again!

Alton and his crew were spotted in Natchez, Mississippi at a local blues festival filming for their upcoming FOA2! I can't wait for all of the Good Eats and good scenery they dig up this time around. The first series was so fascinating and included such a wonderful slice of America and I'm sure this one will do equal justice to local cuisine up and down the Mighty Miss!

“We’re trying to discover the authentic,” Brown said. “We’re concerned about the homogenization of culture, especially food culture.

“We’re looking for the real. We figured the river was a good place to do that.”

Here's a link to the article in the Natchez Democrat newspaper!

Alton Brown mixes up some healthy salad dressings

Here's an article I ran across with some Alton Brown recipes. Seems he's always got an extra dish or two up his sleeve! Honey-Leomn Tea and Orange Poppy Seed are the dressing in this listings. Alton has formulated (sounds more Altonesque than created) these two dressings to contain less oil by reducing acidity.

Click here to go to the article and get the recipes!