More Alton Brown & Good Eats shorts on FN YouTube
Feb 3rd
Big thanks to reader Hector for infoming me that more of Alton Brown’s Good Eats shorts are available on Food Network’s YouTube channel. Here are some of the newest additions:
By the way, don’t you just love the title references in these.
Bringing Home the Fish
Looking for Mr. Goodfish
Brine Me a Dinner
How Brown was my Onion
Alton Brown’s perfect cornbread
Jan 31st
As a born and bred Appalachian, cornbread resides in the fiber of my being. Yet until a few years ago, I looked to box and packaged mixes to make this staple of my cooking heritage. Growing up I remember my grandmother’s cornbread, always made with white cornmeal (she was adamant about using white cornmeal), never sweet and with a twang of buttermilk. When I looked to break from the sweet and unsatisfying packaged cornbreads, the only requirement I had was for it not to be sweet because, to me, that wasn’t cornbread. Unfortunately looking through my vast collection of culinary tomes, all I found were recipes including sugar.
Dismayed by the lack of understanding cornbread is bread and not cake, thus not requiring sugar, it hit me. Look to my culinary hero, Alton Brown for the answer. Surely a good Southern boy such as AB would give me what I needed–cornbread sans sugar.
I turned to I’m Just Here for More Food, vaguely remembering cornbread in there from the first scan of the newly purchased book. Lo and behold–cornbread without sugar! What a genius Alton is.
That was circa 2004 and all of these years later my go to cornbread is AB’s “Cornbread No Chaser.” The only tweak made to it is using buttermilk instead of milk as listed. I prefer the added twang and throwback to my grandmother’s style.
In making this many, many times I have found the 15 minute soak of the cornmeal in heated milk to be vital in achieving a light and fluffy texture.
By the way, AB gives the suggestion on page 118, “The key is the cast-iron skillet.” And I concur. Make this in a cast iron skillet and you will be especially pleased with the outcome.
Recap on Alton Brown’s healthier eating
Jan 5th
It is great to see the fervor over the new episode and Alton Brown’s tips on healthier eating. I promise to get a review/info on the new episode up shortly. In the meantime, the FAQ of the day is about Buff Like Me. It does not exist… yet. AB has said he plans to write a book on his weight loss, but when that will come out who knows. I was more curious if the title was a play on the book Black Like Me.
Here is his list:
Daily
- Fruits
- Whole Grains
- Leafy Greens
- Nuts
- Carrots
- Green Tea3 times a week
- Oily Fish
- Yogurt
- Broccoli
- Sweet Potato
- AvocadoOnce a week
- Red meat
- Pasta
- Dessert
- AlcoholNEVER!
- Fast Food
- Soda
- Processed meals/frozen dinners
- Canned soup
- “Diet” anythingEat breakfast every day, no exceptions.
The smoothie did look great, I need that because of the soy milk since I’m lactose intolerant. And the sardine toast looked amazing, I’m ready to make that at work much to enjoy of my co-workers I am certain.
I have been doing my own weight loss attempts for about a year, though not as successful as Alton, so it would be nice to incorporate some of this information. However, the part on sweets… he’s a man and doesn’t need his chocolate at least once a month, right gals? LOL
Alton Brown reveals weight loss secrets
Jan 3rd
The episode that explains Alton Brown’s weight loss strategy will premiere Monday, January 4 at 8 p.m.
Live and Let and Diet will cover sherried sardine toast, ginger almonds and buff smoothie.
More on Alton Brown’s Tasty Award
Dec 10th
The nice (and wise) folks running the Tasty Awards gave me a little quote on the reason Alton Brown was selected to receive the Lifetime Achievement award this January.
“The TASTY AWARDS committee felt that Alton had demonstrated a level of quality programming, information, skills, and entertainment over a considerably long period of time, and that these attributes had contributed not only to the lifestyles of his viewers, but also to the amount of respect he has among his peers. We are honored to have named him the recipient of our first Lifetime Achievement Award.”
I think that’s good enough reason!
Again, a big congrats to AB for the honor.
Besides getting the Tasty Award for Lifetime Achievement, Alton is also in the running for Viewers Choice “Best Male Host in a Series”
Head over to the website for the awards and vote for AB!
Tasty Awards Viewers Choice
Alton Brown honored with Tasty Award
Dec 10th
As if his legions of loyal fans didn’t already know, Alton Brown is the best host of a TV cooking show… ever. Now the folks at the Tasty Awards, an award for outstanding food & fashion programs on television, in film, and online, will present a Lifetime Achievement award to AB!
I would like to send a big congratulations to the best culinary teacher, the creator of the best culinary programs around, writer of fantastic cookbooks, et al.
The awards are handed out January 14 in San Fransisco with live streaming video and a telecast to air in February.
Bid on a signed Alton Brown chef’s coat
Dec 10th
Thanks to a fellow fan for the head’s up on charity auction for the Share Our Strength 
program. Over on eBay, fans can bid on a Food Network chef’s coat signed by Alton Brown.
All of the winning proceeds go to the organization.
The auction ends Dec. 12.
A few years ago I bid on AB’s FOA2 leather jacket but unfortunately it got out of my price range quickly. And since I’ve met Alton so many times now, I’ll just promo the auction instead of participating in it.
Good luck!
This year’s Christmas recipes from Good Eats
Dec 4th
Apparently the recipes from the Christmas special are not posted on Food Network’s site, yet. Until they get the yummy goodness from Alton Brown, I have transcribed them from the show. But beware, I’m not promising these are accurate and worthy, but it is a start.
Wassail
Apples:
- 6 small Fuji apples
- brown sugar
- 1 cup of water
Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Core the six apples and place in glass baking dish. Fill the hole of each apple with brown sugar. Use a funnel to fill the apples and tamp down the sugar. Add 1 cup of water to the baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes, until tender.
Base:
10 whole cloves
10 all spice berries
1 2 inch cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
750 ml Maderia
72 oz ale
6 eggs
Place the cloves, all spice berries, cinnamon in a muslin tea bag. In a slow cooker, add the spice bag, nutmeg and ginger to the Maderia and ale. Cover and bring to 120 degrees.
Separate the whites and yolks of six eggs. Beat the whites to stiff peaks with a high mixer. Beat the yolks to the ribbon stage. Work the whites into the yolks with the mixer. Temper the egg foam with three 6 ounce ladles of the base.
Add the apples and the liquid from baking to the mixture.
Oyster Stuffing
Preheat oven 350 degrees
1/4 cup duck fat
1 1/2 cup onions
1 cup celery
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound staled and crumbled cornbread
5 oz oyster crackers, crumbled
1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
2 eggs , slightly beaten
1 pint small oysters with liquor
Cook the onions and celery, with the salt and pepper, in the duck fat until the veggies are translucent. About 10 minutes.
Combine the cornbread, crackers, herbs, celery, onions, oysters and the eggs. Mix together with hands, breaking up the oysters in bit size pieces. Return the mixture to the pan. Don’t over pack. Bake 30-35 minutes until golden, brown and crispy.
Sugar Plums
6 oz toasted slivered almonds
4 oz dried plums
4 oz apricots and figs
1/4 teaspoon anise seeds
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 honey
pinch of salt
1 cup course sugar
In a food processor chop the almonds, dried plums, apricots and figs. Toast the anise seeds, fennel seeds and caraway seeds. Add the toasted seeds, cardamom, confectioners sugar, salt, honey in a bowl and mix together.
Form into 1/4 ounce balls. Dry the balls for a few hours or overnight, covered with a towel.
After drying, roll the balls in our hand to warm and coat in course sugar.
Alton Brown in Florida
Nov 29th
Alton will be doing a book signing at Costco in Winter Park, Fla., on Saturday, Dec. 12 at Noon.
For more information visit the website:
Alton Brown’s Sweet Potato Pie
Nov 25th
To honor the upcoming holiday and to participate in an awesome group I learned about on Twitter, last weekend I decided to finally make Alton Brown’s sweet potato pie. This recipe is one languishing on the “to cook list.” However, since the time of the year brings us a bounty of sweet potatoes at the old megamart there was no better time to cross it off the list.
First I started with locating some fine sweet potatoes and resisting from calling out the produce manager on labeling the bin “yams.”
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
Surprisingly, the 1.3 pounds of sweet potatoes call for was only two large taters.
For the crust, instead of allowing myself to heed AB’s approval of using frozen pie crust, I opted to make a crust. This idea sprang from another pumpkin pie recipe I saw years ago. It is a ginger snap crust. About 30 crushed snaps (store bought, yeah I admit it), two tablespoons of melted butter and some sugar. The crumbs, sugar and butter are mixed together and pressed into a pie pan. In my case, a nifty peacock blue Fiestaware pie dish. Then blind baked for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
While the crust was baking, actually before, I started the sweet potatoes cooking using Alton’s method of steaming. The only way I’ve cook sweet taters before is microwaving. But for larger amounts the steaming method is easy, though not quick. The sweet potatoes ended up needing an extra five minutes in the steamer to become full soft.
Before makes this pie, I checked the reviews on Food Network’s site. Seems a lot of people complained about the yogurt, saying it gave the pie a funny taste. One reviewer even complained about the lemon, I never figured that one out since there is absolutely no lemon in the recipe. Odd.
The yogurt did not make the pie taste strange. I have used yogurt in several recipes, a lot of them from AB, and it never makes the dish taste strange. I thought maybe because I like yogurt the taste didn’t bother me, so I asked my mom if she noticed anything odd about it. She doesn’t like yogurt. She told me it was a great pumpkin pie and has said talked about the next time I make it. So, yeah, it went over well.
The only change made was omitting the maple pecan topping. Since I have a nut allergy it had to go.
Although I liked the ginger snap crust, the next time I’m trying a traditional pie crust.
Note the snazzy oven mitts. 
Oh, if your curious the Twitter group takes a monthly theme on food and post writings or photos about the theme and tweets to #letslunch.
Since there is an apparent canned pumkin shortage this year, make the best pumpkin pie using AB’s sweet Potato pie recipe.
