My Quest for Good Eats #7: Learning from Grandmother is your best bet

One thing that some may not know about Alton Brown is he is a good ole southern boy like me. It's yet another reason why I like him so much and kind of feel like he is the tv chef that fits me so well. I not only had a moment in life where I wore nothing but flower print shirts but also chose to speak proper english on my own accord and be a science nerd. So when I checked the recipe for my next assignment there weren't any big suprises. The recipe was biscuits and it happened to be his grandmothers recipe. The ingredients and style were uncannily similar to my own grandmothers so I did something that would not offend him in the least. I ran to my own grandmother to learn about the best biscuits I have ever eaten and ever will eat in my life. Explaining the process is something I won't do because I feel its a bit more subtle than just typing out a bunch of steps. Needless to say my grandmother is a wonderful teacher and under her guidance I made a stellar bunch of biscuts (picture in the link) I am proud of the work I did with this one and they tasted as good as they looked. It was easily the most satisfying recipe I have done so far but then again what could possibly beat learning from the person that got you into cooking in the first place? The response is obvious..nothing beats learning from your grandmother..nothing.

My Quest for Good Eats #6- Experimenting with ice

It's been a while since I did one of these. Why you may ask? Well there was one thing standing in my way. The search for orange preserves. The recipe for sorbet in the Good Eats book was one for a key lime version but I had a problem. The test subjects don't like key lime. So I got to work doing what Alton taught me in his other books. Recipes don't always have to stick to everything that's on the page. So I realized that the recipe required a citrus so why not replace it with another? Orange was the answer! I went on the hunt for Orange Preserves and came up empty..even if I had gone with the original recipe key lime preserves were absent as well from the shelves. After a long search that had me going to other citys with better markets and even looking on my recent vacation to Gatlinburg I finally gave up and used the next best thing I could find. Orange marmalade. As I got my ingredients ready I realized something else absent from the kitchen..A grater for zests. I did my best with the tools I had and the recipe actually came out quite nice. The only real problem is I didn't get the zests as finely grated as I wanted so a few pieces had to be removed during eating but it wasn't a complete failure. Still A nice refreshing treat that I will keep in mind for warm summer days!

My Quest for Good Eats #5- Coolness and Patience

The time had come..my first foray into confencinton. What is it you ask? Why Ice Cream of course! I hear your crys now. "Ice Cream isn't candy!" thats something I would think to but I will Quote Alton by saying this "All candy making is about controlling sugar crystals." When you think of it that way then yes I did indeed make my first candy. How did it go? It went wonderful..normally I provide a picture but the key to this process is time. Chilling the ice cream maker for 24 hours in the freezer, Chilling the ice cream mix for at least 6 hours, churning until it reaches soft serve consitancy, and then freezing it for 2 hours. Then and only then can you enjoy ice cream heaven. Instead of a vanilla bean I had to add vanilla extract at the end of the mix before chilling it. I tryed to find one..trust me I even took a pligramage to my not so local Kroger to try to find one but no dice. That being said it still tastes wonderful. The best discription I can give it is a properly made batch of snow cream. For those that have no idea what it is google it and then try it next winter..you will be glad you did! Once we get rid of the ice cream around here I have one more frozen confection to try before this episode is done..with a bit of fiddling with flavors this time..if ever there were times that Altons push to not be a slave to recipes..this will be the time! 

Alton Brown on Sesame Street

For those that follow the content on the blog you may know that I'm a huge fan of Alton Brown. After all there is a reason I'm choosing to cook through his books of all the food network stars I could choose from! Here is him giving a recipe for fun with an aparently new member of Sesame Street..shows hows quick a few years can change something when you don't keep an eye on it..

Sesame Street: Alton Brown: Recipe

My Quest For Good Eats #4- A Bird in the pan is the first Bird I ever cooked!

The First few episodes of Good Eats had their challenges as they always will have. After last time I learned to never expect anything to be easy but this time..I had no chance to even expect it to be even close to easy. It was time for me to take a step into a whole new level of cooking. I was to make a chicken..not part of one but a whole chicken. Not owning a mortar and passel is something I must remedy while I'm on the topic of challenges with this however in true Alton Brown kitchen hackery spirit I made my own with a bowel and the handle of a metal ice cream scoop. Made just as fine a paste and it made me quite proud of it. Then came butterflying the bird. Standing there like an intern in his first surgery I held the knife. I found all the bones fine but I had to call in help. While I do all this I really must exercise more..otherwise I'll never have leverage like my dad does..Had to have him push down so the bone would snap properly as it was very very insistent on staying put! In comparison the rest was a bit more..lets go with nice shall we? Chopping up veggies for the first time felt very natural as I finally got to use the knife skills I had observed and absorbed through to much watching of cooking shows. All in all the end result is something I can be proud of and is something I will keep in mind for when I have any sort of guests over. The next recipes in my journey will be more about patience then having leverage but still given they fall on just the right time of year for something cold should be rather satisfying just as this adventure was this time!

My quest for good eats #4: In a salad daze

As I eluded to last time if there is one word that gives a bit of a instant dislike for me its the word salad. For me a salad means all the woody veggies that I don't care for. I eat them alright but not the woody ones. So for this part of my journey I went in with no experience and said "this shouldn't be to hard..just a salad" HA! If you ever see me say that sort of stupid statement ever again you have permission to call me out in front of god and everyone in the room! I first made a vinaigrette with a nice little concoction of flavors..a bit to strong for my tastes or the real salad eater in the house, my mom, tastes either..vinegar isn't something for everyone. I even adjusted the salad recipe a bit to make for the fact that there are some gluten alergies in the house as well. This took what already wasn't as easy as I thought and made me think on my feet..and that is a good thing. To quote Alton Brown himself from the book I'm Just Here for the Food "Cooking requires not just knowledge but understanding, and requires thought."  That means someone wanting to cook needs to be able to adapt and not always be a "slave to a recipe" It's statements like this that make me love Alton Browns way of thinking as much as I do. As for how the whole ordeal went? Well it was a good learning experience and to quote my mother "If there had been a little less lemon juice then it would have been perfect" which when I tasted it myself I agreed completely with and as I stated above I am not a salad person yet I liked it..if not for to much juice. This is what my journey is really about to take chances with food I have never even tried to do and make it happen even if I manage to add one thing to much. I still know how to make a basic salad now for various occasions whether I play host to a guest who likes salads or maybe be the guy that brought the salad. It still comes in use..and I made my first emulsion of this journey! If I recall my good eats episodes right though..it will not be my last!

My quest for good eats #3 Cracking Open The Egg Files

Not every week in my journey of going through all of Good Eats will result in you guys seeing a Vid Blog. In this weeks case I did a very simple prep that I felt really would be the most boring thing to watch that only took a few minutes. It was my first dive into one of the several "series" inside the Good Eats Library of programs. In this case " The Egg Files" is if my memory serves me right is the one with the most installments for one reason. You can do alot with eggs! In this case though it dealt with two basic preps one of which I have done before. The first was making a Egg Over easy style..this was the first time I done this prep and I'm quite proud of the results. According to my mom it was quite good..not my favorite way to have an egg though. My favorite way to eat an egg is good old fashioned scrambled. This was the second way of making them and the way I had done before with one difference, I had only done one egg at a time before because I normally only eat one. This time I had five eggs because i made the whole batch for the whole family. Again I'm happy with how it came out. It may not have been the most learning I have done in this journey so far but the feeling still hasn't changed. I did it..on my own with no help..bonus points for fighting my mother off for wanting to help out of habit since we have cooked alot together. Next week I deal with not exactly my favorite of dishes..but what could it be? If you have the book you can obviously cheat and look ahead..but where would the fun in that be?

My Quest For Good Eats #2 Mashers and Cake

The quest continues with a try of mashed potatoes or "mashers" and what to do with the leftovers. It's my cook through of episode 2 This Spuds For You.

My Quest For Good Eats #2 Mashers and Cake

My Quest For Good Eats #1 Steaking My Claim

It now begins! My cook through the entire good eats book starts with episode 1(big surprise..) It's steaks and Blue Cheese Sauce.

My Quest For Good Eats #1 Steaking My Claim