My Good Eats Fan Video

I did it. I entered a contest. I submitted a minute long video for a chance to to meet Alton Brown and be part of the Good Eats 10th Anniversary Special. If I win, it would truly be a dream come true. And how often does somebody get a chance like this. I couldn't let this opportunity go by without at least trying.

I found out about the contest from fellow AB fan Lisa over at the All About Alton blog. There are six winners, so I hope we are both part of the chosen few. I think the video turned out well, and I think I may have a fighting chance to be selected. The judging is next week, so I'll know soon enough. In the meantime, check out the video, if you'd like...



I have been getting reports of people not being able to view the video here. If that is the case for you, you can view the video directly at:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/happy-anniversary-good-eats/package/index.html

It is entitled 'Growing Up with Good Eats' and was submitted on 08/03/2009; it should be on the first 2 or 3 pages under the 'Most Recent' section. If it doesn't work here, try going there. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Jar Story

I asked for a spice rack for my birthday a few years ago and Angela delivered twofold. She gave me two nice wooden spice racks that held twelve jars apiece; each jar adorned with its own custom made label for the herb, spice, or spice blend it held lovingly inside. I soon realized that twenty-four jars wasn't enough to meet the demands of all my spicy needs, so I purchased some tin containers that I velcroed on the inside of one of my cabinet doors (a technique I learned from Alton Brown). I have a total of twelve tin containers, so that gives me a total of thirty-six containment units for my herbs and spices.

I always buy my dried herbs and spices in bulk, except for those darned grains of paradise. The cost of bulk is so much less than buying prepackaged, it sometimes feels wrong to get them so cheap. It doesn't hurt that The Sunspot has the best bulk section around, so my needs are almost always met, except for those darned grains of paradise. But anyway, I need the spice jars and tin containers so that I don't have a bunch of loose plastic twist tied bags piling up in my cabinets full of herbs and spices; that was getting out of hand.

Over the years, my glass jars have begun to show signs of their age, not the jars so much as the lids. They have flip top lids, one side flips up for shaking and the other flips up for pouring. To my chagrin, the flaps have begun to break off from overuse on the ones I use the most. I decided it was time for some new jars, so I met with Ang at The Sunspot a few weeks ago and we looked in the Frontier catalog for some replacement jars. They didn't have the exact same jars I had, but I found some that I thought would fit the bill. She ordered six for me, so I could see if they would fit, since each shelve of my current spice rack holds six. If they did fit, I would have her order me eighteen more.

Just as I was hoping, the six fit perfectly and she ordered me the rest. I picked them up on Sunday and am in the process of making labels for my new jars. I've also taken this opportunity to shake things up a bit. Since my tin containers are smaller than my glass jars, I am going to transfer some of the higher volume herbs and spices that I use from tin to glass. I'm quite excited about it. I'll post a picture of my new look spice racks once my project is complete, but in the meantime, you'll just have to settle for a picture of my fancy new jars. Aren't they pretty?

More Alton

After I posted about Alton Brown yesterday, I stumbled upon a blog called All About Alton Brown. It is a wonderful site created by a devoted fan, check it out if you can. As I was scrolling down the page, I noticed a cool picture with a caption that read "AB's new cookbook available in October!" I excitedly clicked on the picture and it took me to a page that described the new book. Here is what it said:

Alton Brown is a foodie phenomenon: a great cook, a very funny guy, and—underneath it all—a science geek who’s as interested in the chemistry of cooking as he is in eating. (Well, almost.) Here, finally, are the books that Brown’s legion of fans have been salivating for—two volumes that together will provide an unexpurgated record of his long-running, award-winning Food Network TV series, Good Eats.
From “Pork Fiction” (on baby back ribs), to “Citizen Cane” (on caramel sauce), to “Oat Cuisine” (on oatmeal), every hilarious episode is represented. Each book—the second will be published in fall 2010—is illustrated with behind-the-scenes photos taken on the Good Eats set. Each contains more than 140 recipes and more than 1,000 photographs and illustrations, along with explanations of techniques, lots of food-science information (of course!), and more food puns, food jokes, and food trivia than you can shake a wooden spoon at.

I can hardly wait! I use my other Alton cookbooks all the time! I know what some of you may be thinking; why do I need the book if I can just go to foodnetwork.com and get all the recipes I want for free. I'll tell you. It's not because of the behind-the-scenes photos, or just so I can add it to my collection. If this cookbook presents the recipes in the same format as the others, giving the weight as well as the volume of the ingredients, I will be thrilled.

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Because of Alton Brown I like to measure my ingredients (such as flour) by weight instead of by volume because it provides a more accurate result. Most of the recipes on foodnetwork.com only show the volume, and it is important to be as exact as possible, especially when baking. Just think, this new book could take The Chewy to a whole new level.