Seduced by the Alton Brown side of the Force

[fenchurch]

It's all nmissi's fault. Though she'll probably blame it on sfdave or something... and, ultimately, I suppose it's really just the fault of Alton Brown, my new television crush. I love his geekiness.

I've been recording "Good Eats" since I got home, and managed to get rackham hooked with the very first episode I watched here. It's gotten to the point that we actually made a brine this weekend for some (very good and well-chosen, thank you AB) pork chops that we then stuffed and grilled. Yum!! I'll be surprised if we make it through the week without making some sort of flan.

For me, cooking has always been about invention. I'm horrible about following recipes, because I look at them and all I can think of are the things that will make them even better (reducing this ingredient, adding that one) and I tend to be a bit slap-dash about measurements. I love coming up with some flavor or texture that I want and figuring out what I need to use to make it work. Or I'll hunt down multiple recipes that look about right, picking and choosing among the shared ingredients to get exactly what I'm looking for... which is why I suck at baking (I've only ever had one "from scratch" cake turn out -- the time I made Lamingtons). It really comes down to how I was taught to cook (i.e. mostly by my grandmother and my great-grandmother) and the nature of our family recipes (which are pretty much impossible to write down, because they invariably contain the phrases "add ingredient X until it looks right" and "add ingredient Y until it smells like it should").

This is why I love Alton Brown. He's such a geek!! He tells us *why*, getting into the chemistry of it all, so that it finally makes sense. I think if I keep watching this show, I'll eventually have no trouble with the baking thing, because I'll finally understand the chemistry behind the ingredients enough to know what and why and how.

In other news, I'm still sick, though after one night of staying awake due to coughing fits, I seem to be fighting off the bronchitis stage of things. Yay!

And I'm beginning to feel like I'm cheating on each of the cats with the other. Seriously, I feel like I have to sneak away from them, lie to them about where I'm going, and I can't help but think they're on to me. Polly has an appointment with the vet on Thursday for her annual exam and vaccination. After that, I think we're going to start letting poor Zoë into the basement of the house (with a baby gate at the top of the stairs to keep the cats separated, hopefully), because I feel horrible about banishing her to the garage for so long.

Comments

GE eps....

[kismatt.livejournal.com]

I LOVE your Icon lolol

Do you have a site where you can get all the GE eps? If not try this: http://www2.digitaldistractions.org:8080/torrents.php for BT DLs. they have allllllllll the eps.

enjoy!!!!! I do....it's my foodtv fix since I lost my cable... :)

[tomte.livejournal.com]

Jeez, I coulda told you Alton Brown was a Kitchen Geek Extraordinaire. No crushy-crushes here or anything, but he's fun to watch. Sort of the Bill Nye of the foodie set.

nmissi has good taste.

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

Welcome to AltonWorld! We're so glad you could join us. :)

[desoto-hia873.livejournal.com]

You're a cat philanderer. :-) Hope you feel better soo.

[silmaril.livejournal.com]

(whisper) Actually, experimentation works with baking, too. It just takes longer.

I'm also a very experimental cook, simply because my shopping style is very incompatible with getting ingredients for specific recipes. And if I had time for another bit of geekiness, I would definitely look into a collection of Alton Brown shows. I caught a few here and there, and he's truly fantastic.

[mlgm.livejournal.com]

Two nice things about Alton: 1) he can explain how to make everyday receipes better. Made the best steak, turkey, and cup of tea after he explained it all. 2) Either he's a really good actor or he's that nice in real life. I've been to a couple of cooking demos he's done and he was terrific.

[jidabug.livejournal.com]

I am also a recent convert to the Alton love. wisteria_ got me to start watching it not long ago and even the hubby loves it...and he doesn't even cook. In fact, while I was off in Atlanta for D*C he watched a couple eps on his own.

[rahirah]

Oh, you haven't encountered Alton Brown yet? He's fun, although he commits several heresies (I'm sorry, Alton, but that travesty is bean soup, not chili, and stuffing? Goes INSIDE the turkey.)

[nmissi.livejournal.com]

I Lurve lurve LURVE that icon. I want one too- now I've got to go shopping for Alton pix.

Get your hands on the cookbooks. I've only got the baking one (That Dave got me, signed, for my birthday) but I've looked at the first one too. They're not as amusing as the shows, but they are chock a block FULL of useful information and "Why stuff happens." Fascinating reading.

Though I'm with Barb on the Chili issue. But I'll leave my turkeys unstuffed. :)

[wildrider.livejournal.com]

Ah, another convert to the great god of the kitchen that is Alton Brown! As rahirah said above, I occasionally have a few disagreements with him (he's an Easterner, what does he know about chili?), but by and large, his kitchen hints are ::awesome:: -- brine? Best thing to happen to meat since animals. I've been brining turkeys and chickens for years now. And oh, wow, you must try the Once and Future Baked Beans, best recipe EVER.

[out-there-5.livejournal.com]

You sound like my friend who cooks the same way you do.If she doesn't have an ingredient that the receipt calls for,she well SUBSTITUTE,but it always turns out fine.Me,I hate to cook.Good luck on keeping the two cats separate.I don't know about his baby gate thing,if it will work or not.