First, the writing is fabulous--creative, witty, and irreverent--exactly what we expect from Alton Brown. The book begins with several excellent introductory chapters. In "Hardware," the author illustrates his favorite kitchen tools, from miniscule to large, often naming brand names. "Pantry" describes some of his favorite ingredients, from "amaranth" to "white cornmeal." He provides tips for buying, storing, using, and occasionally recipes (for example, five-spice powder). "Methods" describes many: from clarifing butter to using a pressure cooker. "Bar" tells us all about his favorite spirits. Recipes use an ingenious (naturally) one-letter notation system to bring us back to these chapters: a clickable "P" on an ingredient will take you to the Pantry chapter; "M" takes you to the Method of preparation; "H" and "B". Every recipe has a color photo and a short but informative headnote about the ingredients and/or technique. Kindle formatting is outstanding: everything is clickable: TOC, embedded recipes, in addition to the P H M B notes mentioned above. There are 2 clickable indices: by category (a course or type of ingredient); and by method (bake, deepfry).
All of the ingredients are extremely accessible and affordable: available in, as Brown would say, "our local Megamart;" if not,he tells us where to find them in his Pantry chapter. I live in the far North, inland, in the middle of nowhere, with an itty-bitty grocery store, and no Whole Foods in my State. However, for the handful of harder-to-find proteins, we do have a good butcher (oxtails) and fishmonger (oysters, mussels, squid, snapper) in town, and so virtually all ingredients except for two vegetables are available to me locally or via amazon. The author uses fresh black-eyed peas for his New Year's Day dish, but, for last New Year's, I just amazoned dried Camellia beans from Louisiana. I'm not going to find shisito peppers locally, but google tells me I can substitute green bell pepper. The author does like a TB of bourbon or other spirits in his recipes here and there. When it comes to prepared ingredients, here comes some classic Alton Brown fun: he tops his favorite sandwich--yes, the author was likewise astonished to realize that he loved it when he discovered it in a NYC sandwich shop, a "Roast Broccoli Hero," with French's Crispy Fried Onions. Other recipes call for canned black beans, chickpeas, pumpkin puree, tomatoes, dried spaghetti, and a beef ramen flavor packet. What does he use for fondue? Velveeta.
How could this be an Alton Brown cookbook if the author did not play with some special toys from time to time? He must have had great trouble picking only a few from what must be a garage full of cooking equipment. I have almost all of his favorite tools in my kitchen, many acquired for great prices on Amazon--mandoline, food processor, cast-iron skillet, instant-read thermometer, good knives, utensils such as a microplane and others, and an Instant Pot to use for Brown's 3 pressure-cooker recipes. I don't have a nitrous oxide charger (2 recipes) a smoker (3 recipes), a large 12-14" deep camp oven (1 recipe), a wok (1 recipe), or a panini press (1 recipe), but I appreciate knowing how Brown uses his, just as I loved watching his fried-turkey episode on "Good Eats." I counted 100 recipes, so I certainly don't feel left out if I don't have the equipment called for a few. However, his most-frequently-called-for piece of "special equipment" is a cast-iron skillet--and what Southern cook doesn't cherish a cast-iron pan (the book even provides a pictorial on how to clean it). I did, however, succumb to tool lust and sneak off to Amazon to check out nitrous oxide chargers, which pros use for whipped cream and Brown uses for pancake batter and chocolate mousse.
Finally, the recipes. Here, too, they're accessible and, for the most part, easy: good for weeknights or fun weekend cooking. For example, he really would love it if we made our own yeast pizza dough, so that's some elapsed time but some fun family time (follow the color photos for technique of rolling out the dough). However, the time required for making pizza dough is an exception. The author does a little bit of frying, but how could this be a Southern cook's book without it? He provides quite a few cocktail recipes, and quite a few dessert recipes.
Moreover, the author knows how to teach people to cook, whether on film or in cookbooks, so the recipes are very 1-2-3--no surprises: if you need a special tool, he'll call your attention to it in the "Hardware" headnote. You'll learn special terms to describe the process of cooking: for example, "dump" (as in, how to put ingredients into your food processor). Why does a recipe call for 2 bottles of lager beer when only 1/2 cup is needed? The rest is for the cook, of course. It's a fun read. In short, this is truly one of the rare "celebrity" cookbooks in which the vast majority of recipes are truly accessible in almost every way (except for the camp oven) for the vast majority of home cooks.
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Great flavor and interesting techniques! Love this book!
Oh, this is a fantastic book! I ran out of sticky notes flagging things to try.My thoughts and pics on dishes we tried:1) Roast Broccoli Hero – p 68. I’m starting with this one because it was the biggest surprise. My husband looked sad when I told him we were having broccoli sandwiches for dinner. Then he tried it and loved it! Great sandwich! Sweet pickles marinated in garlic, ginger, chili sauce and sesame oil, roast broccoli, French fried onions (the can!), mayo and ricotta salata. My store didn’t have ricotta salata, so I subbed in feta.2) Overnight Coconut Oats – p 22. Easy peasy, healthy, and delicious. The berry coconut blend is lovely. One of my kids wanted to make it again just a few days later.3) Garam Masalmon Steaks – p 142. Yum! These are super flavorful. I had to use salmon fillets, though.4) No-Can Tomato Soup – p 52. This is a really nice tomato soup done in the pressure cooker.5) Grilled Cheese Grilled Sandwich – p 53. These are supposed to be done on the grill, but it started raining right when I got the chimney filled, so I had to make them in a grill pan instead. Delicious grilled cheese. The mustard and paprika blended into the cheese gives it extra sharpness and smokiness.6) Seedy Date Bars – p 36. Okay. They’re nutritional powerhouses. Three out of four in this house thought these were really earthy tasting. They definitely taste healthy. But, my youngest is a Lara Bar head, and she enjoyed them.I’ll update this as I play in the book more!Some others I have flagged to try: Breakfast Carbonara – p 2 * Always Perfect Oatmeal – p 4 * Buttermilk Lassi – p 7 * Grits with Shrimp – p 18 * Chilaquiles – p 21 * Mr. Crunchy – p 27 * Peach Cobbles – p 40 * Lacquered Bacon – p 45 * BBQ Potato Chips – p 54 * Smoky the Meatloaf – p 67 * Chicken Parmesan Balls – p 76 * Oyster Po’Boy – p 81 * Red, Red Wine – p 105 * Chicken Piccata – p 117 * Cocoa Nib Vinaigrette – p 118 * Barbecue Pork Butt – p 124 * Bourbon Bread Pudding – p 128 * Bacon Maple Sprouts – p 137 * Weeknight Spaghetti – p 139 * Cream Whipped Chocolate Mousse – p 141 * Salisbury Steaks – p 147 * Smoky Tequila Sour – p 150 * Turkey Tikka Masala – p 155 * Hot Saltine Hack – p 170 * The Last Pizza Dough I’ll Ever Need – p 180 * Chuan’r – p 187 * Cider House Fondue – p 191 * St. Louis Ribs – p 196 * Fried Rice – p 199 * Open Sesame Noodles – p 206 * Jungle Bird – p 209 * Tomorrow, French Fries – p 210
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2018
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2018
My thoughts and pics on dishes we tried:
1) Roast Broccoli Hero – p 68. I’m starting with this one because it was the biggest surprise. My husband looked sad when I told him we were having broccoli sandwiches for dinner. Then he tried it and loved it! Great sandwich! Sweet pickles marinated in garlic, ginger, chili sauce and sesame oil, roast broccoli, French fried onions (the can!), mayo and ricotta salata. My store didn’t have ricotta salata, so I subbed in feta.
2) Overnight Coconut Oats – p 22. Easy peasy, healthy, and delicious. The berry coconut blend is lovely. One of my kids wanted to make it again just a few days later.
3) Garam Masalmon Steaks – p 142. Yum! These are super flavorful. I had to use salmon fillets, though.
4) No-Can Tomato Soup – p 52. This is a really nice tomato soup done in the pressure cooker.
5) Grilled Cheese Grilled Sandwich – p 53. These are supposed to be done on the grill, but it started raining right when I got the chimney filled, so I had to make them in a grill pan instead. Delicious grilled cheese. The mustard and paprika blended into the cheese gives it extra sharpness and smokiness.
6) Seedy Date Bars – p 36. Okay. They’re nutritional powerhouses. Three out of four in this house thought these were really earthy tasting. They definitely taste healthy. But, my youngest is a Lara Bar head, and she enjoyed them.
I’ll update this as I play in the book more!
Some others I have flagged to try: Breakfast Carbonara – p 2 * Always Perfect Oatmeal – p 4 * Buttermilk Lassi – p 7 * Grits with Shrimp – p 18 * Chilaquiles – p 21 * Mr. Crunchy – p 27 * Peach Cobbles – p 40 * Lacquered Bacon – p 45 * BBQ Potato Chips – p 54 * Smoky the Meatloaf – p 67 * Chicken Parmesan Balls – p 76 * Oyster Po’Boy – p 81 * Red, Red Wine – p 105 * Chicken Piccata – p 117 * Cocoa Nib Vinaigrette – p 118 * Barbecue Pork Butt – p 124 * Bourbon Bread Pudding – p 128 * Bacon Maple Sprouts – p 137 * Weeknight Spaghetti – p 139 * Cream Whipped Chocolate Mousse – p 141 * Salisbury Steaks – p 147 * Smoky Tequila Sour – p 150 * Turkey Tikka Masala – p 155 * Hot Saltine Hack – p 170 * The Last Pizza Dough I’ll Ever Need – p 180 * Chuan’r – p 187 * Cider House Fondue – p 191 * St. Louis Ribs – p 196 * Fried Rice – p 199 * Open Sesame Noodles – p 206 * Jungle Bird – p 209 * Tomorrow, French Fries – p 210
Great flavor and interesting techniques! Love this book!
Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2018
Oh, this is a fantastic book! I ran out of sticky notes flagging things to try.Reviewed in the United States on July 16, 2018
My thoughts and pics on dishes we tried:
1) Roast Broccoli Hero – p 68. I’m starting with this one because it was the biggest surprise. My husband looked sad when I told him we were having broccoli sandwiches for dinner. Then he tried it and loved it! Great sandwich! Sweet pickles marinated in garlic, ginger, chili sauce and sesame oil, roast broccoli, French fried onions (the can!), mayo and ricotta salata. My store didn’t have ricotta salata, so I subbed in feta.
2) Overnight Coconut Oats – p 22. Easy peasy, healthy, and delicious. The berry coconut blend is lovely. One of my kids wanted to make it again just a few days later.
3) Garam Masalmon Steaks – p 142. Yum! These are super flavorful. I had to use salmon fillets, though.
4) No-Can Tomato Soup – p 52. This is a really nice tomato soup done in the pressure cooker.
5) Grilled Cheese Grilled Sandwich – p 53. These are supposed to be done on the grill, but it started raining right when I got the chimney filled, so I had to make them in a grill pan instead. Delicious grilled cheese. The mustard and paprika blended into the cheese gives it extra sharpness and smokiness.
6) Seedy Date Bars – p 36. Okay. They’re nutritional powerhouses. Three out of four in this house thought these were really earthy tasting. They definitely taste healthy. But, my youngest is a Lara Bar head, and she enjoyed them.
I’ll update this as I play in the book more!
Some others I have flagged to try: Breakfast Carbonara – p 2 * Always Perfect Oatmeal – p 4 * Buttermilk Lassi – p 7 * Grits with Shrimp – p 18 * Chilaquiles – p 21 * Mr. Crunchy – p 27 * Peach Cobbles – p 40 * Lacquered Bacon – p 45 * BBQ Potato Chips – p 54 * Smoky the Meatloaf – p 67 * Chicken Parmesan Balls – p 76 * Oyster Po’Boy – p 81 * Red, Red Wine – p 105 * Chicken Piccata – p 117 * Cocoa Nib Vinaigrette – p 118 * Barbecue Pork Butt – p 124 * Bourbon Bread Pudding – p 128 * Bacon Maple Sprouts – p 137 * Weeknight Spaghetti – p 139 * Cream Whipped Chocolate Mousse – p 141 * Salisbury Steaks – p 147 * Smoky Tequila Sour – p 150 * Turkey Tikka Masala – p 155 * Hot Saltine Hack – p 170 * The Last Pizza Dough I’ll Ever Need – p 180 * Chuan’r – p 187 * Cider House Fondue – p 191 * St. Louis Ribs – p 196 * Fried Rice – p 199 * Open Sesame Noodles – p 206 * Jungle Bird – p 209 * Tomorrow, French Fries – p 210
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
Food Lover
Great cooking book! Now his cooking books are one of my favorite!
Reviewed in Germany on April 9, 2021Megan
A little bit Mad Scientist and entirely wonderful. Time to grill some cheese!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 13, 2018Truly Sirius
I have always enjoyed Alton Brown's recipes and comments
Reviewed in Canada on January 20, 2017