Alton Brown's banana bread

If you have some way past prime bananas hanging around and a copy of my favorite Alton Brown cookbook, then whipping up a loaf of mighty fine banana bread is easily achieved.

I've probably said I'm Just Here for More Food is my favorite cookbook as many times as AB has said "Oh bother" on Good Eats and there is good reason. Every recipe I've tried from this book is a winner--not to say his other books or even GE's recipes aren't equally as wonderful, but the recipes from this book also greatly appeal me. Anyway, a few days ago I found myself with several candidates for banana bread, so I pulled down my well-tabbed copy of IJHFMF and turned to page 98.

The main reason I started making my own banana bread stemmed from my nut allergy. 99.99999% of banana bread I've encountered contains nuts, mostly walnuts, thus rendering it forbidden fruit... or would that be forbidden fruit bread? Whatever, I couldn't have any. So the best way to remedy that, make my own.

In the past I've used other recipes for banana bread, some came out dry, some were complicated and still dry. Then I found AB's version and it was mighty simple and most importantly tasted great.

The great thing about Alton's cookbooks, just like GE, he explains why things happen or why something needs to be a certain way. The overripe bananas, for example, AB points out the bananas need to be very, very ripe just not oozing or growing fur. The first time I ever made banana bread, I didn't used extremely rips bananas. However, after reading Alton's advice and that to get your bananas mashed to the state of liquid the riper the better, I've gone with just shy of growing fur specimen with great results.

To start the process, combine 3-4 overripe bananas (I recommend using four) and 7 1/4 oz sugar. In the book, Alton recommends using a potato masher for pulverizing the bananas. Before using this recipe that is how I mashed the bananas, so that's a great tip.

The bread itself comes together via the muffin method.

The dry team:
7 3/4 oz AP Flour
1 1/4 oz oat flour (I use oat brand hot cereal)
1 teasp bakng soda
1 tea salt

The wet team 2 (wet team 1 is the bananas and sugar):
1 stick unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon Almond ext (I changed to vanilla)

1 cup nuts are an optional addition.

Bake 50 min-1 hour or until 210 F internal temp; then cool for 15 minutes. Yes, that is a vital step!

Yields one 9inch loaf or 12 muffins.

Alton Brown info roundup

Sitting here watching a new episode of Iron Chef America, complete with the newly thin Alton Brown (so this is a very new episode), I'm remiss if I didn't pass along a few tidbits of info along. Somehow this weekend got away from me before I knew it.

Up first, a video "interview" with Alton on AOL's The Show Girl . Thanks to reader, Vicky, for reminding about this on. AB comes in after the Curb Your Enthusiasm stuff. On a side note, that woman on the show's cheesy face in that video is not what I like to see in my blog ;)




Next, Channel Guide magazine has a very nice interview with AB about the upcoming Next Iron Chef competition and some about Good Eats. Read it here.

Another interview at MediaWeek, this one kind of irked me because the writer got to interview AB and had no clue about him! I can't understand why those clueless people get to interview him, but my blog is denied the opportunity. The interview covers a lot of basic info on Alton and Good Eats, read it here.

Alton Brown's pumpkin bread

To celebrate the Autumnal Equinox today, I broke out one of my favorite seasonal recipes from Alton Brown. The pumpkin bread featured in "Squash Court" quickly became a wonderful addition to the Fall baking repertoire because of its ease to make and great taste.

The bread is more akin to spice cake than bread bread, think banana bread or zucchini bread and not loaf bread. In fact, the first time I made this bread, it brought back memories of eating spice cake as a kid. That is one of my mom's favorite cake flavors, so we had it a lot on holidays and special occasions.

This recipe is a simple quick bread, but the prepping of the fresh pumpkin does take some time. Last year I had waited until mid October to make the bread, but waited too long and the smaller "pumpkin pie" size pumpkins were gone from the megamart.

Once I spotted the little orange orbs for the first time this year, I snapped one up and readied for the bread.

One pumpkin will generally make two loaves. Mmm. My only modification to the recipe is omitting the pumpkin seeds. Well, not only... I do add nutmeg. A couple of rakes across the Mircoplane.


AB's Pumpkin Bread

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 3/4 cup vegetable oil
* 3 large eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 3 cups shredded fresh pumpkin
* 1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and fold in the shredded pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Once the ingredients are all incorporated pour into a non- stick 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. If your pan is not non- stick coat it with butter and flour.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. A knife inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean.

October great month for Alton Brown fans

October ushers in a few new Good Eats episodes and the Next Iron Chef competition, so mark your calendar, set the TIVO, etc.

On Saturday, October 10th spend the evening with Good Eats specials with "Eat this Rock" at 8 p.m. and "Behind the Eats" at 9 p.m. Commentating with the big birthday bash at 10 p.m.

Oct 4 -- 9 p.m.
Next Iron Chef -- Fearlessness
Ten chefs arrive in Los Angeles to compete in a series of globally-inspired cooking challenges that will test their abilities to master culinary styles from around the world.

Oct 10 -- 10 p.m.
Good Eats 10th Anniversary
To celebrate Good Eats going double digits, Alton Brown and company put on a live variety show full of lively conversation, strange cooking devices, a trivia game show, a parade of guests, a live band, and one very strange birthday cake.

Oct 12 -- 8 p.m.
Good Eats -- Another Man Food Show: Breakfast
Alton helps an average Joe overcome his kitchen phobias and whip up the classic breakfast of bacon, eggs and coffee.

Oct 19 -- 8 p.m.
Fermentation Nation
Most people think of beer and wine only as drinks, but Alton thinks outside the bottle as he uses them as key ingredients in several tasty dishes.

*episode descriptions from Food Network's website*

Alton Brown and the Next Iron Chef

Are ready for some... culinary combat? I just found a sneak preview video on Food Network for the Next Iron Chef. This video is great because Alton Brown narrates it!

Watch the video here, Battles

I'm pretty excited to see this round of chefs for the competition. John Besh was who I wanted to win during the first competition, I hope there's someone I can immediately like in this one... if not, there's always watching for AB ;)

Chef Alton's Flying Food Circus...er... Good Eats the cookbook

Weighing in at about four pounds and nearly 400 pages long, Good Eats: The Early Years encompasses the first 80 episodes complete with recipes, trivia, photos, food science and culinary techniques. And just like show the book derives from, Alton Brown presents all of the information in his own special way. Starting off with AB interviewing himself, the story behind the show is revealed along with his original idea for a title: Chef Alton's Flying Food Circus.

Inside, the book is chocked full of illustrations straight from AB hand just like his other books I'm Just Here for the Food and I'm Just Here for More Food. So if you enjoy that aspect of his books this will not disappoint. There are many screen captures from the episodes along with some behind the scenes photos. There's one good photo of Alton reading a script in the first GE kitchen with his mom standing across from him. Nice little touches like that make the book interesting for more than the recipes.

From the beginning I found the retro-style graphics to be a be plus for the book. I'm a sucker for vintage style. Inside, the graphics got better, each episode title is presented as a clapperboard with title, episode number and season. That so spoke right to the old film student in me. The movie style poster also wasn't a bad addition to the package. In fact, that poster's style was another element that I found appealing. The production tidbits also made me squeal with delight to know how the some of the show was created... again, that film geek in me. ;)

Aesthetics aside, content for the book includes recipes from each of the 80 episodes and in some episodes additional recipes that were cut out for lack of time. In Good Eats tradition much is written on how and why things happen. And the tidbits and trivia tell information about the show and ingredients.

Long time fans of the show may even pick up some new knowledge regarding a few things about the show.

One criticism I must level, a few episode sections are missing original recipes offered in the show. In the section for "Three Chips for Sister Marsha" the only recipe given is for The Chewy. Now, The Chewy is my favorite of the three and no doubt the best one, but how could the other two (The Thin and The Puffy) be shut out? Tsk, tsk. Sorry lovers of The Thin and The Puffy, you'll still have to print them from Food Network's site. Ditto for the "For Whom the Cheese Melts II." The stove top mac and cheese is missing. I like that one! So what's the deal there? Huh?

Several of the left on the cutting room floor recipes look very good. Up first the missing pastry cream that should have been in "Choux Shine." Thanks to Luke over at Latent Chestnut for alerting me to the existence of this! I'm also interested in the masher cakes, cut from episode two; pimento cheese from the first cheese show; beef and barley stew from the beef broth episode and artichoke pasta salad from, you guessed it, the artichoke show.

I didn't look closely at the real recipes to see how many were reworked. AB said last year, in Nashville, he was going to revamp some of them. I did, however, notice the angel food cake recipe, since an added recipe was next it, that two types of extracts were given as options. Vanilla and lemon. I just so happen to make my angel food cake with lemon extract, have since I started making it. Good call, AB.


Most Good Eats fans will enjoy owning a copy of this book. Though the recipes can be obtained at FN's website, the added recipes and having the laid out explanations for the recipes are a plus. The quirky humor and trivia also make the book appealing to fans.

So, if you're a fan you should get this book. ;)

What could I ask Alton Brown this time?

Looks like Food Network is at it again with their Dear Food Network specials. Yes, tis that time of year to ask a clueless question and meet your favorite host/chef while leaving the die-hard fans out in the cold. And this whole show concept begs the question, if you're a fan said host/chef then wouldn't you know how to be a better cook? I noticed conspicuously missing from the list was Alton Brown. But the instructions say ask "Sunny Anderson, Robert Irvine, Aaron McCargo Jr., Tyler Florence, Sandra Lee, Claire Robinson, Paula Deen, or your favorite star!"

So in theory I could ask Alton something. Now, getting my question picked and getting to cook with AB is another thing altogether. Been there. Lost that.

I wonder if the question could be, Hey Alton would you like to have Thanksgiving dinner at my house? I'll cook, you eat, deal?

Well, it IS a question.

Some of the "ideas" for questions are scary:

Don't know why your turkey always comes out dry? Want a simple and delicious appetizer you can serve that won't spoil everyone's appetite? Are you hosting your first Thanksgiving and need some advice? Or do you have a dysfunctional family that requires some Thanksgiving food therapy?!

I can answer the dry problem--brine. But the dysfunctional family? Why oh why?

If you're brave enough, check out the site and submit a video. You can also find this on FN's Facebook page... oh and I left the comment about asking AB to dinner!

Good Eats Anniversary show program

Another nice little souvenir of the big event for Good Eats and Alton Brown was the program we received upon entering the Cobb Centre.

One more purchase to blame on Alton

I got some more goodies thanks to attending the Good Eats anniversary show. In the goodie bag we received a gift card for the Food Network store. I took my card, my mom's and a old gift certificate to buy a shiny new All-Clad saucier. So now I can say, thanks to Alton Brown I could get it. And really, because of AB that's the reason I wanted the better quality cookware. Yeah, its all his fault.

Because the other card put me over the price for the saucier (it was on sale too! squeal), I threw in Feasting on Asphalt shirt. I like to wear the one purchased back in 2006, so this is my back up. ;)

Alton Brown and the MARTA

Remember a few months ago there was an article about Atlanta celebrities doing ads for the mass transit system? In case you don't read this article. Well, Alton Brown was one of the Atlantonias (I hope that's what people from Atlanta are called) selected for the campaign.

I hadn't located one. But, super duper, blog reader Holly spotted the billboard while in town for the anniversary show! She said AB was at the rental car desk waiting for her! ;)


Awesome! Holly you're awesome as well.

Celebrating Good Eats with Alton Brown

Combine a performing arts theatre, an off-beat cooking show and a milestone anniversary inside the mind of Alton Brown and what do you get? Quite possibly the best cooking show turned variety show performance, ever. And certainly something no other cooking show would ever present as an episode, special or otherwise. But as all of fans of Good Eats know, this is not a standard cooking show. So why would a celebration to mark ten years of being on the air deviate from the standard MO?

Exactly.

The show, referred to as "Good Eats Turns Ten" brought out the background of why AB created the show, show tidbits, GE cast members and AB's thoughts on the show over the years. Ted Allen served as emcee for the special because Alton said, "I wanted the smartest, best looking guy, with glasses who wasn't me" to host the special.

Creating his very own Inside the Actors Studio scenario, Alton sat on a sofa next to the paper mache chicken (AB arrived on stage carrying the ol' chicken) while Ted asked questions. AB tried to have Ted ask questions he wrote, but Ted brought his own.

Most of the questions revolved about the beginnings of the concept for Good Eats and how and why he created it.

Then Alton talked about some of his favorites from the years. One was his top 10 favorite recipes. FYI, the only thing I make on AB's list is the English Muffins. And I completely agree with him on that! His #1 favorite recipe from the show is the sweet potato waffles.

Next was AB's favorite scene. He picked a scene that wasn't a real cooking segment.



He also said the day this scene was filmed was extremely hot and he and prop guy Paul went "full-on Scot" and there was a yellow jacket nest under where the build the fire. So angry yellow jackets and kilts are not fun, everyone. Also, this scene was listed on some website, for several years, as having one of the worst accents on TV.

As I said in an earlier post, the "superfan" panel was complete different from what I thought it would be. Instead of having the panelists really challenge AB to knowledge, the group had problems answering questions. At one point the title superfan was knocked down to mediocre fans.

I'm still trying to figure out the superfan panel. I know it was all in fun, but I'm so relieved that I didn't have to play that way in front of a packed house and possibly on national TV.

Alton turned his unitasker fire extinguisher into a multitasker. He made a fruit smoothie by freezing fruits in a water cooler outfitted with the fire extingusher. In the freezing process, fruit flew everywhere on stage. Some juice and fruit pieces hit those of us in the first row.

Near the end of the show, the Good Eats players appeared. Lucky Yates, Widdi Turner, Daniel Pettrow and Bart Hansard all sat on the sofa and chatted up with Ted. Merrilyn Crouch (Marsha) and Vicky Eng (W) appeared in character. And Deb Duchon, Shirley Corriher and Carolyn O'Neil appeared in the trivia segment asking questions.

In the final act, Alton built a towering cake from pancakes. During the show, Marsha led Camp Pancake to cook said cakes outside of the auditorium. The completed cakes were assembled on a pole and and sprayed with green, glow in the dark icing.

Just like that it was over. The audience gave AB a standing ovation. He appeared again with crew members and they doused him in silly string. As we still clapped and shouted for him, AB left the stage once more. Coming back since the crowd still cheered and applauded, Alton told us to go home. But we still flavished our thanks on him.

He told us he loved us then left for the final time.

We love you too, Alton! Thank you for a great anniversary show, 10 years of quality episodes, for teaching us how to be better cooks, making us laugh and everything else. It has been a great ride and here's to 10 more years!

Gifts from Alton Brown

I'm still sorting through everything from the weekend, on top of seeing a great show and talking with Alton Brown (again), I had a wonderful opportunity to meet some of the blog's readers. That was very nice to come in contact with people who read my ramblings... surreal.

At the post show shindig, we scored some major plunder. I have to give a big hand to AB and the people who put it all together for the wonderful gifts.

Of course going in I knew we would receive a copy of the Good Eats cookbook.


And when I received my pre-ordered copy the day before heading to Atlanta, I was posed with a dilemma of having two copies of the book. Luckily that problem remedied itself when someone asked to have the book signed for her. So I happily obliged and took the book with me.

At the meet and greet Alton asked how I had a copy of a book that hadn't been released yet. I told him about having it pre-orded on Amazon for months and that it came before I could cancel it and that it arrived on Thursday. So he starts telling me something about Amazon getting some early copies of the book and that's how I must have received this copy. He gladly signed the other book and we chatted awhile.

If I didn't already know this, this event illustrated what a sweet and gracious man Alton is to his fans. Even though is his voice was giving out when I was talking with him ( he even apologized to me for it) he stayed well past midnight to chat and sign things for everyone there.

When he apologized for his voice, I told AB not worry about it, I knew he worked hard all day, and I told him the show was wonderful. He did a great job for all of us fans.

I am extremely happy to report that Alton did remember me this time! Instead of greeting me with his usual "Hi, "I'm Alton." I got, "Hi, how are you doing." The way he said it caused me to ask if he remembered me and he said yes. Wow! I was floored. That made my day.

My experience just got better when I started looking through the loot from the event, I found we had Food Network store gift cards in the salt cellar boxes! Another wow! Mom gave me hers and I'm looking over there now at a few items I'm been eying.

In all, just another great experience with Alton. Makes me so excited for the Smithsonian event next month!

There's still hope I'm an Alton Brown superfan

When I first learned of the Good Eats Live show, I knew I had to be there for the celebration. And when the tickets went on sale, I wanted to attend the meet and greet even though I was attending another one a month before at the Opryland event. I even waited to leave for work just so I could be online at the time the Internet pre-sale started.

Yeah, being an uber fan of Alton Brown attending this was the pinnacle.

Then I found out about the "superfans" panel. If anyone could be one of the members of that panel, I knew it should be me. Take a test, I'd pass. I had confidence of the level of my fanness (is that a word?). Thanks to Good Eats and AB, I've learned cooking techniques, I can quote the show in important culinary information and silly scenes. I just knew somehow Alton would pick me as one of his superfans.

As I waited for AB to call about the superfan panel, I caught wind of the Good Eats Great Fan contest on Food Network. For me, winning that contest would once and for all prove that I'm a great fan. It would be official! To get my title, I crafted a video to express my gratitude to Alton for teaching me new techniques and improving my old cooking skills. The main point of the video was an homage to the show and AB. To illustrate I love the show, love to cook and love to share my culinary and Alton experiences with others.

I stated many times winning the contest was always about the honor of being called a superfan, not the tickets. I had even planned to pass along my good fortune and give my purchased tickets away in lieu of the contest tickets.

That was my plan. Somehow that didn't happen.

When I found six others won and were being called superfans it made me sad. I wondered what else could I have done to demostrate to my message, to prove I am a superfan. I felt like a loser because if I couldn't show that, I couldn't do anything.

However, there are times when one most heed the wise words: things happen for a reason.

The superfans panel was, with out giving too much away, completely not what I had expected. My vision of the panel: a few select fans with know-it-all understanding of the of the show and culinary information would demonstrate knowledge against the one person who had taught them. A tough fought battle between master and students.

Reality: three of the winners went against AB in a college bowl format, the superfan team lacked much in the way of knowledge, barbs between them and AB flew. The whole segment was more akin to WWE meets Jerry Springer than Jeopardy! The superfans never demonstrated their knowledge of the show and cooking and what made them the ultimate fans of the show.

As I sat watching the segment, I thought how much I wouldn't have wanted to be up there acting as if I didn't know anything. While the segment was amusing, there's no way I would want to trash talk AB or act dumb (I so hope they were acting).

Sure it would have been awesome to hang out at the taping, meet the crew, talk with AB in a non rushed autograph session, but to have to play it the way it happened I wouldn't have wanted to do that.

So in the end, I was sad not to win the superfan title but I'll take plugging away here on my blog with tales of cooking, passing along news to my fellow fans and attending AB's events. And hold out hope someday I'll be blessed to get that superfan title from Alton.