Alton Brown aligns with evil salt... muhahaha

I offer this editorial post in response to an article in the NYT about Alton Brown supporting salt and the evils of salt.

The first problem in the article is that author brings AB's support of Diamond Crystal salt in to the debate over government regulation of sodium in preprocessed and prepared foods.

Yes, in processed foods the sodium levels are outrageous. However, Alton does not, or never has, advocate for processed foods. He is very much against them and Good Eats is about teaching us how to cook at home there by eliminating the need to consume such unhealthy foods.

The article went wrong in the attempt to connect AB's teaching home more about salt with premade items such as Cheez-Its, Eggos, condensed soups and frozen meals. He does not endorse or advocate for any of those items and frequently bemoans them.

My favorite quote was:

The food industry releases some 10,000 new products a year, the Department of Agriculture has reported, and processed foods, along with restaurant meals, now account for roughly 80 percent of the salt in the American diet. The rest comes from the kitchen salt shaker or occurs naturally in food. In promoting cooking with salt, Cargill and its star chef, Mr. Brown, said they recognized the health concerns and recommended “smarter salting.”

That says it all. Eighty percent of high sodium items comes from processed food and restaurant foods, so why drag Alton in to this debate for supporting salt for the home cook?

There's a big difference in making food at home. Here, we can control the amount of anything, including salt, that goes into the food. The amount of salt consumed in foods made from scratch at home is nothing like what has to be added to processed foods to give them some semblance of taste.

Listen to this great interview with AB but Jeff Houck of Tampa Bay Online: Table Conversations to hear talk about salt, its importance, the government's attempt at regulating it and the difference between salt and sodium intake.

Alton Brown Kitchen Demonstration and GE Short

Thanks to my friend Anne for rooting out these videos of Alton Brown.

First one is from the AmericasMart Kitchen demo back in January. I've been fortunate to see him make aerosol cheese before at the Opryland demo in 2008.



Second is for Grilling Week on Food Network and is about grilling veggies. I love the title: Bonfire of the Veggies. ;)

Alton Brown broke my heart

I am currently devastated at something I read about Alton Brown. Seems he's a reader of Food Network Humor.com and has donated $100 to the site for doing what they do. I am crushed by this because this because in the two, plus years I've operated the site, I've wanted nothing more than to have an interview with him and have him direct one crumb of kindness in my direction.

AB donates to FNH

Partly I'm upset because this is same site that ripped me apart during the Wall Street Journal interview last fall for being HIS fan. I suppose, if he read that post, he may have laughed right along with the others who picked me apart of attending so many of his events.

I bust my tail to get information that isn't even on his site. I do my level best to be kind and celebrate being a fan and make this a place where readers want to stop by and get information. In response, when I have asked to talk about the site with him (at events) I don't get much. He told me he doesn't read things about himself online. He told me bloggers lack integrity and that was the reason he wouldn't do an interview with me. He also told me he had trouble with website in the past and that was another reason not to grant the interview.

Then he turns around to donate to a site that is nothing but rip people apart, including himself and his fans. I am truly at loss for this action.

I emailed Jillian who runs the site and she said it was real. That hit me like a ton of bricks.

I never wanted money from him. I don't even take donations or ads on this site. I do this site celebrate and appreciate. What I wanted was for him to see the good my site does in promoting him and his events and for a little thanks. I know that's selfish. But that's what I wanted.

I am so devastated now that I don't know if I can continue the site. I know I will have to take a break and rethink a lot of things.

Edit:
I don't care that he donated to FNH. Like I said, I take pride in not asking for money.

All I want to understand is why he told me no interview because bloggers lack intengrity and he had issues in the past with bad things on websites, yet shows support to BLOG that doesn't support him back?

I guess it is true, nice guys (gals) finish last.

Alton Brown's fall 2010 book tour

Thanks to an outstanding contact at Alton Brown's publisher, I can happily, gleefully and proudly give out information on the upcoming book tour for Good Eats: The Middle Years!

In October, AB will, once again, be out and about meeting his has fans and signing books. I just about bounced of the wall (oh, who am I kidding with the 'just about' line? I did bounce!) when seeing Lexington, Ky on the list. Hot damn, that's a 2 1/2 hour drive straight down I-64! Plus, I've been to the bookstore many times and know the layout... watch out AB ;)

The NYC Wine and Festival will occur during his tour; however, note the NYC dates and locations are not related to the festival. When that information is available, I will post it. Same goes for the Fabulous Food Show in Cleveland in November.

Without further ado, the dates and locations!

AB's Fall Book Tour

PRINCETON, NJ -- Monday, October 4 -- 7 p.m.
Barnes & Noble
3535 US Route 1
Princeton, NJ 08540


PARAMUS, NJ -- Tuesday, October 5 -- 7 p.m.
Barnes & Noble
765 Route 17 South
Paramus, NJ 07652


NYC -- Wednesday, October 6 -- 7 p.m.
Barnes & Noble
Union Square
33 E 17th Street
New York City


NYC -- Friday, October 8 -- Noon
Sur La Table
75 Spring Street
New York City


MIAMI, FL -- Tuesday, October 12 -- 7:30 p.m.
Books & Books
OFF-SITE venue – more information go to: booksandbooks.com


BIRMINGHAM, AL -- Wednesday, October 13 -- 7 p.m.
Books A Million
Colonial Brookwood Village
780 Brookwood Village
Birmingham, AL 35209


RALEIGH, NC -- Thursday, October 14 -- 7:30 p.m.
Quail Ridge Books
3522 Wade Avenue

Raleigh, NC 27607-4048

LEXINGTON, KY -- Friday, October 15 -- 7 p.m.
Joseph Beth

161 Lexington Green Circle

Lexington, KY 40503-3323

ATLANTA, GA -- Thursday, October 21 -- 7:30 p.m.

Borders
3637 Peachtree Rd. NE, Ste. C
Atlanta, GA 30319

Alton Brown wasn't my first one

I had always imagined my first interview with a New York Times bestselling author would be with Alton Brown. After all, I have this site and have asked him a couple of time if he would be so kind to grant me the opportunity. In the interim as I waited for him to grant that interview, a golden opportunity to interview a bestselling author did emerge!

Mireille Guiliano, author of several bestselling books, has been featured in a plethora of popular press including, Today, Oprah, People, Time and USA Today. And now my little corner of the cyber journalism world.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to speak with Mireille as a part of the media blitz on the newest book, French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook. Her publicist at Atria set me up with the interview and a copy of the book. I was none to pleased for the chance.

We talked about a lot of things related to food and cooking. Mireille has a wonderful philosophy on food and the importance of cooking in having a healthy lifestyle. I was pleased to hear her talk about many of the things I find important too, such as really cooking (i.e not using premade or precooked items), shopping in season and our overall relationship with food.

I have to pass along that she is a fan of sardines and has a recipe for something similar to AB's sherried sardine toast in the new book. As we talked she shared about making ricotta cheese at home, something I am now itching to try. She has a wonderful website, which includes the recipe to make your own: Homemade Ricotta.

I can't repost the whole article here, rules of the Suite 101 site, but here's a tease:

Mireille Guiliano dishes on her latest book
by Lisa Hechesky

A trimmer waistline starts in the kitchen not with deprivation, believes New York Times bestselling author Mireille Guiliano. This philosophy serves as the theme of her latest book, French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook. Previous books penned by Guiliano share advice and tips for women on getting the most from life without skimping on enjoyable foods such as bread, wine and chocolate.

“Diets are about deprivation. Don’t eat this. Don’t eat that. Do this. Don’t do that. I’m saying you can have it all, just pick your moments. Pick your portions. Eat at a table. Develop how to eat with your senses,” Guiliano says.

While her other successful books have included recipes, this is her first true cookbook but certainly not a diet book. In fact, it is a non-diet book. Following the viewpoint of moderation and not depriving oneself, Guiliano’s book advises on preparing meals at home and proper eating habits rather than specialized foods and avoidance. The dishes in the book include some items given a bad reputation in the US over the past few years.

Cooking is key, not depriving

Maligned foods with carbs have a place at her table. “In China they don’t have bread, but they have rice. In Italy, they have pasta. The thing is, the body needs carbs. It was all of these diet books that promoted that. If you deprive yourself of carbs for a week, you’re going to lose a lot if weight but you can’t sustain that because your body cannot function without it. I go back to my philosophy of moderation. Just a little bit of everything is fine. You can eat anything, just not huge amounts.”

While moderation and portion control are important to overall weight management, Guiliano believes the biggest factor is cooking. “I want you to go to the kitchen and cook, that’s the main objective,” she says of her book.

Read more at Suite101: Mireille Guiliano dishes on her latest book

While I have interviewed many people over the years. The biggest names I've landed were a couple minor league baseball players and coaches and a former NFL player back when I was a sports writer, but no one of Mireille's stature. This interview was a true treat not only because she and her publicist saw me was an equal member of the media, but because we had so much to discuss about food and cooking.

I do recommend the book and the Magical Breakfast Cream recipe. I started making it last week and am hooked.

Alton Brown, lies and videotape

I have an amazingly special treat to share with everyone thanks to my great friend Anne. First I will let her tell everyone of this major scoop she obtained last week in the Big Apple and how I'm pleased to bring everyone some footage of Alton Brown on the red carpet at the James Beard Awards!

Here is Anne's part of the caper:

This is the true story of a little white lie, and how it bore much fruit. I had heard about the James Beard Awards a few months ago, but realized I couldn’t attend the ceremony itself because the tickets were, well, let’s just say they were beyond my price range.

Still, when I heard Alton was going to be co-hosting the event, I wanted to be there in some capacity. Since I live only a short two hour train ride from NYC, I decided to head down, walk over to Lincoln Center, and see what there was to see. Lisa and I have been friends for a while (we went to the event in Pennsylvania together) and I asked her if she wanted me to bring back any information I could glean, she said yes.

I arrived at Lincoln Center at around 4:30, and watched as the railings were set up outside of the Red Carpet at Avery Fisher Hall, where the awards to be held. Almost no one was there, so I took a place by the railing. A few minutes later the press began to arrive, and I was sure I would be asked to leave, but no one said anything.

I struck up a conversation with one of the reporters who was there with a camera crew, and this is where the deception began. He asked me, “Are you a food fan?” I answered, truthfully, “Yes.” When he asked me, “Are you covering this for someone, I thought about saying no, but said, instead, “Yes,” and told him I was covering it for this blog. I told him all about the blog and he seemed impressed and interested. Then he said something that blew my mind, telling me, “If your friend wants some footage, tell her to e mail me, and I’ll send her some.” I said, “Really?” and he said, “Sure!”. He gave me his card, and then I got out of his way.

At around 4:45 the attendees started arriving, but I didn’t see Alton until around 5:00. He was standing with some friends, outside the Red Carpet. Everyone was dressed to the nines, so I didn’t approach, but it was fun to watch him interact with his colleagues and be interviewed. It was worth the trip.

And, as Paul Harvey would say, I’ll let Lisa tell the rest of the story…

When Anne called (and texted me) about the event she couldn't wait to let me know about this offer. I shot off a quick email to the man not really knowing what would happen. The next morning, he replied with the offer to give--that's right GIVE!--me some of the footage from the event.

Needless to say I was astonished! Here, this complete stranger, someone who didn't know me, just about my site from what Anne told him, offered to let me have video he shot at the red carpet. In writing this post, I'm still amazed by Mr. Simon's generosity.

Special thanks goes out to Anne, of course for striking up the conversation with Mr. Simon. And to DS Simon Productions for the offer!

Alton Brown interview with Athens, Ga. newspaper

While I'm not worthy enough to land an interview with Alton Brown--even thought I've personally asked him a couple of times, he tells me no every time--he did talk with the Athens, Ga. newspaper while in town for the University of Georgia commencement speech he delivered.

Here's the interview they posted online: Brown talks TV, food, R.E.M.

Video of Alton Brown at UGA

Thanks, again, to my friend Vicky for rooting out video of Alton Brown's University of Georgia commencement speech. The video isn't the best, but better than nothing if you missed it.

Video of Alton Brown talking to schoolkids

Big thanks for my great friend Anne for locating a fun video of Alton Brown speaking to the kids at Whitefoord Elementary School in Atlanta. This was the school selected in the Welch's Harvest Grants last month.

AB @ UGA

My friend Vicky told me the University of Georgia is streaming the graduation cemeromy live on their website. So even if we aren't graduating from UGA (Go Vols!) fan can enjoy Alton Brown's words of wisdom to the graduates.

Visit www.uga.edu and look in the Events column