Let's give Alton Brown a great birthday present

Alton Brown tweeted to today what he would like for his birthday this year...

His tweet got me thinking about how to help even more. Remember the little fundraiser we did for Monterey Bay and Heifer International? I was happy to report of the $300 we raised. So I thought, why not try to help out this cause for AB's birthday here too.

I've been wondering what to do with this site in light of the new developments with Alton and his social media forray. In my current poll a lot of you have said you enjoy the news and reports of his events. So, if you have ever enjoyed anything on this site or got anything, please donate. It will be great to have the wonderful readers and Alton's fans banning together to bring in another good amount of money for another worthy cause. This would mean a great deal to me as well as AB.

So here's what I want to do.

Donate what you can, but remember PayPal takes a percentage 2.9% + $0.30 USD here's a chart to figure in the fees if you would like to include that.

Then I will send the whole pot to Samaritans Purse from all of AB's fans for his birthday.

Update
As of June 13, the birthday fund raiser is complete.
We ended with $100 to donate to the organization for Alton's birthday.  I have contacted them and am waiting to find the best method to send the money


Thanks to all who participated!

Alton Brown at Cooking for Solutions

Last weekend Alton Brown did two demos for Monterey Bay Aquarium's Cooking for Solutions, while I couldn't travel cross-country to see the event, one loyal reader did (well from Seattle). Big thanks to Amy for her account of the demo and photos.

The talk itself was about Sustainable Seafood. For those that have seen the Good Eats episode “The Once and Future Fish”, it was similar. He got the audience involved with asking what Sustainable Seafood was, and talked a lot about the Seafood Watch app for smart phones that lets you know what seafood was on and off the watch list. He also explained about the word “organic”, and how it used to mean something important, but because the Government got involved, it became too expensive to get certified, and “organic” became a marketing term. Within the last couple of years, Sustainability has been a term that’s caught on, but in order for it not to become like the word “organic”, we have to educate the people. You don’t have to care about the bottom of the ocean (he says); just pick a fish, learn how to cook a fish, and do it because it tastes good.

The talk itself was probably only 15-20 minutes. (Authors note: He did go off subject for a minute when he talked about how he lost weight, and how people would come up to him and say “I hope you get better soon”, and “what’s the treatment like?” He told us that yes – he had lost too much weight at first but has gained some back.) The rest was spent doing the demo. The demo itself was going to be a marinade of swordfish and salmon, using the Blowhard 3000 in order to make it into jerky.

He got the audience involved again when he asked: “What is cooking?” and “What is a marinade, and how is it different from a brine?” He totally ranked on some 12 yr old kid about what cooking was – that was kind of funny. Someone in the audience thought that leaving the fish in the marinade for two hours would “cook” it, but they were probably thinking of ceviche, which isn’t exactly the same lol. He teased the lady about offering the marinated fish to eat, but then pulled back joking about the liability issues.

The best part was the banter between AB and his chef Tammy. Alton’s witty comebacks not only made me laugh, but made me slightly jealous. I love that he has a response for everything and that he can think on the fly. My favorite scene was when AB got “angry” and slammed the knife tip first into the cutting board – a plastic cutting board mind you, and it stuck. I loved being so close to the action because when he finished putting the fish into the filters and let the air blow into the room, it smelled wonderful!

The room had a nice setup with the Q&A after the demo. Not only were there microphones, but he had an iPad set up at the front of the room where people could email him questions. Someone asked about the difference between tank-raised fish and open pen-raised fish. The difference being that in a tank setting, the environment is controlled and therefore not only do the fish not escape (like the crawfish did in China) but the tanks filter the water and diseases don’t develop (and so the fish don’t need to be pumped full of antibiotics). Another good question was “What is your favorite beer?” His answer – “The next one!”. The last question of the day was one asked many times before, and if anyone has seen his Q&A’s, he gives the same answer. “Who is your favorite Iron Chef?” Yes, they are all precious snowflakes and good in their own, unique ways.



Swordfish or Salmon Jerky

Yield 8-10 ounces Jerky

1lb. Swordfish or Salmon fillet, skin on, pin bones removed

½ cup soy sauce

1 Tbsp. Molasses

1 Tbsp. Lemon juice, freshly squeezed

2 tsp. Black pepper, freshly ground

1 tsp. Liquid smoke



Place fish in freezer for 30-45 minutes, until firm but not frozen



Place soy sauce, molasses, lemon juice, black pepper and liquid smoke into a large ziptop bag, seal and shake to combine. Remove fish from freezer, slice off skin and cut into thin strips. Add strips to bag with marinade, reseal and allow to marinate for 2-3 hours.



Drain strips in a colander and pat dry on paper towels. Evenly distribute strips of fish onto two paper air-conditioning filters, laying strips across grooves. Stack two filters on top of each other and top with a third empty filter.



Lay a box fan on its side and place filters on top of it. Strap filters to fan with two bungee cords. Stand fan upright, plug in and set to high. Dry fish for 12-18 hours. If using a commercial dehydrator, follow manufacturer’s directions.



Once dry, store in a cool, dry place in an airtight container for 2-3 months.

Where from here?

Alton Brown is still on Twitter, having not been eaten by the deadly social media cootie. Psst, Alton now that you're on Twitter, you are a micro-blogger... just thought you should know. ;)

Anyway, Monday evening AB tweeted about the status of his revamped website:

Again, this made me wonder what, how, where, when, etc to do with this site. It is at all possible that AB's improved site will, again, fall victim to not being updated regularly or other problems of the past. I still receive emails from people with questions about food, equipment, Good Eats, events, etc. Therefore, keeping this site updated and operating still would help others.

However, it may be slow going and sparse in the transitional phase, only 3 more Good Eats episodes to review, the book tour isn't until October, and AB only will be in a few specials like Next Food Network Star.

In a way, I hope this site showed Alton the need to get his message out to his fans with a better method that he currently had with his own website. If that's true, I am a little sad I didn't get to help him do that for his own site.

Anyway, I would love to hear from the loyal readers was I re-invent this site. What's been your favorite part(s)? What is something I must keep doing no matter the new direction? Your input is important.

What do you like about the site?

Good Eats 3 cover revealed!

I have asked Alton Brown twice since he's been on Twitter what the cover for Good Eats 3: The Later Years will look like. Sadly, both times he didn't answer. Well, yesterday he sent out a general tweet with the clue: "It ain't the years, it's the mileage." That happens to be from one of my favorite movies, in fact until a few days ago its theme was my ringtone.

Well enough with the blathering on to the cover art. I give you GE 3:

Alton Brown All A Twitter

Now with Alton Brown in the Twitterverse it is all a-buzz with his comments, yesterday, about Good Eats. It seems since AB tweeted, in clear frustration that so many people misunderstand canceled vs. stopping, it is news that the half-hour segment of the series is over. Only a week ago when the last regular half-hour episode, Use Your Noodle 5, aired there was little fan fair of it leaving except among loyal fans.

As AB takes to tweeting, I share his frustration in conveying the message. He did succinctly phrase it. Cancel means the network canceled their order. In the case of Good Eats, AB chose to retire (his word) the show. Being someone exceedingly proud of his show, his precious snowflake, labeling it canceled most certainly hurts and, of course, is not true.

I don't understand the fervor this statement caused among his Twitter followers and why it suddenly became news a week after the final half-hour show aired.

Yes, fans who love the show can be sad of its end. But all good things must come to an end. He has tweeted, and before that in Food Network's news release said, of his next project.

In the meantime, fans have the three one-hour specials and the final GE book to look forward to. In addition, fans who enjoy Alton outside of Good Eats will have Iron Chef America and the Next Iron Chef.

Seeing the happenings within the first few days of AB being on Twitter, I understand why he shied away from social media oh these many years. Still, I offered him some advice, there be dragons. Sometimes it is harsh, darn near brutal at times, and most certainly not for the faint of heart.

I hope once the initial excitement of him joining Twitter dies down he will have to deal less with questions of the moment and more things about cooking, food, TV, and whatever strikes his fancy for the day.

I wish him happy tweeting.

Alton Brown on Twitter & the Beard Win

From all accounts Friday must have been a chillier than normal day in Hell because Mr. Anti-Social Media himself, Alton Brown, joined the ranks of Twitter.

Yes, your heard me... AB is on Twitter.

I was skeptical that he would come aboard since he said publicly for his disdain for social media. So, I didn't believe it until late Friday night after Chris Cognac, the Hungry Detective, got to the bottom of the mystery and confirmed AB indeed is on Twitter.

If you want to follow AB he is @altonbrown

I have tweeted AB several times today and yesterday but he's failed to answer any of them, apparently I'm not important enough for him to even send one minuscule tweet to. :(

With his sudden foray into social media and a tweet telling of a website overhaul (btw AB is erasing his tweets every 24 hrs), I am at a crossroads with the site. The primary function was to tell fans about AB's events and reports on things related to him. However with Mr. Brown now talking to the masses, I do not see a point to continue the site as is.

So, I will either have to revamp the entire concept for the site. I also has wished that Mr. Brown would've enjoyed my PR skills so much that he would've hired me to do the same for him on a full-time basis. Another dream destroyed so back to my meaningless crap job I suppose.

With AB doing his own talking, I know this site would never be as great and I don't see a reason to keep it going.

The other big news from Friday, Alton won a James Beard Award for best TV host. Although he told me he didn't expect to win when I congratulated him back in March, he did.

Bitter Sweet Good Eats

Tonight is most likely the last regular episode of Good Eats. When announcing Alton Brown's contract renewal last month, Food Network's press release stated AB was moving on to develop another project while continuing his role as Iron Chef America commentator. For fans of GE, there are still three one-hour specials to look forward to but alas, Use Your Noodle 5 appears to be the final episode in the long running show.


For me, it has been more than just GE. I have enjoyed ICA and Feasting on Asphalt and Waves just as much. I am most certainly a fan of Mr. Brown for ALL that he gives his fans, not just one show at one time.

While it is sad to see the best cooking show on TV, and possibly ever, end I know that AB will still give us great projects in the future.

Best of luck Alton on whatever is next, ICA, Next Iron Chef and everything!

This devoted fan looks forward what's next and has confidence those will be great projects as well.