| I'm
Just Here for the Food
 by
Alton Brown
A tempting mixture of Joy of Cooking and The Way Things
Work, Alton Brown's new book features intriguing recipes such
as Scampi V1.0 and Alabama Alchemy whet your appetite for culinary
investigation.
If
you've ever wondered "Why?" while following a recipe,
I'm Just Here for the Food is definitely for you. Brown,
known for his geeky, technological approach to the kitchen on Food
Network's "Good Eats", believes that technique is the
foundation of good cooking.
In fact, I'm Just Here for the Food is a compendium of cooking
methods such as searing, grilling, roasting, frying, boiling, braising,
and so on. Brown thoroughly explains each technique and provides
a key recipe, along with several others to further illustrate it.
For instance, in Chapter 2, "Grilling", you'll find not
only "Grilled Butterflied Chicken", but also "Tropical
Mash" (grilled sweet potatoes and bananas, and "Grilled
Romaine."
Brown lists the necessary "software" (ingredients) and
"hardware" (tools) for each technique, and explains how
they, along with factors such as time and heat, come into play in
executing a particular recipe.
For example, for searing, he prefers a cast iron pan, and through
a brief dissertation on reactivity and conductivity in metals, you
know exactly why.
Brown has some original recommendations in the hardware department,
too: he prefers welding gloves to oven mitts and explains how to
make a nifty cooling rack from a handful of wooden chopsticks.
Along with novel ideas, detailed techniques, and some great recipes,
I'm Just Here for the Food is packed with useful information
such as how to buy spices and the best way to cut an onion. Humor,
lively graphics, and food lore such as how the Weber™
grill got its unique shape make Brown's scientific approach to cooking
not only informative, but a fun read for novice chefs and seasoned
professionals alike.
I'm
Just Here for the Food
by
Alton Brown
Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2002
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