I got the November 2009 issue of Food & Wine in the mail yesterday. It boasts “70 Classic and creative Thanksgiving Recipes…” Yep, turkey time is not that far away.
Last year I brined a turkey. I kept hearing about the process on the The Food Network (Yes, I know I always mention The Food Network. Yes, I do watch it that much. It’s like my kids and Spongebob). The brine is supposed to yield a moister bird. It’s a scientific process wherein the salt causes the muscle cells of the turkey to absorb water through osmosis. This hydrates the bird …read more

Did you catch the first episode of  The Next Iron Chef Season 2 yesterday?  If not, stop reading now, because I would hate to inadvertently spoil anything for you.
This season, the show, hosted by Alton Brown,  will be judged by Anya Fernald, Donatella Arapai, and Jeffrey Steingarten (my least favorite Iron Chef judge). Fans of the Iron Chefshow will be familiar with Arapai and Steingarten, but I was unfamiliar with Frenald until last night. I liked her. She sounds knowledgeable, but she remains polite. I love reality tv, but I’m not a fan of rudeness and so many reality tv shows …read more

No, I’m not offering up an Iron Chef or Alton Brown himself for a giveaway (though I think either would be a big hit)! I’ve actually got a The Next Iron Chef prize pack and a copy of Alton Brown’s upcoming cookbook, “Good Eats: The Early Years” to give away instead!

~ The first item of the giveaway is a The Next Iron Chef prize pack containing a The Next Iron Chef t-shirt, a poster and a postcard — any of which would be great to hang onto or give as a gift to the Food Network and/or Iron Chef fan …read more

I was recently sent the below video of the upcoming season of The Next Iron Chef, which premieres on the Food Network on Sunday, October 4th at 9:00 PM EDT.
This second season features ten new chefs competing for the top spot as the new Iron Chef on the series. The line-up includes:
1. Amanda Freitag from The Harrison in New York City
2. Brad Farmerie from Double Crown, Madam Geneva, Public, and The Monday Room in New York City
3. Dominique Crenn from Luce @ InterContinental in San Francisco
4. Eric Greenspan from The Foundry on Melrose in Los Angeles
5. Holly Smith from Café …read more

With Cinco de Mayo just a few days away, it’s the perfect time to start planning a fun themed menu for a barbecue or other casual get-together!
This recipe for Masa Tots comes from Alton Brown, and is made by using shredded corn tortillas and jalapenos (among other things!) and forming them into little balls for frying.
Masa Tots
10 ounces corn tortillas, approximately 20
1/2 cup whole milk
1 whole egg
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup diced onions
2 tablespoons minced jalapenos
2 quarts peanut oil
Tear the tortillas into small pieces and place in a food processor. Add the milk, egg, …read more

I love making cinnamon buns but they can be so time-consuming, especially for breakfast, that I don’t make them often.
Thankfully, Alton Brown has come to the rescue with his delicious overnight cinnamon rolls, which you make the evening before, stick in the fridge overnight, and bake in the morning.

The combination of the melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon filling create a delicious caramel-y filling, and the cream cheese in the icing actually seems to tone down the sugar overload!

One of our favorite Saturday morning breakfasts is German pancakes. I’ve seen them called a lot of different things — Dutch babies, puff pancakes, etc., but I grew up calling them German pancakes so that’s what they are here! The kids still love standing at the oven to watch them rise and still get a kick over how big they get.
They’re very easy to make: 4 eggs beaten well, add one cup of milk, and then one cup of flour. You can add a tablespoon of sugar and a dash of vanilla for a little sweetness, or if you’re going …read more

How was your Thanksgiving?
Except for a couple of sickies (including me!) ours went pretty well! We stuck with our Foot Network-inspired menu and while it was fun to try new things we’ll probably stick to our traditional dishes next year.

With the U.S. Thanksgiving just days away, it’s time to start thinking about turkey prep!
We’ve been wanting to try brining for a while now and saw Alton do it over the weekend on the Dear Food Network Thanksgiving. Alton has yet to let us down so we went out yesterday to get the spices and broth that we need. Our biggest issue now is finding something big enough to keep the turkey in and also have it fit in the fridge overnight.
I think we might also try Tyler’s dressing and Giada’s mashed potatoes. We always stick with the basics but …read more

Alton Brown decided to stick-it out with the Food Network and re-upped for three more years.  A little militant sounding perhaps, but we are talking about the Food Network.  With a the networks campaign to rid itself of the Titans of the culinary world who built the Network one often wonders what will happen next, or rather who will be deployed to the Nether-Reaches.
I am not surprised that Alton will continue to be a Food Network fixture.  He has a successful TV series with Good Eats and is the host of what I do consider to be great TV in …read more