I'm Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking

Rating:
Summary: A new classic! Good information, OUTSTANDING presentation
Review: If you care enough about food to be reading this review, but don't know who Alton Brown is, all I can say is, "For shame! Get thee to a cable or sattelite provider that has the Food Network, then watch every episode of Good Eats!" I'll wait till you're done...

Now that you know who wrote this book, I'm sure you'll understand why I pre-ordered it the second I heard it would be coming out. As you know (you do know now, right?) Alton Brown is the "Mr. Wizard" of cooking. He presents the science behind all kinds of cooking in a way that anyone can understand and enjoy.

"I'm Just Here For the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking" is the first in what will hopefully a series of books about the scientific principles underlying various recipes and cooking methods. This book focuses almost exclusively on the various methods of applying heat to food, what they do, how they affect foods, and how to control them. The presentation (in form and visual style) is reminiscent of a grade school textbook, but the text is light, easy to understand, and very witty.

Alton Brown is not a lightweight when it comes to erudition, either, but somehow the man can quote Brillat-Savarin and Greek philosophers without sounding stuffy. I only wish Brown had been there to collaborate with Harold McGee on "On Food and Cooking : The Science and Lore of the Kitchen" (ISBN 0684843285, still the most comprehensive work on food science and history available), or to give style tips for "The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore" (ISBN 0020098014, and a good read nonethless). While those books may be more comprehensive and technically-oriented than this book, the style can get kind of tough to handle in those books.

As I have said, "Food + Heat = Cooking" focuses on cooking methods, rather than ingredients, which is a bit of a switch from the usual style of Brown's TV show. He doesn't ignore the ingredients, though. Instead, he choses to present each ingredient in the context of a method of cooking, and discuss the effects of the cooking methods on the ingredients. It's an interesting approach, and one that results in a more recipe-oriented approach than any of the other works I've read on the science of cooking. (I've also read "The Science of Cooking"/ISBN 3540674667 and "The Inquisitive Cook"/ISBN 0805045414).

In other words, this is not just a text book, it's also a cookbook. I really admire Brown's ability to balance the two goals.

My only complaints are that the book could have used a bit more editing (there were several typos and some minor factual errors), and the paper stock was a bit too thick, so that I always felt like I was turning two or more pages at a time. Minor faults, I know, but I don't want you to think I didn't try to find fault with the book.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the principles of cooking and how to apply them in real-life situations.

Rating:
Summary: The science of cooking made practical
Review: Brown's "Good Eats" on cable's "Food Network" is possibly the most entertaining and informative show on TV. On the heels of his show comes "I'm Just Here for the Food", one of the most practical cookbooks I have ever seen.

The genius behind the book lies in the old "If You Teach a Man to Fish" saw. Brown takes this apporach, explaining in detail why and how different approaches to heating food bring success or failure in recipes. And though the book does include recipes, they are second to understanding why - for example - braising works better or worse in a given cooking situation.

Brown's writing and the book's graphic style have a sort of Fifties "boomerang Formica" feel that keep the reading light as a soufflé, yet as helpful as a pinch of salt in a bland dish.

I feel this book (and any of its followups) is essential reading for anyone not classically trained as a chef, but who desires to be master of his own kitchen. "I'm Just Here for the Food" is the best thing to happen to us average guy cooks since the invention of the combo thermometer/BBQ fork.

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Summary: Very Helpful
Review: I liked this book. Probably the most helpful section after the theoretical stuff up front is found in the source Appendices . Providing the URLs along with the usual phone numbers, etc. is a god-send. My only rap (and it has been quite softened by the afore-mentioned appendices) is that sometimes a recipe asks for an unusual or rare (or fresher than I can get) ingredient. I love his show Good Eats and the book was nothing less than his show in print, even with the humor! Keep it up AB and just might buy that $200 casserole.

Rating:
Summary: Like Bill Nye for Cooking
Review: If you have ever watched "Bill Nye the Science Guy," this book has a kind of Bill Nye flavor to it. It is entertaining and (mostly) mature (as opposed to Bill Nye), but it definitely has a whimsical tone and is geared toward people who ask "why?" It certainly does a good job of taking the mystery out of cooking good food. I am no longer a slave to recipes - I understand what is going on behind them, and can make intelligent decisions if I want to change them, or cook without them. This book is a real confidence builder in the kitchen.

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Summary: THE FIRST COOKBOOK ANYBODY SHOULD BUY !!
Review: The government should issue this book to everyone once they reach the age of majority. That way everyone will learn the proper, proven, and correct way to cook using various techniques. This book is like a one on one course with a master chef. After reading the book and implementing the cooking methods as described in the book you will be a master of all the basic cooking techniques you'll ever require. The world of cooking will be open to you. I'm not kidding! This book clearly and concisely walks you through many cooking methods (grilling, braising, boiling, roasting, sautéing, etc) allowing you to understand why one method gets one result and another gets a different one. The instructions are informative and presented in a humorous way (much like Alton Brown's Good Eats show on the Food Network). I have bought many cookbooks over the years but this is the one that has taught me the most. And the recipes are excellent as well.

It's easy to look at a recipe and follow it. It's another thing to have techniques in your cooking arsenal and use them to create your own (or replicate) recipes.

This book is a must for new cooks and is highly recommend for anybody who enjoys cooking.

Also recommended: Any books by Nick Stellino, Emeril Lagasse, or Jacques Pepin.

Rating:
Summary: The basic cookbook every kitchen needs!
Review: Do you understand convection and conduction? How microwaves heat as opposed to ovens, grills, broilers, and stove tops? Anyone who explains the way that cooking with water works by drawing diagrams of Lucy and Ethel eating candies from a conveyor belt has got to have a few screws loose, right? Or maybe he's finally hit on an interesting way to explain something most people would find boring! Alton Brown maintains that if you know and understand the basics, you can do pretty much anything you want in the kitchen.

To this end he includes "master profiles" of basic techniques, like searing. He gives us all the info we need to master the basic technique and move on, and there's always that little Alton touch of humor somewhere in there. For each method presented, there are also several recipes. In the case of searing you'll find Skirt Steak: the Master Recipe, Cast-Iron Duck, Red Flannel Hash, Bar-B-Fu, Blackened Tuna Steak, and Pan-Seared Portobello Mushrooms.

We've made quite a few recipes from this cookbook, all of which have ranged from solidly good to absolutely splendiferous. The fried calamari is the most tender, crispy fried calamari I've ever had in my entire life. I never though I'd like corn dogs, but when given the typical Alton spin-job, the recipe is top-notch! The brined and roasted turkey has become our standard recipe--everyone raves about our amazingly juicy and flavorful turkey. One of our first thoughts upon trying the fried tofu (right after "OH MY GOD!") was, "hey, I bet mushrooms would be really good marinated and fried like this!" (And they were.)

There are some mild negatives. While the directions are clear and well-laid-out, it seems like Alton occasionally forgets a tiny detail (nothing serious like whole recipe steps--just little things it would have been nice to know). The color scheme of this book is really ugly. Since this book just covers basic cooking techniques, Alton doesn't get into baking and stuff. And, lastly, the index is poor. If you want to find a specific recipe, you're better off remembering the basic cooking technique and looking it up that way. But this is such an incredibly handy cookbook to have that ultimately, those miniscule problems are far outweighed by the amount you'll learn here. Alton truly can teach you to be a better cook!

Rating:
Summary: Not a cook book, but a book on cooking
Review: If you like "Good Eats," you're bound to love this book. In this volume, Alton Brown goes into the how and why of cooking to help you understand the process involved. Any cookbook can tell you , for example, to sear a piece of meat. This book explains why you sear a piece of meat (and its not what you might think), why cast iron is the best cookware for searing it, and what happens if you mess up. All this is done with the same off-beat style as Alton displays on his Food Network TV show.

The illustrations and examples are priceless. Who else would explain polyunsaturated fats by using pictures of shopping bags and dead rats? The recipes (about 80) are easy to follow, and each builds on the one before to give you a good understanding of the techniques involved. The aim of this book is to free you from your dependence on recipes, so that given a set of ingredients, you can create, if not a culinary masterpiece, at least -- dare I say it-- good eats.

Just a note about the arrangement of the book. Unlike most cookbooks, this volume isn't arranged by ingredient. Instead, it is divided by technique, in keeping with the author's goal of teaching the basics. Also, you won't find any cakes or cookies here. This book is about "cooking" the foods as they come from the plant or critter involved, rather than "making" food from the raw materials. (As AB puts it, "I didn't make the steak, I made the steak better.") Stuff you "make" is planned for the next book.

My only gripe about the book is that the typeface is a tad small for my tired old eyes. And the pages, pleasantly heavy as they are, aren't coated so they might tend to soak up grease. That isn't much of a problem, because this book really isn't meant to be read next to the stove anyway. Read it in a comfortable chair and prepare to achieve enlightenment. Yes, you too can be a briner.


Rating:
Summary: This books makes curious people better cooks
Review: If you better understand *how* when you know *why*, and you learn best when entertained, I'm Just Here for the Food is your cookbook. It's actually better stated as a how-to-cook book organized by method of heat transmission, with some exceptions such as the chapter devoted to eggs. All the publishing details are done right here also, such as the index, bookbinding, color, readable typeface, and useful appendices and equipment and safety.

Using sound science sugar-coated with humor, I'm Just Here for the Food aims to fulfill the adage that if you give a man a fish, you feed him for day; teach him to fish, and you've fed him for a lifetime. Alton may not teach you how to fish, but count on learning how, when, and why to grill, braise, fry, bake, poach and more.

This book is a perfect companion to his "Good Eats" TV show, as he uses and recommends the same techniques and tools throughout without being redundant on the recipes. Unlike some of his TV chef counterparts, Alton generally employs ingredients and utensils found well within a modest budget, and he doesn't clown around with flashy but impractical dishes meant to delight barking-seal audiences.

Beyond an excellent introduction to the culinary arts, this book is a flat-out milestone achievement in creative interdisciplinary education. If food and science were taught like this in US schools, America would be a nation of genius gourmands. Most importantly, however, it will arm you with the knowledge to cook up some seriously Good Eats.

Rating:
Summary: Like Bill Nye for Cooking
Review: If you have ever watched "Bill Nye the Science Guy," this book has a kind of Bill Nye flavor to it. It is entertaining and (mostly) mature (as opposed to Bill Nye), but it definitely has a whimsical tone and is geared toward people who ask "why?" It certainly does a good job of taking the mystery out of cooking good food. I am no longer a slave to recipes - I understand what is going on behind them, and can make intelligent decisions if I want to change them, or cook without them. This book is a real confidence builder in the kitchen.

Rating:
Summary: Alton at his best
Review: Am I a fan of Alton Brown? I would have to say yes. Though not the junky that I once was, (no more sattelite means no more Good Eats,) this cookbook is enough to keep anyone a fan. So be prepared for me to be biased.

I will admit that Alton Brown is not the best cook in the world, nor is he the smartest or the funniest man. But he may arguably be one of the best television directors currently on the air. For some of you that might be saying a bit much, but as I said, I will argue with you.

Blending together an extensive knowledge of cooking proccesses, food, humor, pop culture, and directing, he created a show that has no rival. With sitcom and movie-mocking stories that revolve around cooking a certain type of food, he uses odd camera angles, quirky noises, even quirkier characters, and low-budget tv tricks that would have made Hitchcock envious, all to get the point across that food is fun. He also shows the science behind all things edible, and it comes across as very learnable.

But he has stepped beyond being a mere tv personality. He has done what most of his Food Network peers have done (Emeril, Jamie Oliver, Rachel Lee, etc.)and wrote a cookbook. But he has done something that his tv contemperaries couldn't. He wrote a cookbook that is equal to and in some ways better than his show.

Using his new medium, Alton expresses himself more so than he could in a half-hour time slot. He can now spend time getting ideas across, and does so quite well. And he brought his humor right along with him.

This is more than a cookbook though. The chapters are divided into the various cooking methods, (searing, grilling, roasting, frying, etc.) with each discussing how the method works, how to use it, and most importantly, what to use it with.

He also uses many illustrations (his own of course), along with chapter headings and recipe names that are very reminicent of his movie title spoofs, such as King Sear, I Fry, Amazing Braise, and Bar-B-Fu.

Alton set out in this book to explain most everthing about cooking, because as he himself says, "Until a cook comes to terms with the intricate tango of matter and energy that defines cooking, he or she will remain in a world of darkness and doubt". And while not exhaustive, he actually does a nice job of this.

The recipes contained within are all pretty nice sounding, but I don't think I have ever tried them. Nope, I'm content to use most recipes as a guide, preffering to create something similar, but uniquely my own. (Although this usually arises from the fact that we don't have everthing required by the recipe in question.)

Now I shouldn't even have to say it, but I highly reccomend this book to anyone who is a fan, or people who love to cook and appreciate humor, or people who are just curious about cooking and don't want to burn down the neigborhood.

And to finish, this review wouldn't be complete without saying "Now thats what I call GOOD EATS".