I Love You, Alton!

I think I may have a problem.  I mean, I definitely have a problem.  You know how I could tell?  (And these were NOT the first clues, by the way.) Well, there I was, on the living room floor, all my babies sound asleep in bed (I love today - the kids played non-stop from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and then fell into a coma) and what was I doing?  Sitting with a book nestled in my arms.  Only I wasn't reading it. I was totally distracted by a new cooking show on the new cooking channel. My mouth was hanging open, I was reaching for a pen to write down a recipe, plus I was simultaneously judging the new chef on her kitchen, outfit and presentation.  (I loved her kitchen, she was a bit of a talk-through-clenched-teeth-while-you're-smiling snob, and I'm going to try her petite-four recipe.) And what was the book I was just about to get to?  Well what else? A new cookbook.  Yes, I have a problem.

I'm so excited about this new cookbook - I got it for my birthday.  It's Alton Brown's latest - the first in a trio of books that will cover ten whole years of his show, Good Eats, which I love.  I love it so much that I don't actually watch the show because every time I do, I can not relax and enjoy it.  I start to panic. I have to grab a notebook and pen and furiously scribble down everything that comes out of Mr. Brown's mouth before I forget it.  Thank you, Alton:  I don't have to do that any more because he's put every episode down on paper - this book covers the first 80 (!!!) episodes and I'm thrilled.  It's quite a hefty tome.  One problem.  It's not too easy to navigate due to the fact that it's organized chronologically by episode rather than by subject matter.  A wee bit daunting.  So guess what I'm going to do.  Yup, I'm going to pull a Julie/Julia project and cook my way through every episode.  THAT's how much I love Alton.

No, I'm not going to blog about it all; the only reasons I bring it up at all are 1) to declare my undying love for Alton (I love you too, Jamie Oliver, don't  you worry) and 2) to tell you that I successfully made FANTASTIC steak the other night.  I've never made really tender fabulous steak before, and thanks to Alton, I did.  And if you happen to see me at a local liquor store in the near future, do not worry that I'm becoming an alcoholic.  You may rest assured that I am only purchasing more cognac to use in the gorgonzola cream sauce to go with the succulent steaks.  (Sorry, vegetarians, I can never join your ranks no matter how much I love vegetarian cooking.)  I had wondered if buying a whole new type of liquor was truly necessary for this sauce and I gotta say YES.  It WAS.  Mmmm.

Want to know the secrets? Well go buy the book.  It's the first recipe in there.

Good night, Mr. Brown. See you in the morning. (The next section is a beginner course on eggs....)