Alton Brown's WebFavs

"Alton Brown, undeniably one of fooddom's wittiest and creative chefs, is also know as perhaps its geekiest cook. We like that -- alot. Here he presents his favorite web links for Saucy Joes.

Nora Mill
Nora Mill produces some fine cornmeal products in the mountains of North Georgia. Family owned and operated for 3 generations now, the granary is a fully operational gristmill.
www.noramill.com/

Anson Mills
Glenn Roberts owner of Anson Mills knows more about corn than any person we have ever met. Anson mills produces fine heirloom varieties of both corn and rice.
www.ansonmills.com/

Serenbe
A big part of our chili show was filmed on location here. If you're looking for a great place to get away from the big city, Serenbe is a great option.
www.serenbe.com/

Sweet Grass Dairy
We think these folks make some of the finest cheese in America. Enough said!
www.sweetgrassdairy.com/

Reusable Bags
This is where we got our bags for our stuffing.
www.reusablebags.com/

Zevro
You may have noticed the fun cereal dispenser on the counter!
www.zevro.com/

Bambu
A truly amazing plant, bamboo is renewable, sustainable and makes beautiful products.
www.bambuhome.com/

Component Design Northwest, Inc.
This family-owned company makes solidly reliable thermometers that we use in our recipe testing and as well as on the show.
http://www.cdnw.com/

Inland Seafood
Whenever we need things from the sea, these are the folks we go to.
www.inlandseafood.com/

Francis-Francis
These people make the coolest looking espresso machines ever, not to mention that it actually makes a great tasting espresso.
www.francisfrancis.com/

MRI & Imaging of West Paces
These folks were great when we asked them to take an MRI of a watermelon for our Melon show.
www.westpacesimaging.com/"

Spiced Steak Caesar

Ed Note: We're going to put this entire recipe and photos up tonight on the site after we cook and photograph it one more time, but we couldn't resist adding it here today. This is an awesome dish -- relatively easy to prepare and a SURE hit. Also keep an eye for David Borzo's wine pairings with this dish.

Here's one of my favorite recipes!
The first bite is always a surprise to the taste buds. The fennel and thyme provide huge flavors that stand out from the caesar salad dressing.

For as many times as I've done this recipe I haven't brought my prep time down to 15 minutes. It's still hovering around 25 to 30 minutes. Crushing the fennel is the most time consuming process. I also like to mince my own garlic. To speed up the prep time hit the grocery store for these items:
-jar of minced garlic
-bottle of your favorite caesar salad dressing
We highly recommend Martin Brother's Calamata Feta
-two bags of Romaine or caesar salad lettuce
-jar of fennel seeds
-jar of ground thyme

Spices don't hold their flavor as long as we'd like them to, so if your fennel or thyme are over a year old think about a new jar.

Spiced Steak Caesar
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon fennel seeds, crushed
2 teaspoons dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
3/4 pound flank steak
1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1/2 cup Basic Caesar Dressing, (recipe follows)

Mix garlic, fennel seeds, thyme, salt 1/2 teaspoonpepper and 1/2 teaspoonoil in a small bowl. Rub over flank steak. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak, cook 5 minutes on each side for medium rare, until internal temperature registers 145 degrees F, or until desired doneness. Place romaine in a large bowl. Add Parmesan, remaining 1 teaspoon pepper and dressing; toss to coat. Divide salad equally among 4 plates. Slice steak into thin slices across grain at a 45 degree angle. Arrange over salad.

Basic Caesar Dressing
Ingredients:
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 lemons juiced (about 1/2 cup)
2 canned anchovy fillets
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, press
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Place oil, lemon juice, anchovy fillets and Worcestershire sauce in a blender, Whirl until smooth. Stir in garlic, parmesan, salt and pepper. Refrigerate, tightly covered, up to several days. I recently cooked the flank steak on the grill instead of in the frying pan. I seared both sides of the flank steak over high heat and then moved it over to the medium low heat area of the grill for 5-6 minutes perside. I had a foil packet of water soaked hickory woodchips that added a light flavor of smoke to the meat.This didn't make the recipe as quick and easy, but if you're a grilling fiend, it's a fun alternative.

Clean up:
Skillet
Cutting Board
Small bowl used for mixing up the spices
Clean up time may depend on your choice of skillets.
There'll be some excess garlic and fennel in the pan
that'll take a little time to clean. Cutting boardwill be a juicy mess.

Alabama: Belle Chevre Recipe - igourmet.com

"Fresh Strawberry Tart with Goat Cheese Log

Ed Note: This was a recipe from our 50 States of Cheese link to the iGourmet site. We've ordered the Belle Chevre for trying this out and will report results next month. We'll also throw out a couple of wine pairings to go with this, maybe "Goats Do Roam?"

Ingredients:
11 oz. FBC Goat Cheese Log at room temperature
1 T all purpose Flour
2 T butter
1/3 C sugar
4 fresh eggs
1 - 10" prebaked tart shell
1 pint strawberries, thinly sliced
Directions:
Cream goat cheese, butter and sugar at medium speed. Add flour. Add eggs, one by one. Put mixture in tart shell. Cook 30 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees until mixture is firm. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Rmeove from oven. When cool, place strawberries on top of tart, slightly overlapping with tips inward. Surface of tart should be covered. Use pastry brush to apply a thin coat of apricot glaze to top. Chill and serve."

Grand Openings? I think not...

So, I was looking through several offers on online bottle openers, foil cutters and the like, and I couldn't help but think that the engineers have taken over. Seems as though the process of extracting a cork has become increasingly complicated. From the "easy" machinations of the Rabbit-type contraptions to the gas powered extraction needles, there's a definite pecking order to the wine snob's device of choice.

Maybe some of it goes back to the two-pronged "waiters pull," that evil tuning fork we'd buy, knowing we too could pluck the cork with flair and aplomb, only to mangle then push the cork into the bottle followed by a string of expletives. "Screw you waiter boy."

And, in light of the fact that every time I pull a cork, I'm reminded of just how little upper body strength I possess, I'm going looking for a good solid bar puller, like the kind you see mounted in older bars and restaurants. Bottle in, cork out, boom, done.

What's New at Saucy Joes?

"Detroit Steel Brings the Big Rigs to a BBQ Event Near You

Ed Note: This is an excerpt from a recent conversation with Quality Grills' Mark BBQ Barlow

Every once in awhile you run into someone more interested in innovating than making a buck. Our recent conversation with Mark "BBQ" Barlow brought us to such a discovery. This guy gets it.

From his towable rigs (a favorite of pros) to his home-use charcoal grills, there's a reason for every design element. High-finish seals, multiple fire boxes, patented custom heat reflectors, stained *& sealed cutting boards, and easy clean-up features... it's all there.

A lot of the design "gee-whiz" comes from Mark's background in the family business, making restaurant equipment, and his insistance on doing it right each time.

"You see these guys welding all sorts of stuff onto half barrels, expecting smoke to magically adhere to meats, and you have to wonder what they're thinking. We've bought and built so many prototypes, we know the engineering behind getting good results every time you grill or smoke." says Barlow.

Barlow says his smaller charcoal grills are basically a labor love due to market conditions. Labor costs and quality control put the grills in the high hundreds, which seems steep for a charcoal grill. Our tests proved it to be worth every penny for the serious griller/smoker.

For more on Quality Grills, visit them online at www.qualitygrills.com or call Mark directly at (800) 562-9183."

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