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BBS now on Flickr

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

Shun Ken Onion

I just set up a Photostream on Flickr for Building Blocks Show.  If you enjoy food porn I encourage you to come check it out.

Unlike the content created for the website and blog which is copyrighted, I have handpicked these photos to be used under the creative commons license as attribution and non-derivative works. This means we encourage you to use our photos in their original form, but please give us credit and link back to our homepage or blog. Find out more about this type of license on Creative Commons.

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Alton Brown is Coming to Town!

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

Hubby earned big points today when he sent me this link to Gizmodo.  Wilson Rothman reported that Alton Brown is coming to Seattle October 16th for his Good Eats:  The Early Years book tour.  I can’t wait!  What is it about Alton Brown that I love so much?  Let me enumerate it for you:

  1. Every recipe I’ve made of his has been genius:  Red Snapper en Papillote, biscuits, cookies, eggs and on and on and on…  They are easy to read, detailed, well-researched and full of heart.  <3
  2. He speaks to me. Okay, I’m not hearing voices, but I’m a math/science geek and he tells me everything I need to know about the how and why of the science behind cooking in words I can relate to.
  3. He knows his stuff.  From cleaning mushroom to cleaning the kitchen, Alton Brown doesn’t just repeat what is generally accepted to be true.  He does his own research and reports to the viewers.
  4. He has a quirky and fun TV personality that always makes me smile.  (I like cheese.)
  5. He is a savvy business man and is so hot when he’s serious and laying into noobs on The Next Food Network Star.

Rothman also has a fun interview:  Alton Brown: Kitchen Gadget Judgment Calls – Yea or Nay?

Here’s the list of of book tour dates from Alton Brown’s official site:

Good Eats: The Early Years Book Tour

Friday, October 9
NYC
Barnes & Noble – Union Square
7PM
Saturday, October 10
NYC
Food & Wine Festival
12:30PM
Sunday, October 11
NYC
Food & Wine Festival
12PM
Tuesday, October 13
Boston
Brookline Booksmith at Coolidge Corner Theatre
6PM
Wednesday, October 14
Arlington VA
Sur La Table – Pentagon Row
12PM
Wednesday, October 14
Washington DC
Smithsonian (not sure which, check altonbrown.com later for verification)
5PM
Thursday, October 15
Chicago
Borders – N. Michigan Ave
7PM
Friday, October 16
Seattle
Third Place Books – Lake Forest Park, WA
7PM
Saturday, October 17
San Diego
Costco – Fenton Pkwy
1PM
Sunday, October 18
Austin
Location TBD
12PM
Saturday, December 5
Norcross GA
“Lunchtime”
BJ’s Wholesale Club – Norcross

I hope to see some of you at the Seattle signing.  Leave me a comment if you’re planning to go.  Maybe we can do a foodie meet up.

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Support Building Blocks Show and purchase an Alton Brown book from our Amazon store:

The latest:
Good Eats: The Early Years

My favorite:

I’m Just Here for More Food: Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking

Other greats:

I’m Just Here for the Food: Version 2.0

Alton Brown’s Gear For Your Kitchen

I’m Just Here for the Food: Kitchen User’s Manual

I’m Just Here for the Food: Cook’s Notes

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Skagit River Ranch Farm Day August 30th!

Monday, August 10th, 2009

chickens

I just got my tickets for the Skagit River Ranch Farm Day and am very excited.  Even though Skagit River sells at my local farmer’s market, I love taking the drive up to Sedro-Woolley a few times a year to chat with farmers George and Eiko, see how my meat is grown and see the fluffy little chickies.

This first annual farm day will have everything I could ask for: sustainability panels, prestigious guest chefs, farm tours, a petting zoo and of course, lots of grass fed burgers and sausages.

steer

Malissa’s daughter trying to coerce the horses at the ranch to eat out of her hand:

Audrey at SRR

Here are bios of the guest chefs:

Maria Hines:  Executive Chef and Owner of Tilth restaurant in Seattle, which serves organic cuisine in the New American style.  Among numerous other accolades, she was winner of the 2009 James Beard Award for Best Chef Northwest.  Let’s just say, I’m calling as soon as they open tomorrow to make reservations!  In an interview for Savory Cities Blog, Chef Hines was asked what the best piece of cooking advice she’s ever received was.  What was her answer?  “Take accountability.”

Greg Atkinson:  cookbook author specializing in Northwest cuisine.  Chef Atkinson is a local leader in the slow food movement and won the James Beard Foundation’s M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award in 2000.

Here are a list of Atkinson’s books (Disclaimer:  Links to Amazon.  If you purchase these books from these links BBS gets a percentage from Amazon):

In Season: Culinary Adventures of a San Juan Island Chef
The Northwest Essentials Cookbook: Cooking With the Ingredients That Define a Regional Cuisine
Entertaining in the Northwest Style: A Menu Cookbook
West Coast Cooking
Recipes from the San Juan Islands

Craig Hetherington:  Executive Chef for TASTE Restaurant at the Seattle Art Museum where sustainability is an integral part of their philosophy.  Check out a quote from Chef Hetherington:

“Our local cuisine is the cornerstone of everything we do. If someone in the kitchen comes up with a great idea for a dish, we first see if we can get the ingredients locally. If we can’t get them, or we’re unable to adapt the dish using local ingredients, we don’t make it. It’s as simple as that.”

I’m looking forward to seeing these chefs square off in the perfect burger cook-off and hope to see you all there too.

Updated 8/22/2009 with chicken and steer pictures courtesy of Eiko Vojkovich, Skagit River Ranch.

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