Feasting on Asphalt: The River Run by Alton Brown

Recently one of my culinary students asked me if I had ever heard of Alton Brown. Had I heard of Alton Brown? He's like my culinary hero. He's one of the reasons I got into becoming a foodie. He actually advised me in person to go to culinary school in order to achieve certain career goals I had.

Yes, I have heard of Alton Brown!!!

I had several of his books on the bookcase in my office and brought them out for my student to inspect. From looking them over I inspired myself to take one of his books and give it a read in my quest for extending my culinary knowledge. 

I chose Feasting On Asphalt: The River Run because I had been such a fan of the 6-part documentary along with the first miniseries. In 2007, Alton Brown and his camera crew rented motorcycles and a RV to drive the entire length of the Mississippi River, starting all the way down in the Louisiana Delta up to the lutefisk filled waters of Minnesota. 

Along the way, the crew would explore the diners, restaurants and food manufacturers that were off the beaten path in hopes of recapturing the spirit of the All-American road trip before the days of the interstate highway systems made everything much more accessible.

There's a lot of fun to be had going the long way. Sadly, the extra time isn't one of those benefits. But by travelling the byways as opposed to the interstates, there are still some small town gems to be found. But you better hurry as larger box stores and restaurant conglomerates are making those bight spots fade into distant memory.

This book is a journal companion piece to the video diary Brown makes of his trip. Added to this book that you don't find on the show are about 40 recipes. Brown also includes a buyer's guide for some of the special ingredients he bought along his trek to make those dishes. However, being that this book is about 15 years old and COVID lockdown did considerable damage to the smaller corners of the culinary industry, don't be surprised if many of the attractions and purveyors are no longer in business.

I wish Alton Brown had written such a journal for his first road trip which explored the original path of legendary Route 66. Also, I just recently learned that there was a third volume in the series! Feasting on Waves had Alton and company on boats touring the Caribbean. How did I miss this one?! And why didn't Alton write a book about it?? I especially would like such a thing since with Alton Brown's relationship with Food Network has been terminated, Feasting on Waves is no longer available on streaming. 

Ah... missed opportunities.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

The Art of Sushi (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

After revealing the secrets of chocolate, French graphic artist Franckie Alarcon explores the Art of Sushi. After noticing how the Japanese dish had exploded in his native France, Alarcon traveled to the land of the rising sun to research how sushi was meant to be. In his research Alarcon will learn about sushi from both a traditional viewpoint and the modernized method. The artist will venture out into the Pacific to gather seafood in order to experience the freshest sushi ever as well as trek into the mountains of Japan to witness the growth and harvesting of sushi's most underrated ingredient- rice!

It's been said that a sushi master does nothing but learn to make rice for the first 7 years of an apprenticeship. That seems to be more of a myth than anything else. Most of the sushi chefs in this book got their start cleaning bathrooms and floors the first couple of years of their education. In Japan, a master chef wouldn't dream of letting a newbie make the rice. It's too important and expensive as an ingredient to let an untrained eye muck it up. In Japan, once an apprentice is given the chance to serve customers, they practice towards the end of the shift on customers who are at the point of fullness and inebriation. That way, they aren't able to decipher if the student chef's food was edible or not!

As Alarcon learns more about sushi, he unfolds other underrated elements of sushi making. From how the right piece of pottery can reveal a lot about both the sushi chef and diner to the methods of brewing shoyu, soy sauce and sake, if Franckie Alarcon overlooked anything in the art of sushi, it was by accident for sure.

This look at sushi is more than just an exotic exploration. Alarcon examines the ways sushi has become domesticated by both dining with a Japanese couple in their home as well as visiting a pair of Michelin star sushi chefs in France. Oddly enough, it's at a farm in France where Alarcon learns about the development of sushi's most famous condiment: wasabi!

As to be expected with a graphic novel about cuisine, especially seafood, The Art of Sushi dips its toe into the choppy waters of ecology and sustainability. Clearly, the great flocks of the world's oceans have been over-fished. The dubious nature of farm raised seafood has proven to not be the answer to this problem. Most experts on food ecology would point to using plant-based substitutes as the solution. Ironically, Alcaron being a Frenchman has an answer to the problem that I've never thought of before: eat the highest quality seafood possible as a bigger price tag often means greater care has been given to the product.

A staggering fact about water conservation that just had to be shared: it takes 4000 liters of water to grow 2.2 pounds of rice! That's just insane. Needless to say, that's something I learned from this amazing culinary graphic novel that will be shared with my culinary students. Several recipes for sushi and accompaniments are included in this book as well as information on the restaurants featured and online shopping resources are included for the at home cook who wants to create sushi of their own for family and friends.

Completing this review completes Task #7 (About Food or Beverage) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Popcorn! by Frances Towner Giedt

This is my last Culinary reading of 2023, It's a short read of less than 110 pages. I got this book as part of the 'Take a Book, Leave a Book' program of the Bald Head Island Library earlier this summer. My students are always asking to make popcorn and I support them wanting to explore their culinary interests. I just would like for them to season things up a bit if I did let them make popcorn. Hopefully this book might help. Plus, with the numerous fun facts, you really learn about this history of this food stuff!

This 1995 book contains several dozen popcorn recipes divided into the categories of Sweet, Savory and Skinny. You'd think that every recipe would be the same just telling the prepper to pop the corn, then add seasonings, toss and eat. However, author Frances Towner Giedt utilizes pots, stoves, sauce pans and even the oven for making these popcorn snacks. There are several recipes that sound really good like the Rocky Road Popcorn Balls and the Taco flavor. There's even a few trail mix style recipes that incorporate nuts, fruit and chocolate into the popcorn. A few other recipes might not be so easy to create as posted. For a nearly 30 year old book, there are some ingredients called for that I don't think manufacture anymore, such as the powdered spaghetti sauce mix called for to craft the pizza popcorn dish. But if I can find out a substitute, I really want to make this stuff.

I also share a bit of concern with the skinny recipes. Not that I don't think that they could be tasty or anything like that. I think some of the nutritional values and dietary suggestions might be a tad outdated. The author has written or co-authored several healthy eating cookbooks sponsored by the Joslin Diabetes Center, a reputable medical institution. So I suspect Frances Towner Giedt's facts are accurate and sound. However, there's been tons of research that has changed dietary recommendations and requirements almost a dozen times in the last 4 decades. Plus, I think some of the butter and sugar substitutes called for are now considered carcinogenic. My advice: if you 21st century aspiring popcorn chefs out there ever use this cookbook, do your research on any of the name-brand items called for in the healthy recipe section.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Wars: The Life Day Cookbook- Official Recipes From a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Yesterday was Life Day. It's like Star Wars Christmas. First established as part of Star Wars canon, the Wookiee people's most sacred day was introduced in the Star Wars Holiday Special on November 17th, 1978. The special is notable not just because of how bad it was, but also because it contained a small animated segment that marked the debut of the galaxy's greatest bounty hunter, Boba Fett! 2023 marked the 45th anniversary of all that and it just so happened that yesterday coincidentally when I finished reading this Life Day themed cookbook.

The book is written as if it really did exist in the Star Wars universe. The writer is acclaimed chef of Maz Kanata, Strono 'Cookie' Tuggs, who is a main character at the Star Wars experience at Disney, was also the writer of the Galaxy's Edge cookbook from 2019.

There are over 3 dozen recipes written from Cookie's perspective. He talks about the actual ingredients and the planets that they come from. Thankfully, you're not expected to have bantha meat and mudhorn eggs on hand. Earth-bound writers Jenn Fujikawa and Marc Sumerak assist to translate Cookie's recipes with the human equivalent ingredients. 

If you look over the recipes closely, you'll realize that the Star Wars universe enjoys holiday treats that are similar to ours. Gloomroot Pancakes are the latkes with sour cream and apple sauce we enjoy at Hanukkah. Wroshyr Sap Cider is the hot apple cider that keeps us warm near a roaring fire. There are even some non-holiday recipes involved too. The color-changing Cirilian Noodle Salad is the magical Unicorn Noodles dish I've made with younger students for years now. Can't afford to buy supplies at the Black Spire Outpost? Cookie has you set with several DIY projects to make life day robes, trees and orbs. 

Speaking of the orbs. For Life Day yesterday, I taught some of my Culinary Arts students how to make a mini version of the jelly orbs recipes. I didn't have the right ingredients. But I was able to use a fair substitution. Hopefully after Thanksgiving, we'll give it another go with the required agar agar powder.

The photos in this cookbook were absolutely stunning. So colorful and vibrant. The food stylists behind these portraits deserve beaucoup accolades and I hope they've won some awards for them. 

Lots of great ideas. Maybe next year for some holiday fun in a galaxy far, far away, I might use recipes from this cookbook to my students to do a culinary venture based on Life Day. My student's might not enjoy it as much as me. But it'll be a heck of a lot less stressful than having to do a Thanksgiving themed sale. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars. 

As Cooked on TikTok by Emily Stevenson and TikTok

TikTok.

If you ask me, it's the single most important piece of media to influence and inspire amateur chefs and foodies in the last 5 years. In the 80s, it was PBS cooking shows. The 90s and 2000s, it was Food Network. The 2010s was the decade of abrasive chefs like Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay. Today, if a student comes to me wanting to explore a new recipe, the idea usually came in the form of a video from TikTok.

Due to the apps questionable tracking methods of users data, I don't use TikTok. Plus my school blocks it. So if a student wants me to see something on the social media site, they usually have to show the video from their phones. So when I discovered this officially licensed cookbook over the summer, I jumped at the chance to buy it for my culinary classes. 

The recipes are all from TikTok users. Add to it some cooking tips from professional chefs such as Blue Ginger's Ming Tsai. Throw in some useful cooking hacks from the TikTok tech team and include QR codes in order to access each recipe and you're as close to becoming a TikTok chef without being an official user of the site.

My students were very excited when I showed them this book. Some laughed, thinking it was absurd to buy a cookbook when I can get all the recipes for free on TikTok. But just about everyone I shred this book with was enthusiastic to use this new resource.

I decided to incorporate this cookbook into my lesson plans under the unit for recipe development as well as the unit for pricing and budgeting. Incorporating social media technology into a culinary business was also explored. We tested out several recipes ranging from a cake recipe that only called for ice cream and flour to a lasagna noodles recipe that called packs of ramen noodles. 

My students were very surprised at how the ice cream cake turned out. But I explained to them that ice cream with it's milk, fat, sugar and eggs has everything else you need to make a cake with in addition to the other ingredient of flour. So if you are in a pinch or can't afford all the ingredients that a cake recipe calls for, you can make a semi-decent cake alternative similar to a pound cake loaf consistency.

The reaction to the ramen lasagna was mixed. Some folks liked it. Others abhorred it. All wanted to know why someone would use ramen noodles to make a lasagna. I explained that a lot of users on TikTok are Millennials and Gen Zers on a budget. You can buy 4 packs of ramen for almost as much as 1 pound of lasagna noodles - or cheaper. Frugal cooking calls for creative substitutions and as a chef who's known for utilizing items about to go bad or expire in creative and affordable ways, it's one thing that I really admire about the TikTok community. 

We also explored food trends and how recipe ideas go viral by making one of the foods that put TikTok on the culinary map: cloud bread. Essentially egg whites, baking soda, some sort of dairy and of course food coloring, these tie-dyed little cakes are like eating a eggy little cloud. We also learned that with something as simple as cloud bread, it's really easy to mess it up. The easiest recipes usually are.

There's a bunch of recipes that I personally hope to explore. Full of quirky and creative ideas that can also be rather affordable, I think I found a great modern resource for my culinary students; that's also a book! Sure, my students could use the app on their phone. But one problem I noticed with TikTok is that nothing is written down. Unless you follow the video precisely and can remember all the steps, my students often get lost and tend to forget something important. So while the app is free, having everything collected in a book that can easily be photocopied and shared with multiple cooking teams is a handy tool to help bring a relatable culinary resource safely into my classroom without breaking the confidentiality of anyone's online presence.

Plus a portion of the sale of this cookbook benefits No Kid Hungry; a very worthwhile cause that I support and personally battle every single day within my school's struggling community.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Andrew Zimmern's Field Guide to Exceptionally Weird, Wild and Wonderful Foods: An Intrepid Eater's Digest

Andrew Zimmern. Host of Bizarre Foods and several spin-offs. Minnesota Chef and writer. Man who will eat just about anything. 

I really like Zimmern. He seems authentic. I don't get the vibe that he's conceited or feels like he's the smartest person in the room compared to a lot of other celebrity and professional chefs that I know and watch. Zimmern has a world view that the things we eat are what can bring us together, despite differences in both opinion and taste. It's something I try to emulate in my culinary classes; especially when we discuss global food cultures. 

Over the past 6 months, I've been trying to increase my culinary knowledge by reading all kinds of works about the food industry. After the recent loss of our oldest cat, Lily, I felt like I needed something light for a while. Thankfully, Andrew Zimmern's Field Guide to Exceptionally Weird, Wild and Wonderful Foods was sitting on my to-read shelf and it helped me during my time for grief and recovery immensely. 

Though there are a few recipes in this book, this is not a cookbook. It's also not 100% culinary related. There are about 3 dozen alphabetical listings of foods that Zimmern finds to be kinda oddball. Some of the things he lists like Bird's Nest Soup and Durian (both of which I have sampled), I wholeheartedly agree with. Twinkies and Hot Dogs (again, things I have consumed), I just don't. I understand Chef's argument that how they are made with a terrifying assortment of parts, bits and chemicals can be looked upon as weird. I would define those foods as troubling. As for things like alligator, (one of my all-time fried favs), I would classify them as exotic. Wonderful, not Weird. But to a non-food professional, I can see those large lizards are being both weird and wild to eat.

Amazon rates this book as being for readers aged 8-12. Zimmern in his opening chapter says his book is for all ages. I know that kids and adults alike love Zimmern's TV travel series that explore foods that the common American kitchen lacks. So this book has a universal appeal to fans. However, with some very advanced terms and a frank but necessary discussion of how feces, urine and blood are often intertwined with some of these foods, I can see where not all readers will be fans of this book. OR that all readers would be ready for the material.

The all-age appeal that I think Zimmern is talking about is some of the additional factoids he includes. For example, under his chapter on bats, he includes facts about some of the greatest baseball hitters of all-time. That appeals to generations of readers. I know his TV shows cover non-culinary aspects of the cultures he visits and if Zimmern had stuck to that as additional information, I would totally be on board. I would have liked more entries of bizarre foods and less about how to defeat a zombie, as discussed in the chapter on brains. The off-the-wall non-culinary segments were fun. Just not what I wanted in a Bizarre Foods related read.

Going back to the bats. This book was written in 2012. Of course, many of us know of the urban legend that somebody in China eating a bat was who started COVID in 2019. I'd be interested to know how if this book was re-issued today how Andrew Zimmern would cover the eating of bats due to the rumors. It would be an opinion that I would definitely be interested in hearing.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Cooking With Deadpool

This was a birthday or Christmas gift from my Bride last year. You'd think that a cookbook by a fictional character would mostly be useful for entertainment enjoyment purposes and not be very useful to a professional chef and culinary teacher. Yet, this has got to be one of the most technically sound cookbooks that I have ever encountered in the celebrity chef/series franchise cookbook realm.

Segments are on advanced culinary terms like mise en place and spatchcock chicken. Articles on menu planning and the right types of knives to use abound in this book. There's some basic baking and chocolate work. Add in breakfast cookery, appetizers and breakfast and Cooking With Deadpool feels like the year-long Culinary Arts I course that I teach 9th-12th graders! Except Deadpool and his creative team don't seem to mind taking photos of work and the various steps more trickier recipes need in order to be successful executed!

That's not to say that this cookbook isn't oozing with Wade Wilson's signature off-kilter look on things. Each recipe has an introduction made by Deadpool that will dive into his past history as inspiration for the dish. Friend and X-Man Cable provides a couple of recipes for the book. Tex-Mex cooking gets a lot of love in this book. Spider-Man provides his Aunt May's famous recipe of wheat cakes! And yes! There is an entire chapter devoted to the Merc With a Mouth's beloved chimichangas!

While I did really appreciate the technical merits of this book, I did feel like some of the ingredient choices were odd. Okay- it's a cookbook written by Deadpool. It's not supposed to be totally normal. For instance, the tres leches cake uses pomegranate for moisture and garnish. That just sounds strange to me. The Latin American restaurant down the street from me uses cherries and it's A-MAZE-ING! So when it comes to the ingredient lists, feel free to adjust the recipe as needed without changing the steps. I'm making the ceviche recipe for my wife, but I didn't put as much onion or jalapeno as I know that's not quite her taste. As for some of the fusion dishes, like the beef stroganoff inspired meat pies, I admire the creativity and inspiration. Putting chopped celery in a tuna casserole is just blasphemy.

A book that teaches about cooking while very much full of Deadpool humor and lore!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Written by Marc Sumerak. Recipes by Elena P. Craig.

The Founding Foodies: How Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin Revolutionized American Cuisine by Dave DeWitt

I managed to rescue this book from the library of the Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham when it closed in 2018. I thought that my mother-in-law would enjoy it (and she did). However, once returnedm it just stayed on my to-read shelf until recently.

The Founding Foodies is a scholarly work intended to explore the culinary impacts on American society made by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin. In reality, the author should have just focused on Washington and Jefferson. Ben Franklin is maybe mentioned 15 times in this book and really the only thing I learned about him in a culinary stand point was that when Franklin was ambassador to France, he ate so much rich food that he had to resign his commission due to gout. 

Benjamin Franklin is known for his many inventions. The biggest impact of these innovations to the world of food has got to be the Franklin stove. Yet, Dave DeWitt doesn't talk about Franklin's appliance at all. Not even in passing.

If the name Dave DeWitt means anything to you, that's because he's both the creator of Chile Pepper Magazine as well as the Fiery Foods and BBQ Show extravaganza held annually in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For the sake of transparency, I have met Dave DeWitt back when I owned a hot sauce store and I have been a subscriber to Chile Pepper Magazine for decades (although DeWitt is no longer affiliated with the publication). Despite the acquaintance, I am not being compensated for this review.

Thomas Jefferson is the main focus of this book. The third POTUS is responsible for bringing French cuisine to the American populace. While Dave DeWitt gives a ton of praise to Jefferson, thankfully the food historian doesn't gloss over the fact that Jefferson owned slaves and that he really did a number over the whole Hemmings family.

George Washington's impact on how American's eat is more on the agricultural side. Jefferson was a Renaissance man. Washington was an everyman. Washington brought composting and use of manure into vogue with the American farmer. These strides helped to make our nation a land of plenty. But once again, Washington was a slave owner. Though our first president seemed to be a little more benevolent or at least fairer in treatment than Jefferson was to his slaves. But not by much.

DeWitt spends a little bit of time examining American food norms prior to the American Revolution. But one of the author's main focuses is on spirits. Fresh drinking water wasn't as readily available as one would think. So distilled beverages were a necessity. As were hot beverages, as the high temperatures killed microbes. While I did know that the Revolution changed us from a nation of tea drinkers over to a land of coffee addicts, I didn't realize that our independence made us whiskey connoisseurs.

While beer never really has lost its hold on the nation, tariffs on wheat, barley and hops from England led to Americans making their own alcoholic beverages. Rum was a biggie at first. But English controlled sugar cane fields and molasses supplies put a kibosh on that. Enter whiskey! Our abundance of eye and oak helped create bourbon and American pubs and bars were never the same. 

Also of alcoholic note- hard ciders. Though once beer became favorable to Americans again, it took a back seat. Though, DeWitt's discussion of the drink inspired me to try a hard cider for the first time just last week. YUM!

DeWitt includes quite a few recipes in this book. Many of which I am interested to try. Especially the peanut soup. I fell in love with the dish when I went with my parents to Mount Vernon. Only imagine my heartbreak when I learned that the recipe I devoured wasn't the recipe of George Washington's. Apparently, you don't get to eat at his homestead. I apparently had my peanut soup at a nearby inn.

I learned a lot about early American food history. Some of which I think will be beneficial to my culinary teaching career. I would love to devote a week of French inspired foods to my students and the teachers in our upcoming food ventures. I just don't think most of what I learned about distillation is things I can share with high schoolers.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Candy Freak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbell of America by Steve Almond

A chance tour of a candy factory inspires creative writing professor and self-proclaimed candy freak, Steve Almond to explore the world of candy bars. Instead of focusing on the Big 3- Hershey's, Mars and Nestle, Almond will check out some of the few remaining independent candy manufacturers still in existence. In his confectionery tour across America, the author will discover new flavors, examine the challenges these small businesses face and brainstorm new strategies for survival. 

When Steve Almond writes about his candy tours, he's a great writer. However, the author poetically waxes way too much about other subjects. For example, this book was written during the election of 2004 and while he awaits the next plane that will continue his foodie work-vacay, Almond watches the results of the primaries and I think the whole sch-bang between W. and John Kerry. I completely understand why he mentions this as Almond talks with fellow travelers and air stewards about their love of candy during his trek. Yet, the writer also spends about 5 pages talking about the administration of Bush 43 being the new Nazi party and that's just 5 pages too long for a book that's supposed to be devoted to one's love of candy. 

When it comes to Steve Almond's love of candy, the journalist gets really in depth with his personal history. REALLY in-depth. I don't need to know how the wordsmith used a candy bar to measure the length of his teenage erection. I don't need to know of his carnal exploits with chocolate and his past lovers. But I did enjoy learning about the old school candies he bought as a kid. 

Steve Almond grew up in the late 60s through the 70s. This is like the golden age of candy. Sure, there have been candy bars since just after the Civil War. But the rules of marketing and advertising towards kids changed during Almond's childhood and that made for a quantum leap in the types of unique sugary treats that were created just for kids. Bubblicious bubble gum, Ring Pops, Blow Pops, Jelly Belly jelly beans, Reese's Pieces and Pop Rocks came out during this period of pop culture history. Sour candies were still a decade away but Almond got to grow up during America's introduction to the gummi candies of Germany! And of course, this was the age of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and all of the amazing treats that sprung off from that cult classic film!

Unfortunately, the writer doesn't seem to mention anything about the Gene Wilder movie that was so inspirational to my youth. Maybe that's my story to tell. One inspiration however that I gained from Steve Almond, was to go on a search for some of the candy bars that the author discovered while researching this book. I spent an entire weekend in the mountains of North Carolina looking for things like the Peanut Chew and Valomilks in the candy shops/tourist traps of Maggie Valley and Waynesville, NC. I got bupkis. However, I can say that my trip wasn't ruined as my wife's hankering for Cracker Barrel led me to find several of the candies Steve Almond learned about in the 'Old Country Store' section of the Mebane, NC location. 

I'm reading books about the culinary and food industries to increase my knowledge for my continuing education as well as being able to help my culinary students with their questions about all things epicurean. It's to my great lament that while I can cull things about candy I found in this book into some of my lectures, I cannot in good conscious add this book to the bookshelf I have of books for my students to borrow. I think I could get away with his use of the F-word. I mean, that's both Chef Gordon Ramsey and the late Anthony Bourdain's favorite word. If only Steve Almond hadn't talked so much about sex...

Lastly, I need to mention something about the cover that irks me. Having a generalized anxiety disorder and being a professional Chef and culinary instructor, I strive for bold and eye-appealing designs that have a touch of balance. I love that the letters of this book are all taken from different candy bars. A clever little visual puzzle for readers to figure out. What I absolutely hate is that the N in Candy and the F in Freak are taken from the same type of candy bar. Why does a cover with 10 letters only have 9 different fonts? This sort of thing makes my brain just itch to no end!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Comic Book Story of Beer (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

 "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
 -a quote often (falsely) attributed to Benjamin Franklin.

"Beer- Nature's Perfect Food."
     -Homer Simpson

Jonathan Hennessey takes comic book readers on a 7,000 year old adventure into the history of beer. His theory is quite interesting. With both beer and bread being made originally by the same 3 ingredients, grain, water and yeast; as civilizations developed techniques in agriculture, the brewing of alcohol soon followed. 

As a culinary professional, I've always been under the impression that beer was developed first by the Egyptians. However, thanks to this book, I've learned that a recipe even older than the pharaohs was uncovered and it was in China! Though Hennessey explains that scholars still believe that Egypt is the birthplace of beer, the discovery in China is leading historians to rewrite the history books and place the beverage as originating around 5000BC.

Now Egyptian beer is really different than what we know of today. Rice, seeds, fruit, even chocolate have been added to the mix at one time or another. But the main universal difference from the Egyptians is in the addition of hops. Hops are a flowering seed cone that gives beer its distinctive bitterness. It's only been an ingredient in beer since 1079. So for the first 6000 years of beer, it meant that the beverage was a sweeter nectar of the gods.

Beer was also vital for safety and well-being. Despite the alcohol content, the brewing techniques of heating of the ingredients and fermentation of product helped to sanitize a water supply that otherwise might have laid waste to a growing community. 

In fact, until the late 1800s, a majority of people didn't even know that beer had alcohol when social reformer Joseph Livesey conducted science experiments with the drink among the general public. This 'new-found' knowledge helped the temperance movement to put beer on the list of evil drinks. Add the fact that a majority of the beer makers in America were of German descent, by the time World War I rolled around, the time was ripe for the outlawing of almost all alcoholic beverages. 

American prohibition ended in 1933. The Depression, disrepair of unused breweries and good old fashioned American corporate greed left a void in the beer industry. American prohibition resulted in making small time brewers from going out of business. Corporate greed and growth, lead to the death of the rest of the small potatoes. Boredom in otherwise bland mass-produced beer and deregulation of home brewing in the 1970s has resulted in a renaissance in craft brewing. By 1980, there were only 44 American breweries. Jump to 2015, there were 3,200 total breweries with another 2,000 in the works. It's been 8 years since this book was released and according to the Brewers Association, a staggering 9000 plus breweries current operate in this country!

Assisting Jonathan Hennessey is head brewer Mike Smith. Smith covers the more technical aspects of the beer making process. I know this because those segments are hosted by a cartoon avatar of the craftsman. I also believe that Smith is responsible for the 9 'Meet the Beer' segments peppered throughout this graphic novel. Those single-page beer profiles discuss not only the bitterness and alcohol by volume in the beer, but food pairings, history of the beverage and other pertinent information that a non-zythophile might need in order to become a connoisseur of fine brews. 

The artwork for this book is by Aaron McConnell, who previously had worked with Hennessey on a pair of graphic novels about the Constitution and Gettysburg Address. McConnell's work is quite impressive (and varied) as he is able to mimic relevant art styles of the time periods being discussed. For example, during a section on Ancient Greek philosopher's thoughts on beef, McConnell draws those noble men as if they were mosaics made of hundreds of tiny tiles. Later, when examining our founding father's love of brewskis, the artist has the heavy hitters looking like they were taken straight from a stack of greenbacks. 

Beer is thousands of years old. Yet, its explosion in creativity and advanced technology has really only occurred in the past 50 years. Wine seems to have the more refined and knowledgeable fan base worldwide. But the beer lovers are coming up fast behind them. For one who might need to know the difference between a lager and an ale AND you love comic books, The Comic Story of Beer is just one of dozens of graphic novels devoted to food and beverage to hit the market in the past 10 years.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #10 (About Food or Beverage) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

I know it doesn't happen often. But I do occasionally read full length prose novels. I've been trying to make it a point to read 10 pages a day of material related to my chosen degree and teaching field: culinary. I get all sorts of professional training for the teaching part of my job. But I noticed that I wasn't doing much to continue my learning in the culinary field. 

I actually started this book in 2020. I had gotten through about 200 of the 442 pages of this book. And then the pandemic hit and I wanted nothing to do with reading books that weren't fun or escapist in nature. 

After reading a book about the history of the tomato, I decided to dive back into this book by award-winning journalist, Mark Kurlansky. I was a big fan of Kurlansky's 2006 work The Big Oyster; an extensive look at America's obsession with oysters and other types of shellfish. I had seen this work on library shelves previously and had it on my wish list to read some day when I found a used copy for only a buck. 

Salt: A World History is a huge read for a single book devoted to one (and the only) edible rock. From prehistoric day need through the rise of the Greeks and Romans all the way through the American Revolution to the restructuring of global powers after World War I and II, everything you needed to know about salt is in this book. Just about every chapter begins with the process of how a particular civilization gleaned or produced their supply of salt. Then we see how salt was needed to preserve meats and other foods. Finally, we examine the dreaded salt takes and subsequent wars and/or revolutions that came about because stupid politicians decided that filling their coffers were more important that filling the cupboards of the general populace. 

After a couple hundred pages of what feels like the same chapter just with the names and locations switched, the readings got a little boring. Once we got into the last 150 years of history, things changed and the book got rather interesting. Refrigeration ended the need for so much salt. Since cold air could keep your food as fresh as salting it, but with much less effort, the way people prepared foods changed. The need for salt nosedived. As a result, governments that relied on revenue from salt increased the taxes and tariffs imposed on the mineral and people revolted. 

I did not know how vital it was for the Northern forces to destroy the South's ability to produce salt in order to win the Civil War. I had heard Gandhi marched to the sea. But I didn't know that he went there to protest England's ban on even the poorest of Indian citizens from harvesting salt privately. I had no idea about China's ingenious way of using the natural gas found among salt deposits as a way to heat their home, much less to fuel their public bus lines. Plus, I didn't know how the search for salt itself was vital to the discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania and Texas! There was a ton of fascinating stuff to learn about salt in the modern era of world history. 

I noticed that cod is talked about a lot in this book. That's because about 5 years prior, Kurlansky wrote a historical account of the North Atlantic fish. I'm betting he got a lot of inspiration to write this book from his research on cod. I own that book and I think after I read a couple other culinary related books, to switch things up, I'll be learning more from Mark Kurlansky. 

Salt was interesting. It was also a bit repetitive. I guess there are only so many ways to make the millennial age old process of obtaining salt seem different before you run out of ideas. Definitely a good read. But one that only the most serious of food lover, professionals and scholars are going to enjoy as this is a very complex book on one of the world's most vital resources.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World: A History by William Alexander

It doesn’t happen that often. But I read something that wasn’t a graphic novel or comic book. My bride tries really hard to broaden my horizons by making suggestions of things she finds at our local library. She understands my philosophy that life is too short to not read comic books. But I think she also wants to experience the joy of finding something non-comic book related that I will read.

10 Tomatoes That Changed The World is a mix of culinary history, multicultural travel guide, botany text book and farmers almanac. Just don’t expect there to be exactly 10 tomatoes being focused on in this book. Instead, after chapter 3 or 4, the focus will be on a variety of tomato and not just a single love apple that caused humanity, especially the Italians and us Americans, to vastly change how and what we ate.

Rocketing towards the end of the book, author William Alexander looks at how the Roma tomato gave birth to the modern pizza, why tomatoes from Florida taste awful (especially when raw) and if the hothouse tomatoes of Canada will save our planet from global warming. I found the history of the tomato fascinating. The author does a great job capturing how curious cooks and farmers around the world took a chance on the lowly tomato and developed the vegetable-not-fruit into one of the most abundant and popular foods on the market today. My eyes did glaze over a bit when William Alexander talked about plant genetics. But that boredom is possibly not any sort of fault of the author’s. I got bored with those sections of the Botany class I took in college. 

One thing notably missing from this book: the origins of the La Tomatina festival in Spain where people throw tomatoes at each other and if that has anything to do with throwing the savory-ish fruit at terrible comedians!

William Alexander does put a lot of himself into this book. That irked me a tiny bit until I read his ‘About the Author’ blurb on the back cover flap and realized that it was just his writing style. He’s almost like a culinary investigative reporter taking us onto the scenes of the culinary crime he’s researching. However, I did feel like there were a few times that he spent too much time on a series of clues that were just red herrings.

In chapter 10, Alexander keeps alluding to the final scene of this Chekov (the Russian playwright, not the Russian helmsman of the USS Enterprise) play in which some guy's cherry trees get cut down. It all has something to do with sustainability and ecology. I didn’t see the connection really. Truly, I could overlook some of these tangents. But the one thing about this book that still gets up my crawl has to do with a pizza maker from Naples.

In chapter 4, the author goes back in time to talk about a 19-year old pizza maker named Luigi Mattozzi. On May 4th, 1850, Luigi and his family have to move to a new apartment as that was the day all apartment leases were to be vacated citywide. 4 pages later, Mattiozzi’s family is mentioned once more in terms of describing how a period family lived in Naples. And that’s it for Luigi and the fam. So my question is- did I miss something? This seemed like such an odd thing to bring up this random guy and not tie him in directly with the origins of pizza which are covered truth and folklore alike to great detail. Yet, not having any sort of closure about this guy is keeping me up at nights!

I may have to do something I rarely ever do: write the author. I really gotta know why Luigi gets this sweeping introduction and then bupkis. 

As for reading further works by William Alexander, I am open to check out his works on the expense and headaches of gardening as well as his look at the history of bread-making. I think I understand the author’s writing style much better now. I just hope he doesn’t bring up more random people in those works without giving them a proper sendoff into the history books. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Secrets of Chocolate (2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Challenge)

French comic book creator Franckie Alarcon is given the assignment of a lifetime! He's to follow confectioner Chef Jacques Genin for a year in order to create a graphic novel that unlocks the mysteries of Chocolate! During his time, Franckie will learn how cocoa beans turn into cocoa and then later chocolate. He'll explore the challenges chocolatiers face both professionally and personally during the holiday rushes of Christmas, Easter and Halloween. 

After the holiday rush, Franckie spends a week as an intern at Chef Genin's chocolate works. The pace is grueling. Then Franckie heads east to Peru to visit a fully operational cocoa plantation while being introduced to the global initiatives of fair trade and eco-friendly indigenous farming techniques and the protection of endangered heirloom crops.

I found Alarcon's book fascinating. As a professional chef and culinary instructor, I find it increasingly difficult to get high-schoolers to want to read. So, I am on the lookout for alternative texts in order to teach cooking techniques to them. And I know that I at least learned a lot. Unfortunately, due to a scene involving 'sexual chocolate', I don't think I'll be able to use this book in schools.

There are 2 types of chefs in the world. Bakers and those who can do everything else. I am not a baker. But I can do chocolate work. Still, despite being able to do it, I've had trouble trying to understand some of the process. Thanks to Franckie's illustrations, I understand the cocoa development process. Though, I still don't know why white chocolate isn't chocolate if it has cocoa butter in it! 

Chefs have very strong opinions about work ethic, food, taste and quality. Chef Genin and his sous chef, Sophie are not afraid to share theirs! And they pass along a few recipes as well. One thing to keep in mind is that all of the recipes are based on the metric system. I'll need to use the Google measurement converter tool before I tackle some of them however.

When it came to the recipes, I had trouble with Chef Genin's definition of a praline. His have zero nuts of any kind in them. I checked and both American, French and Belgian praline recipes call for nuts- just different types. All Genin's pralines call for are butter, sugar and fruit. No nuts and No chocolate! For a book about the revelations of chocolate, Franckie Alarcon spends a lot of time on a cocoa-less confection!

Franckie also eats a ton of chocolate. Considering how much the author eats in a year, I'll never understand how he didn't gain any weight. That is unless he took a lot of liberties and decided to not drawn himself getting bigger over time!

Though The Secrets of Chocolate debuted in American retail outlets last year, this book is actually a lot older. Alarcon's quest occurred between 2013-14. It then was published a few months later in French. This book probably would have come overseas sooner if not for the pandemic. 

I really enjoyed this book. Though it wasn't a bad read I had to take my time with it. It was very technically and quite philosophical. Plus, I feel like too much time was spent on non-chocolate candies. That being said, I'm actually looking forward to more time with Franckie Alarcon. His Art of Sushi dropped just last month and upon completing this visual journal of sugary delights, I placed an order for it at my favorite LCS.

A shining star in the growing trend of culinary graphic novels.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #44 of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. 'About Cooking/Food.'

Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan

With today being the chosen date for the annual Dewey's 24-Hour Read-A-Thon, I decided to finish up this amazing book by writer Michael Pollan.

A journalism professor and contributor to the New York Times Magazine, Pollan has become a sort of de facto expert on food culture. I found this book while I was working (for trade credit) at one of my favorite places on earth; Dog-Eared Books. 

Pollan crafts 64 rules on how to properly eat and consume food. His views encourage us to follow the Mediterranean diet, avoid the 'white' foods- flour, sugar and unrefined grains. Pollan also warns against processed foods, praises organics and recommends that our food sources be local. I'm pretty much for his views. 

Well... except for the organics. The idea is good. But truly until the FDA and USDA changes their way too lax guidelines for what growing methods constitute organic, I'm not going to shell out my hard earned cash. Though, I may be more persuaded to research the techniques used to growing my fruits in veggies to ensure that it truly is organic. So, I might follow that rule. But it's going to take some additional research on my part.

I loved this book. So much, that I have plans to add it to my culinary curriculum next year. I want to teach 63 of the 64 rules to my students on making wise food choices as aspiring chefs. One rule, (#43) encourages drinking a glass of wine with dinner. I don't think that I can encourage high-schoolers to imbibe some vino during lunch period. 

Food Rules is required reading. Not only should the next generation of eaters and chefs read this book. You and I should too! Pollan does think you have to follow all of the rules at once. But one or two small changes (at a time) can do wonders. 

Doing so might not just change how we eat. It may very well change the whole culinary industry. Heck, we might just change the world. I can live with that!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Hungry Ghosts #4

Anthony Bordain's culinary horror anthology comes to a close. I had eagerly awaited this title's conclusion as the ending was promised to shock! For me, it was an extreme disappointment.

Like the previous 3 issues, this edition has 2 main stories.

The first story, The Snow Woman is a Japanese legend that has been retold countless times. I remember the story being adapted for the Tales From The Darkside movie in a segment starring James Remar. It's a very good story except for one thing- it has zero to do with food! 

That's the premise of this Dark Horse comic. Horror stories involving food. All of the tales were also to be set in Japan. But that didn't happen for all of the stories and I forgave that. But to have a ghost story in a horror comic revolving around food; to not have any food- I can't excuse that misstep. 

The final story, The Cow Head stayed true to this miniseries' concept. I loved the artwork by Archie Horror staple, Francesco Francavilla.  But this adventure was also promising to really scare readers. And for this reader, it didn't. What the story did accomplish was to get a little bit preachy and reveal the overall theme.

However, I'm not going to reveal that as it could spoil the ending. Plus, this issue just came out within the past 2 weeks, so it might be a little too soon to dive into specifics. But once you understand the overall premise, all of the stories as well as the framing story that sets up the entire series makes a lot of sense.

Overall, Hungry Ghosts is a great anthology horror. But the last issue wasn't as dynamic an ending as expected.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Brave Chef Brianna (Family Comic Friday)

Written by Sam Sykes
Art by Selina Espiritu
Covers by Bridget Underwood
Published by Kaboom!

Welcome to the first Family Comic Friday of 2018!

For this week, I choose a title that's subject matter is very near and dear to me. When I am not writing for my blog, I am a professional chef and culinary instructor. So, I choose a title from the expanding genre of culinary themed comics and graphic novels for my initial entry in the new year.

The title I selected for this week is called Brave Chef Brianna. Published by KaBoom! Studios, this book is the story of Brianna. She is the only daughter among fifteen older brothers born of a world famous chef. The chef poses a challenge to his children: create the most profitable eatery within the next two years and the winner will inherit dad's culinary empire.

Brianna chooses to open shop in Monster City. However, the residents of the town don't take very well to humans. Plus, the city officials have made it illegal for monsters to eat human food. It all looks like Brianna's plan is doomed to fail. That is until a small group of monsters sample her forbidden cuisine and become hooked!

Now Brianna owns the hottest eatery in town! Can she continue to operate in secret defiance to Monster City's strict anti-human cuisine rules? Or will she find herself in hot water with those who wish to impose the old ways of eating?

This 4-issue series by Sam Sykes (Munchkin) is perhaps the most accurate representation of the restaurant industry I have ever come across in comics. Brianna has to endure many real life scenarios that a restaurateur would when opening an cafe. Finding the right location, dealing with rude customers, broken equipment, and staff shortages are all things I deal with on a daily basis as a chef.

Even Brianna's struggles to present human food to the monster population has real world implications. Chefs often must struggle to craft menus that appeal to a wide variety of guests. Navigating Halal and Kosher dietary laws as well as providing vegan/vegetarian grub and protecting diners with food allergies are all barriers to food a chef owner must face. To neglect those needs could result in you business getting shut down or hit with a lawsuit.

While I've built food businesses up from the ground floor, I have also dealt with my fair share of monster customers. They just don't happen to be real monsters like the giants, ghouls, and eclectic clientele that eat at Brianna's. Nor are they are rude as mine have been. Newcomer Selina Espiritu does an amazing job rendering the assortment of residents that dwell in Monster City. Her plate diagramming could use some work however. But her illustrations of the cityscapes is quite stunning. I was equally impressed with Bridget Underwood's covers.

This 2017 series was originally released as 4 individual issues. Recently in December, the title was released as a trade paperback. If your local comic book shop is kid friendly, you probably could find Brianna in either format. You can also check out big box stores like Barnes and Noble and Amazon. If you like your comics to be digital, Brave Chef Brianna is also available on Comixology.

This book has a definite ending. But I really hope this isn't the end to the adventures of Brianna and friends. This series combines both comics and culinary- two great passions of mine. Plus, it's interactive as each issue contains a recipe based on a dish found in the story. Aspiring chefs (along with a helpful adult) can create some really yummy dishes. Thus, not only is Brave Chef Brianna a fun read, it's educational without feeling like going to school.

In my book, anything that turns kids on to reading as well as cooking is the best thing since sliced bread. To not continue the story of Brave Chef Brianna in another volume would be a crime. But the story will not continue if you don't buy this book. Pick up a copy today. You and the young reader in your life will have a really exciting read and maybe even get inspiration for your next dinner party play date.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 102

    I know I've not been around very much the past week or so. I didn't mean to be away but some things at my work got really, really serious and not in a good way. Playing on my anxiety disorder heavily, the events at work have taken it's toll. I've been afraid of my shadow- but I've also been working to get out of the situation as well. 

   In some ways, it has sparked a sort of mid-life crisis. 

   Last year, I got my dream job as a culinary instructor. Right now, I can only teach part-time but with some certifications and more education, I can increase the number of hours I can be a chef instructor. Well, I am convinced after the troubles I have been having at work and the meeting I had a couple of days later when the dean of culinary, that God is telling me it's time to focus on the ultimate goal- teaching full-time.

    In 2 weeks, I will be free from my current full-time position. But the fear and anxiety still linger there. Oddly enough, the thought of going part-time, becoming a house-husband, and going back to some sort of schooling doesn't add to it. I hope I will be able to post again daily (not just A Madman Turns 40 but my reviews of books and other things geek.) But it's also been hard not to want to hide under a rock. But today's post is a start.

   I'll be back soon...

   Until next time.

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 12

   When I'm not reading books, I'm a professional chef and culinary instructor. Today marks my first day teaching for 2017. For the next 11 weeks, I'm going to be teaching a class of about 20 students European cooking.
    
    With this milestone, I thought I would take a look at the culinary scene in 1977 for today's A Madman Turns 40.

* Chef Jeremiah Tower leaves Alice Water's Chez Panisse to venture out on his own. Many consider this move the beginning of California fusion cuisine which Tower's considered the father of. However, some accounts say Tower left in 1978, so this may or may not be the 40th anniversary of California fusion cooking which is comprised of fresh locally grown ingredients and a marriage of 1 or more culture's cuisines. A Thai Chicken Pizza is an example of this type of cuisine.

You can actually buy first editions on Amazon for not very much money.

*Paul Bocuse, considered the greatest chef of all-time, publishes his first cookbook in English:  Paul Bocuse's French Cooking.

*The Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 sets price limits for consumers while allotting farmers the right to meet growing quotas and still obtain federal help. This really benefits peanut farmers in particular. I mention this because the President of the United States at this time was a peanut farmer too (more on this guy next week.)

*1977 was the beginning of a 20 year study of the National Food Consumption Survey. Over 60,000 people were studied annually to determine food portions and calorie consumption. Spoiler Alert: the study found that our appetites got bigger as did our waist sizes as we as Americans were consuming more calories. One thing that surprises the researchers were that it's not just natural born citizens but immigrants as well, who are eating more as time progressed. Data from this study will change dietary recommendations and eating plans for those with diabetes, heart disease, and even eating disorders

* Ruth Graves Wakefield, inventor of the Tollhouse Cookie, the first chocolate chip cookie, passes away in this year.

Poor little snake, cut down in his prime.
What am I say? It's a frickin' snake?!

* I thought this food tidbit was amusing, glam rocker Alice Cooper's pet boa constrictor dies when the rat it was to dine on bites him first and it gets an infection. 

If any of my readers would love to gift me a set of these, please email me.
Donations gladly accepted.

* Burger King sells some really cool glassware depicting scenes from a little know film called Star Wars and they make a killing. During this sale, BK actually outsells McDonald's for the first time.

* Instructional cooking show Gourmet Cooking with Earl Peyroux begins airing in 1977. The show will produce 600 episodes before Peyroux retires in 1995.

1977-2017.

* The California Culinary Academy opens in San Francisco. Now known as Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, the cooing school is scheduled to close in September after operating for EXACTLY 40 years.

  Okay, so one 40th anniversary isn't going to be a good one.

   Hopefully, this isn't a sign as this Madman chef hopes to be around and kicking, I mean cooking, for several more years to come (God willing.) Good eating habits, new trends, high calorie foods, culinary training, healthy appetites, and the beginning of mass merchandising of popular TV shows and movies highlight the world of food and cooking in my favorite year. 

   Oh, I hear the class bell, time to mold some more aspiring cooks into the chefs of tomorrow.

   Bon appetite. 

Haven't Been Around Much Lately...

    For some of you, it may seem like 2016 just isn't a certain Madman's year. My goal of posting a review everyday is seemingly a thing of the past. So what happened?

   I got a new job- my dream job actually. I teach culinary one night a week, professionally now at my alma mater. I'm the first in my department to actually come back to that locale and teach culinary to the next generation of budding chefs. 

   You may think teaching only one night a week would mean I was only missing one night's worth of reviews and you would be dead wrong. Every day I find myself grading papers, answering emails, putting out fires and I LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT! But it does eat into my reading time somewhat. But again, that's ok.

    So if it looks like I've fallen off the side of the earth- worry not! I'm just pursuing a dream of mine. I had thought that maybe my next step was to work in comics. But God seems to have had other plans. Plans that I couldn't be happier with. 

   So, stay tuned- I'll be posting in no time. Meanwhile, search through my archive because even though I don't have much time to read, I've been catching up a little on my archives from when I used to keep my reading journal on AllConsuming!

   Enjoy and happy reading!!!