Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen

Brown's opening challenge is a 60-day, four phase process of ridding your kitchen of all things unused and insignificant--easy on the surface, but tough in the doing. That leaves room for essential gear. And to help make those choices, Brown looks at pots and pans, sharp things (not just knives, but graters, mandolins, and cheese slicers, too), small things with plugs (as in small appliances--from food processors to coffee makers to deep fat fryers), kitchen tools unplugged (those items that fill drawers), storage and containment, and safety and sanitation.

If this were just an encyclopedia, what an unwholesome bore it would be. But Brown turns this relevant information into a romp. He's talking about the tools he uses, after all, and has no fear of naming likes and dislikes--based on his own experience. He also includes unending side chatter about cutting corners, saving money, and actually putting good tools to work. You'll find recipes throughout, and techniques, too. Like, how to bake a chicken in a flower pot. If you wonder why you would even want to attempt it in the first place, Brown clues you in. Alton Brown's Gear for Your Kitchen is about as guilt free as pleasure will ever get. --Schuyler Ingle

Book Description
Dedicated viewers of Alton Brown's acclaimed Food Network show Good Eats know of his penchant for using unusual equipment. He has smoked a salmon in a cardboard box, roasted prime rib in a flowerpot, and used a C-clamp as a nutcracker.

Brown isn't interested in novelty, he's just devoted to using the best-and simplest-tool for the job. Alton Brown's Gear For Your Kitchen offers honest, practical advice on what's needed and what isn't, what works and what doesn't. His advice: You only need three knives, but they are a lifetime investment. And don't bother with that famous countertop grill-it doesn't get hot enough to properly sear.

In his signature science-guy style, Brown begins with advice on kitchen layout and organization, then gets to the lowdown on these cooking elements: Big Things with Plugs; Pots and Pans; Sharp Things; The Tool Box; Small Things with Plugs; Storage and Containment; and Safety and Sanitation. Along the way he delves deep into kitchen science and appliance history and legend. Included are 25 brand-new recipes that employ featured gear.

Alton Brown's Gear For Your Kitchen is essential for all of his fans-and anyone who wants a good guide to great kitchen gear.