Good Eats: Volume 1, the Early Years

On time, wrapped well, and delivered with a nice personal message. What more could I ask for?

I got this as a gift for my grandson. He loves it and is having a wonderful time making several of the recipes! He's got a strong science bent, and this is perfect.

Before I say anything else, let me be clear that I really enjoy the show Good Eats.If it is not obvious from the book's description, this is a book primarily for fans of the show Good Eats. A few reviews seem to be from people who aren't that familiar with the show; if you aren't a fan, don't bother with this book. If you really want to try out some of Alton Brown's wisdom in a book form, don't start with this book (or its successors covering later years).It's basically an "episode guide," as you might find online for a drama or a sitcom. You get the basic plot, a few funny quotes, the occasional "oops" or behind-the-scenes factoid, and that's about it. It is nowhere near as entertaining or as informative as the actual show. But for the fan, this may be enough to recall some bits from your favorite episodes.Unfortunately, since this show is not a drama or a sitcom, it also tries to be responsible to the information content of the show. So, you still get some recipes and pointers for the subject matter of each episode. But most episodes can't really be summarized in 3-4 pages, 2 of which are often taken up by full-page recipes (as well as random drawings and photos that often seem to be there just to take up space). And the attempts to be a "fan book" by including behind-the-scenes information and extraneous stuff (that didn't actually get into the episode) are sparse enough to make that information almost seem out of place.What we ultimately end up with is a hodge-podge of a few different kinds of books thrown together, which makes this one not as successful as a book with more focus. It could have been a more pure "fan book," spending more time on background and fun tidbits about the show. It could have been a recipe book, simply collecting and organizing the hundreds of recipes that have been presented on the show. Or it could have been a cookbook, with more detailed explanations of techniques and greater context given for the subject of each episode than is possible on the show. But you won't find all the recipes from the show (and others that were left out are put in here), and you will generally get less cooking information about each topic from this book than you would from watching the episode.In other words, it's a bit of disorganized mess that's trying to do too many things. It's perhaps an okay coffee table book, which fans of the show could page through when they're bored. But it's not a useful reference book. For the few times I have tried to look up a topic that I'm actually interested in cooking, I've inevitably been disappointed by the spotty coverage. And I know fans will start hitting the "unhelpful" button for this, but let's be honest, I ABSOLUTELY love the show, yet the recipes aren't the greatest. They are an okay starting point, usually quite good, but they are rarely the best recipe I've ever had or used for a given dish. And as for the science, advice, and other information, it's better than many books, but there are major holes and even things that are outright wrong -- things that are fine as a passing reference in a television show and might even be okay in an extended presentation in a cookbook. But when presented as "knowledge concentrate" or as THE best way to do things or the truth that no one else is telling you... well, it should be beyond doubt most of the time. I admire Alton Brown more than any other TV host (cooking or otherwise), but honestly, sometimes his info is incomplete in a way that doesn't let you see the bigger picture or is even misleading upon reflection... or (as I said) occasionally even outright wrong.Basically, if you want a good book of recipes, this isn't it. If you want a good cookbook with enough explanation of technique and information on dishes and recipes to help you move beyond recipes, this isn't it either -- even though the book pretends to be all of these things. If this were to be more than a fan's episode guide, it could have been organized differently, perhaps grouping information from related episodes together, which would allow greater depth for topics, with little summaries and tidbits about the relevant episodes in each topic-related chapter. This could have turned it into a useful reference book instead of a coffee-table book to sit on a table or shelf.If you want a fan book that you can browse through and feel a little nostalgic about Good Eats episodes in days gone by, it's okay. And it's possible that you might learn something along the way too, despite the schizophrenic organization and unfocused concept of this book.

huge Alton Brown fan and I think I have watched every season of Good Eats, and the show Feasting on Asphalt. I was in Culinary School when he began Good Eats

I agree with some of the reviews on the organization of the book that makes it somewhat cumbersome. However cookbooks are notorious for being poorly documented that you can't make the dish turn out well. Alton Brown's recipes are spot on if you follow it and you can be a novice and really turn out brilliant dishes. His atttention to detail and being able to recreate a dish is splendid and you literally can be a newbie and crank out some amazing dishes. I once had a cookbook of the father of American Culinary James Beard. His reciple for flan failed to mention the water bath technique. This is where the new cook should have an Alton Brown cookbook and really break your teeth and get the experience, and the termendous excitement from cooking and having folks not even bothering saying your food is good because they are too busy stuffing their face.

Great book, but I bought it for a specific recipe that was included in the first printing," A Chuck for Chuck." Instead, I found an explanation that too many people didn't like the recipe. Consequently, the recipe as shown on the episode was replaced with a generic, lackluster pot roast recipe I can find on any search engine.My beef (no pun intended) is this: If you are going to claim it is the cookbook for specific episodes' then why replace the recipes? Certainly, the show's producers and book's editors received feedback about the Chuck for Chuck Pot Roast recipe (with raisins and olives) long before the first edition went to press. Why not include the original Chuck for Chuck Pot Roast recipe so that the book matches the show and then offer an alternate for those folks who don't like the recipe provided on the show?I quickly checked other recipes that I have enjoyed in this cookbook and there are no other changes noted. It appears that the Food Network website maintains the original recipes used in each episode where I was able to find the original Chuck for Chuck recipe. I would love to give this book 5 stars -- it's that good. However, if you're like me -- pressed for time, energy, etc., the last thing you want to do is go hunting on the internet for a recipe that was included in a previous version.What I can say about Alton Brown's recipes is that they always work. I have introduced many friends to his books and across the board, from absolute newbie to weekend chef, the resounding feedback is that the recipes always come out perfectly. And that is definitely due to Alton Brown's culinary expertise and obvious desire to share his knowledge with his readers and viewers.

Fantastic book! Great recipes! Great value!!

This book 'talks' just like Alton Brown. Great fun.

I am a big fan of the Good Eats show, even though my only access to it is via YouTube, and I have Alton Brown's three previous books from the series. There are 80 episodes covered in this first installment of three books (not two, as the Product Description claims), each with a short discussion of the themes of the show, a couple of recipes (called applications in the book), and some quotes and trivia. The recipes have all been reworked, some substantially; a few that I have checked have been exactly as given in the shows. Recipes have been adjusted to use weights (hurray!) rather than cup measures, where it is appropriate.If you are looking for a basic cookbook, then this isn't it; but then, it doesn't claim to be. If you want to dig out some recipe that you half remember from an episode, or just would like a souvenir of the shows, you'll be very happy. I have made a number of the recipes; most work out very well, but some have quirks that give inedible results (for me) - I'll refer you to p156 and the "Duck!" recipe - which has become known in my household as "rubber duck" for an example. But I should emphasise that most recipes work well, especially the baking recipes.This book is funny, good science, and above all Good Eats.

Alton Brown is a latecomer to the UK since his show is only now being broadcast on Food Network UK. However i'd watched most of these already on YouTube. This book ended up being a good christmas present to my father. It's tongue is firmly set in it's cheek, one part informative, one part funny and one last part educational.It helps the recipes (after some US to UK conversion) are very easy to do, which is more than you can say for most cookbooks. I await his next tome "Good Eats: The Middle Years" eagerly!

I love the show "Good Eats" so I bought the book without any hesitation. The book was even thicker then I thought and describes every episode including each recipe. So even though I loved the show I was impressed with the book and will order the next book today.Highly recommended even if you never seen the show!

The book is very good quality, it was bought as a Christmas gift for my partner, and he loved it.

Alton Brown is a force to be reckoned with. Love his tv show and love his books. Hope he comes back to Canada so I can go see him again. I am such a fan of his and he explains so many things that make cooking not such a mystery. Highly recommend the book.