This Spud's for You Too - Recap
Alton’s truck has stalled in the middle of a driving rainstorm. He tries to start it but has no luck. Getting out, he covers his head with a large envelope and fetches a heavy metal case from the bed. Dragging the box behind him, he stops briefly to shake a fist at the truck, mutters “Oh, bother” under his breath and drags the case along to the porch of a nearby house. When he knocks, a woman answers. Alton apologizes for bothering her, but she’s not bothered at all! In fact, she recognizes him right off as Alton Brown. He starts to admit his identity, but when she quickly closes the door, he concludes she’s no fan of Alton Brown and tries to slide out of it but claiming he “gets that a lot.” He need not worry, for the woman soon opens the door, having lost her curlers and housecoat. She identifies herself as Frances Anderson, and proudly tells Alton she is his biggest fan.
It seems that Frances’ boyfriend Bart loves potato recipes, perhaps because he’s a potato farmer. Alton agrees unenthusiastically, and then pointedly comments about the nasty night outside but Frances seems oblivious, prattling on and wishing Alton would devise more potato recipes. Bart’s getting bored, and the quickest way to a man’s heart... Finally, Frances invites Alton inside, where he immediately sees a number of Good Eats props.
Frances calls Ed, the town’s tow truck operator, and quietly tells him not to come that evening. More loudly, she tells Alton that one of Ed’s heifers is calving and he cannot tow Alton’s truck until the next morning. Then she offers Alton a room for the night, since the nearest hotel is fifteen miles away. That will give them time. “Time for what,” Alton wonders aloud, and Frances replies succinctly, “to cook, silly!”
Alton’s impressed by Frances’ collection of spuds – all rolled in oil and salt and poked with holes like in the show. He wonders if all of them are for the couple and Frances tells him they’re all for Bart! Then Alton tells her how she could convert the collection into a cornucopia of Good Eats. For example, potato soup.
Bart loves soup, so Frances wants to give it a try. Alton tells her the key is to break down the meat as much as possible while damaging as few of the starch granules as possible. Damage too many of these granules, and you’ll concoct library paste, not soup. Alton retrieves his case and fishes out a ricer, giving it to Frances. He shows her how to insert a die and how to squeeze a potato through the tool into a work bowl. This device gets its name from its ability to convert potato meat into rice sized granules.
Next they need some software; Frances accidentally clobbers Alton in her haste to fetch the ingredients from her refrigerator. They include butter, leeks and chicken stock. Bart’s brother Fred is a chicken farmer, so stock is also a good choice. There’s also buttermilk, sour cream, parmesan cheese and chives. And from outside the fridge, there’s garlic.
With the butter melted, Alton challenges Frances’ recall of Good Eats, asking her for the next step. She replies without hesitation that they must sweat the aromatics. The leeks and garlic go into the butter over medium heat, with some kosher salt to draw out moisture and soften them. After a few minutes, when the sweat completes, Alton asks Frances what’s next. It’s not the potatoes – they’d absorb the butter and burn. It’s not the sour cream – there’s no need to cook that. And the buttermilk would curdle. That leaves the chicken stock. Alton directs Frances to add the stock and raise the heat to a simmer. Once this simmers they have a liquid base for the remaining ingredients.
Alton notices a metal case with “Good Eats” stenciled on it, and comments that he has one just like it. “Not anymore,” replies Frances. Then she quickly asks Alton what’s next. Buttermilk, because of its acidity and the heat, could still curdle. Sour cream would simply float like the blob of fat that it is. And as for the potatoes... Alton retrieves a whisk and notes that the starch from the potatoes will discourage curdling, so he mixes buttermilk and potatoes. Then he adds the sour cream, producing a thick paste. Finally, he adds the cheese and mixes it in. This semi-solid emulsion should combine the constituent properties to negate the drawbacks of the individual ingredients. Alton adds it to the hot mix and returns the whole to a simmer. Frances asks whether she should puree the soup; Alton tells her not to – that would break up the starch granules, turning savory soup into sticky paste. As is, the soup is just a bit toothsome, just as Bart the potato farmer will like it.
The soup’s not quite finished. Alton adds a little sherry vinegar for flavor. He can’t add it during cooking because that would curdle the buttermilk, but with extra time for the starch to cook, this problem disappears. Alton serves himself and Frances bowls of the potato soup with pepper and chives for garnish. As they sit down to eat, Bart arrives home early! Alton wants to finish his soup, but Frances horse collars him and pitches him into a spare room to hide while Bart’s there – Bart’s the jealous sort.
Sometime later, after Bart has left, Frances reappears. It seems Bart has invited her to the church social – and she’ll need some potato salad for that. A tall order, but Frances knows Alton will help her, despite the fact it’s presently 3:00am.
He starts by selecting potatoes – he wants waxy potatoes like the red potatoes in Frances’ potato basket. These stay firm when cooked and developed fewer balloons. They have less start and more internal moisture, so they soak up less cooking liquid and don’t fall apart. Alton selects small potatoes that cook faster, and carefully finds potatoes that are similar in size, to ensure they all finish cooking at the same time. He puts these in a pot and adds just enough cold water to cover them, then brings the pot to a boil. When it boils he cuts the heat back to low and lets it simmer. How long? That depends on the potatoes. Alton checks at five minutes and again each three minutes. If the skins crack, the cooking was too hard or went on too long. About fifteen minutes later Frances spears a potato with a skewer. The skewer slides in with minimal resistance.
It’s time to dump the potatoes. Alton puts ice in a pot and Frances dumps the potatoes in, then Alton adds water. In a few minutes, this will stop the cooking process, preventing the vegetables from over cooking. It’s important not to leave them in the water too long, however – Alton wants to slice them while they’re still warm. Frances gets a peeler, complaining that “this is the part she’s dreading.” Fortunately, Alton has good news – a way to “peel” the potatoes. He just puts one in a tea towel and rubs it until the skin slides off! While Frances peels, Alton will slice. He retrieves a paring knife and Frances seems surprised that he doesn’t have a “cool tool” for this. Thinking a moment, Alton fishes an egg slicer from his case. The egg slicer creates uniform slices. Now all he needs is a zip top bag and a little apple cider vinegar. The potatoes are warm, so Alton wants to get the vinegar around them. When they cool, they’ll “close up” and the vinegar won’t penetrate effectively. Once the vinegar and potatoes are in the bag, Alton seals the bag and stashes the bag in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, Frances speaks to the tow truck man, asking him to delay Alton’s departure. As she completes the call, Alton appears and she bids him a cheery good morning! Since his truck is still broken, he might as well get the salad dressed for Frances and Bart. Potato salad isn’t a “plop and stir.” The cook must integrate ingredients in the correct order to get the right flavor. Alton starts with some mayonnaise, and mixes in some dry mustard. Garlic, tarragon and parsley get folded in next. Finely chopped cornichons (or sour pickles), minced red onions and sliced celery go in, and finally the potatoes and vinegar from the refrigerator. Alton gently folds all that together; putting in the potatoes last prevents them from breaking up by minimizing the stirring. Alton finishes the salad with some kosher salt and some black pepper.
Suddenly, Bart returns! Frances quickly rushes Alton back into hiding and goes to greet her boyfriend, while Alton calls Ed, the tow truck man...
Later, Frances storms in angry, and wants to know what a “Roesti” is. Alton explains that it’s a Swiss hash brown kind of dish. Then she asks who he’s speaking to on the phone and he quickly hangs up. Frances says Bart wants a Roesti for dinner. Alton agrees to help her.
He starts by selecting three Yukon Gold potatoes. These have a moderate amount of starch – the right amount for a Roesti, with enough starch to hold the dish together but not so much as to make it mushy. At this point, Alton could put the potatoes into the refrigerator. The cold signals the potato to convert starch into sugar, which promotes browning. And to some folks, brown is good. Frances winks at him and notes that when it comes to a lot of things, Brown is good.
But Alton skips the refrigerator step because he’s pressed for time. So he puts the potatoes to the grater... but Frances’ grater is dangerous. Alton produces a better choice: a six sided grater that’s more stable. Frances grates the potato; the grater is Alton’s gift to her for rescuing a stranded traveler.
While she grates, Alton finds an onion, and when he does, Frances grates that, too. Alton directs her to put potato and onion into a salad spinner, and then he takes the vegetables for a spin to get the water out of them. It is critical that the mix be dry. As a dry mixture cooks, the outer starch draws water from the inside as it cooks, leaving the inside fluffy and the outside crisp. Water outside would yield a dense interior and a greasy exterior. And while the onion contributes no starch, it does contribute liquid.
A little melted butter goes in a nonstick pan. Alton seasons a quarter of so of the mix with salt and pepper (if he salted it all at once, by the time he made the last round the mix would be soaking wet because the salt would draw any remaining moisture from the inside out). Alton scatters the seasoned mix into the pan and then uses a spatula to draw it into a round shape. It should barely sizzle. Alton leaves that with Frances for the next seven minutes, telling Frances to watch it while he goes to check on something. After seven minutes, he dots the top with butter, and then slides it onto the pan lid, then uses the lid to flip the Roesti over and cooks the other side for five minutes. Eat the Roesti immediately, or store it in an oven (low heat); it will stay crisp for about twenty minutes.
Bart returns again! Alton tells Frances that he’ll hide, but she says they’ll face him together this time. Alton tells her he’ll catch up. Instead, he ducks out a window and down a ladder. Frances may have lost her man, but she’ll always have... Good Eats!
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It seems that Frances’ boyfriend Bart loves potato recipes, perhaps because he’s a potato farmer. Alton agrees unenthusiastically, and then pointedly comments about the nasty night outside but Frances seems oblivious, prattling on and wishing Alton would devise more potato recipes. Bart’s getting bored, and the quickest way to a man’s heart... Finally, Frances invites Alton inside, where he immediately sees a number of Good Eats props.
Frances calls Ed, the town’s tow truck operator, and quietly tells him not to come that evening. More loudly, she tells Alton that one of Ed’s heifers is calving and he cannot tow Alton’s truck until the next morning. Then she offers Alton a room for the night, since the nearest hotel is fifteen miles away. That will give them time. “Time for what,” Alton wonders aloud, and Frances replies succinctly, “to cook, silly!”
Alton’s impressed by Frances’ collection of spuds – all rolled in oil and salt and poked with holes like in the show. He wonders if all of them are for the couple and Frances tells him they’re all for Bart! Then Alton tells her how she could convert the collection into a cornucopia of Good Eats. For example, potato soup.
Bart loves soup, so Frances wants to give it a try. Alton tells her the key is to break down the meat as much as possible while damaging as few of the starch granules as possible. Damage too many of these granules, and you’ll concoct library paste, not soup. Alton retrieves his case and fishes out a ricer, giving it to Frances. He shows her how to insert a die and how to squeeze a potato through the tool into a work bowl. This device gets its name from its ability to convert potato meat into rice sized granules.
Next they need some software; Frances accidentally clobbers Alton in her haste to fetch the ingredients from her refrigerator. They include butter, leeks and chicken stock. Bart’s brother Fred is a chicken farmer, so stock is also a good choice. There’s also buttermilk, sour cream, parmesan cheese and chives. And from outside the fridge, there’s garlic.
With the butter melted, Alton challenges Frances’ recall of Good Eats, asking her for the next step. She replies without hesitation that they must sweat the aromatics. The leeks and garlic go into the butter over medium heat, with some kosher salt to draw out moisture and soften them. After a few minutes, when the sweat completes, Alton asks Frances what’s next. It’s not the potatoes – they’d absorb the butter and burn. It’s not the sour cream – there’s no need to cook that. And the buttermilk would curdle. That leaves the chicken stock. Alton directs Frances to add the stock and raise the heat to a simmer. Once this simmers they have a liquid base for the remaining ingredients.
Alton notices a metal case with “Good Eats” stenciled on it, and comments that he has one just like it. “Not anymore,” replies Frances. Then she quickly asks Alton what’s next. Buttermilk, because of its acidity and the heat, could still curdle. Sour cream would simply float like the blob of fat that it is. And as for the potatoes... Alton retrieves a whisk and notes that the starch from the potatoes will discourage curdling, so he mixes buttermilk and potatoes. Then he adds the sour cream, producing a thick paste. Finally, he adds the cheese and mixes it in. This semi-solid emulsion should combine the constituent properties to negate the drawbacks of the individual ingredients. Alton adds it to the hot mix and returns the whole to a simmer. Frances asks whether she should puree the soup; Alton tells her not to – that would break up the starch granules, turning savory soup into sticky paste. As is, the soup is just a bit toothsome, just as Bart the potato farmer will like it.
The soup’s not quite finished. Alton adds a little sherry vinegar for flavor. He can’t add it during cooking because that would curdle the buttermilk, but with extra time for the starch to cook, this problem disappears. Alton serves himself and Frances bowls of the potato soup with pepper and chives for garnish. As they sit down to eat, Bart arrives home early! Alton wants to finish his soup, but Frances horse collars him and pitches him into a spare room to hide while Bart’s there – Bart’s the jealous sort.
Sometime later, after Bart has left, Frances reappears. It seems Bart has invited her to the church social – and she’ll need some potato salad for that. A tall order, but Frances knows Alton will help her, despite the fact it’s presently 3:00am.
He starts by selecting potatoes – he wants waxy potatoes like the red potatoes in Frances’ potato basket. These stay firm when cooked and developed fewer balloons. They have less start and more internal moisture, so they soak up less cooking liquid and don’t fall apart. Alton selects small potatoes that cook faster, and carefully finds potatoes that are similar in size, to ensure they all finish cooking at the same time. He puts these in a pot and adds just enough cold water to cover them, then brings the pot to a boil. When it boils he cuts the heat back to low and lets it simmer. How long? That depends on the potatoes. Alton checks at five minutes and again each three minutes. If the skins crack, the cooking was too hard or went on too long. About fifteen minutes later Frances spears a potato with a skewer. The skewer slides in with minimal resistance.
It’s time to dump the potatoes. Alton puts ice in a pot and Frances dumps the potatoes in, then Alton adds water. In a few minutes, this will stop the cooking process, preventing the vegetables from over cooking. It’s important not to leave them in the water too long, however – Alton wants to slice them while they’re still warm. Frances gets a peeler, complaining that “this is the part she’s dreading.” Fortunately, Alton has good news – a way to “peel” the potatoes. He just puts one in a tea towel and rubs it until the skin slides off! While Frances peels, Alton will slice. He retrieves a paring knife and Frances seems surprised that he doesn’t have a “cool tool” for this. Thinking a moment, Alton fishes an egg slicer from his case. The egg slicer creates uniform slices. Now all he needs is a zip top bag and a little apple cider vinegar. The potatoes are warm, so Alton wants to get the vinegar around them. When they cool, they’ll “close up” and the vinegar won’t penetrate effectively. Once the vinegar and potatoes are in the bag, Alton seals the bag and stashes the bag in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, Frances speaks to the tow truck man, asking him to delay Alton’s departure. As she completes the call, Alton appears and she bids him a cheery good morning! Since his truck is still broken, he might as well get the salad dressed for Frances and Bart. Potato salad isn’t a “plop and stir.” The cook must integrate ingredients in the correct order to get the right flavor. Alton starts with some mayonnaise, and mixes in some dry mustard. Garlic, tarragon and parsley get folded in next. Finely chopped cornichons (or sour pickles), minced red onions and sliced celery go in, and finally the potatoes and vinegar from the refrigerator. Alton gently folds all that together; putting in the potatoes last prevents them from breaking up by minimizing the stirring. Alton finishes the salad with some kosher salt and some black pepper.
Suddenly, Bart returns! Frances quickly rushes Alton back into hiding and goes to greet her boyfriend, while Alton calls Ed, the tow truck man...
Later, Frances storms in angry, and wants to know what a “Roesti” is. Alton explains that it’s a Swiss hash brown kind of dish. Then she asks who he’s speaking to on the phone and he quickly hangs up. Frances says Bart wants a Roesti for dinner. Alton agrees to help her.
He starts by selecting three Yukon Gold potatoes. These have a moderate amount of starch – the right amount for a Roesti, with enough starch to hold the dish together but not so much as to make it mushy. At this point, Alton could put the potatoes into the refrigerator. The cold signals the potato to convert starch into sugar, which promotes browning. And to some folks, brown is good. Frances winks at him and notes that when it comes to a lot of things, Brown is good.
But Alton skips the refrigerator step because he’s pressed for time. So he puts the potatoes to the grater... but Frances’ grater is dangerous. Alton produces a better choice: a six sided grater that’s more stable. Frances grates the potato; the grater is Alton’s gift to her for rescuing a stranded traveler.
While she grates, Alton finds an onion, and when he does, Frances grates that, too. Alton directs her to put potato and onion into a salad spinner, and then he takes the vegetables for a spin to get the water out of them. It is critical that the mix be dry. As a dry mixture cooks, the outer starch draws water from the inside as it cooks, leaving the inside fluffy and the outside crisp. Water outside would yield a dense interior and a greasy exterior. And while the onion contributes no starch, it does contribute liquid.
A little melted butter goes in a nonstick pan. Alton seasons a quarter of so of the mix with salt and pepper (if he salted it all at once, by the time he made the last round the mix would be soaking wet because the salt would draw any remaining moisture from the inside out). Alton scatters the seasoned mix into the pan and then uses a spatula to draw it into a round shape. It should barely sizzle. Alton leaves that with Frances for the next seven minutes, telling Frances to watch it while he goes to check on something. After seven minutes, he dots the top with butter, and then slides it onto the pan lid, then uses the lid to flip the Roesti over and cooks the other side for five minutes. Eat the Roesti immediately, or store it in an oven (low heat); it will stay crisp for about twenty minutes.
Bart returns again! Alton tells Frances that he’ll hide, but she says they’ll face him together this time. Alton tells her he’ll catch up. Instead, he ducks out a window and down a ladder. Frances may have lost her man, but she’ll always have... Good Eats!
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