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Good Eats: Sub Standards
“You can’t always get what you want, but if you try, sometimes, you get what you need.” So quotes the first of Alton’s substitute chefs, in this episode that highlights two important reasons to substitute: because you lack a key ingredient and the time to get it, and because you can’t eat a key ingredient. Peanuts are among the top allergens, so Alton offers a Faux Peanut Sauce that nearly replicates the flavor using three ingredients. Then he shows how to replace the buttermilk in his Southern Biscuits and how to replace the wheat flour, for those who cannot tolerate gluten, in The Chewy Gluten Free, one version of his chocolate chip cookies.
| 6/10 (1 Vote cast) |
Episode Info
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Episode number: 11x4 Production Number: EA1105 Airdate: Monday July 16th, 2007 |
Recap
A substitute host who looks somewhat like like Alton opens with a quote, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try – sometimes – you get what you need.” He suggests this is an excellent aphorism for the kitchen. Those who have found themselves one egg short of an omelet or missing some other crucial ingredient just as company arrives will understand. Substitution, he contends, is an art unto itself. Surely, no sales job is needed to sell the viewer on... on... I mean... Good grief!..Read the full recap
Episode Notes
Cards
- The word biscuit comes from the Old French word bescuit, meaning “twice cooked.”
- An estimated 1.5 million Americans have peanut allergies.
- Other gluten-free flour substitutes include garbanzo beans, teff, sorghum & quinoa flours.
The title of the episode twists around the word “substandard” which means something that is not as good as expected. Alton’s goal is to create standard substitutions that can avoid impossible trips to the food store or serious visits to the emergency room.
There is a short scene after the production company logo where B.A. offers Alton a tin of car wax, the same as he offered the various substitutes during the episode. Alton refuses his brother’s gift and its implication that B.A. will replace Alton henceforth.
Episode Quotes
Substitute Host: A wise and learned man once said, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might find... you get what you need.”
Alton: Whether we’re talking about a fifth grade science teacher, a beloved television host (he turns and smiles into the camera) or a favorite spice, substitutes don’t have to be the weak link in the chain.
Substitute Host: With a taste of science and a dollop of know how, even substitutions can be... (he stops, expecting the Good Eats theme)
Alton: Yeah... look, the real art to this? To substitute something you’ve got to really understand the thing that you’re replacing. You’ve got to get inside of it – look at it from every angle – and then, when you’ve got it, you find that with just a touch of the scientific and a wafer thin slice of know how, even culinary substitutions can be... (Good Eats theme plays)
Alton: Yeah... look, the real art to this? To substitute something you’ve got to really understand the thing that you’re replacing. You’ve got to get inside of it – look at it from every angle – and then, when you’ve got it, you find that with just a touch of the scientific and a wafer thin slice of know how, even culinary substitutions can be... (Good Eats theme plays)
Alton: Despite its moniker, buttermilk is not butter in milk.
Alton: Now, about ninety percent of all food related allergic reactions are caused by...
Substitute Chef #3: ... milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat.
Substitute Chef #3: ... milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat.
Alton: Then we have a tablespoon of fish sauce, an ingredient I keep around for making Pad Thai, or, well, any dish where you want a little flavor of cat food and athletic sock. But in a good way!
Alton: Imagine what it would be like to have a wheat intolerance or allergy. No bread, no pasta, no pie, no cake, and no (holds out a plate of delicious cookies) chewies! Until now...
Deb Duchon: (taking her substitute by the arm) I’ll see her to the door. We wouldn’t want her to GET LOST!
Alton: (regretfully watching her go) No... no, we wouldn’t.
Alton: (regretfully watching her go) No... no, we wouldn’t.
Alton: And so we see that sometimes, substituting can lead us to a better place than we were in the first place!
(The door opens and Alton enters!)
“New” Alton: B.A! What are you doing here?!?
B.A.: (removing Alton glasses and donning sunglasses) Parole.
Alton: Listen... bro! There is no way on Earth you can substitute for me!!
B.A.: Oh, yeah? Watch this... (He removes his sunglasses and puts his Alton glasses back on.) Well, I hope we’ve inspired you to look beyond the recipe and into the kaleidoscope of culinary possibilities made possible by the artful substitution. Whether you’re trying to avoid a last minute emergency market run or a trip to the emergency room, substitutions can be Good Eats. (smarmily) See you next time!
(The door opens and Alton enters!)
“New” Alton: B.A! What are you doing here?!?
B.A.: (removing Alton glasses and donning sunglasses) Parole.
Alton: Listen... bro! There is no way on Earth you can substitute for me!!
B.A.: Oh, yeah? Watch this... (He removes his sunglasses and puts his Alton glasses back on.) Well, I hope we’ve inspired you to look beyond the recipe and into the kaleidoscope of culinary possibilities made possible by the artful substitution. Whether you’re trying to avoid a last minute emergency market run or a trip to the emergency room, substitutions can be Good Eats. (smarmily) See you next time!
Cultural References
The first substitute chef opens the show with the line, “You can’t always get what you want. But if you try, sometimes, you get what you need.” This is from a famous Rolling Stones hit song, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” In addition, the substitute refers to the quote’s original author as a “wise man.” The lead character of House, Dr. Gregory House, used the same lines in almost the same way in the pilot episode, referring to the original author as a philosopher. The wise man in question, of course, is Mick Jagger.
Each of the substitutes on the show receives a package of car wax and a box of rice as they leave. Here, Alton parodies game shows of the seventies and eighties, especially Jeopardy, which in its early years offered losing contestants “consolation prizes” or “parting gifts” of Turtle Wax and Rice-A-Roni (the San Francisco Treat).
Thing and its substitute (a pair of reaching grippers such as those used by wheelchair bound individuals) appear again. In “Behind the Eats” viewers learned Alton’s Thing is the son of Thing from The Addams Family (1964).
Episode References
Alton competed with his grandmother, Ma Mae, to create Southern Biscuits in his very first season, an epsidoe titled The Dough Also Rises.
The delicious slab of coconut cake in Alton's refrigerator, which is "another show" is in fact from the immediately previous show, Coconut Cake Revival. However, shows are not always produced in the order they air.
“The Chewy” that Alton recreates here in gluten free form is one of three chocolate chip cookie variations Alton explains in season three’s “Three Chips for Sister Marsha.”
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