Good Eats 4, The Final Years, Reviewed

 There is no doubt that Alton Brown is accomplished. If you are among the few who are unfamiliar with him, he is a chef, author, actor, musician, and creator and host of the popular Food Network television show Good Eats that ran for 14 seasons. He subsequently appeared in Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen; he has an impressive list of publications.

Brown is unique in that he teaches the science of cooking along with teaching how to cook. This scientific approach to cooking makes his cookbooks unique from all others. His latest, a new release from Abrams Books, is called Good Eats 4, The Final Years. A weighty tome, it is 432 pages, so is certainly value for money.

As with many of Brown‘s books there are loads of recipes, a wide variety of cooking methods, along with a plethora of equipment. This allows people who enjoy sous vide cooking to get a taste (if you’ll pardon the pun) of Brown’s recipes as well as those who don’t. The book includes comfort food recipes along with those that are company worthy in, I think, equal measure.

One of the recipes that I tried was Cacio de Pepe because it is one of my favorite pasta dishes being both quick and easy. His approach is unique, and not quite as quick as my own version. You add the pasta to the water and then bring them together to a boil. Personally, I like this idea. With no waiting for the water to boil before adding pasta, you can immediately go to work on other things. I enjoyed his recipe, although truth be told, I like mine better. With fewer steps and the addition of freshly grated lemon zest I believe mine tastes fresher. Still, if you are a fan of Alton, you may just want to give this a try.

There are plenty of things to like about this book. First of all, if you are familiar with any of his other books, let me tell you this one has way more photographs than the others and I like that in a cookbook. Secondly, each dish has a list of “tactical hardware,“ so that you know in advance exactly what you are going to need for preparation. Those of you who, like me, enjoy back stories, will also appreciate the fact that there is a history behind the recipes. I find that fascinating.

There are savory and sweet recipes and equal measure. The chicken piccata is restaurant quality, the tips on buttercream invaluable, sweet corn pudding is going to show up on my Thanksgiving table this year. Those who enjoy pressure cooker cooking well find the vichyssoise to be a must make.

I highly recommend this book for fans of Brown, and for those just getting to know him. His personality shines through in every word, every step, every recipe, and every tasty result.

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 Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of Good Eats 4; The Final Years from Abrams Books as a member of their Abrams Dinner Party 2021-2022.