Alton Brown at Zingerman’s Roadhouse

Recently on the Food Network, I saw two of my biggest food inspirations come together on my screen – Alton Brown and Zingerman’s. It was Alton’s show Good Eats that got me interested in cooking whatever I could from scratch. It was Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig’s book “Guide to Good Eating” that got me into finding the best ingredients because good food tastes good! A new show premiered on Food Network last week, called America’s Best. Alton is the host and he runs down a top 10 list of the best in different food categories. Whoever is number 1 on the list gets a personal visit from Alton who delivers them an award. The first episode dealt with comfort foods. And who was number 1? The Macaroni & Cheese from Zingerman’s Roadhouse. Too bad I wasn’t eating there when Alton showed up.

Zingerman’s cooks their mac & cheese in a unique way – in a cast iron skillet. It is a great way to get a nice brown crust on the outside of the mac & cheese. Now Zingerman’s and Alton Brown have teamed up to inspire me again. I took my regular mac & cheese recipe and turned it into my cast iron mac & cheese recipe. Click here to read it.

Check your local listings for additional episodes of America’s Best on Food Network.