It's Alive with Brad - Season 5

It's Alive with Brad Leone is BACK for episode 73 and this one is all about sweet, sweet composting. Join Brad as he hops and skips all over the tri-state area to learn everything there is to know about organic composting from start to finish. Under the tutelage of Vivian Lin of Groundcycle and Jay Fischer of Ag Choice, Brad learns how to compost at both a local and industrial scale.

It's Alive with Brad Leone is back for episode 77 and this time Brad is learning all about oyster reefs. Join Brad in New York Harbor as he learns how oyster shells are put to work after restaurants dispose of them. New York Harbor used to have 220,000 acres of oyster reefs, but it only took 100 years to harvest them all once Europeans arrived. That's where Billion Oyster Project comes in -- recreating New York's lost oyster fields. And Brad's here to help.

It's Alive with Brad Leone is back for episode 78 and this time he's canning some seafood. Safety is everything whilst canning foods, so Brad enlists the expertise of Chef Charlotte Langley of Scout Canning, who knows just about everything there is about preserving seafood. Seriously, you will get sick if you don't do it right, so pay attention if you plan on giving this a whirl. Brad uses fresh steelhead trout, mussels and lobster, but feel free to get creative with your canning. PS. Maybe Matty Matheson makes a cameo?

It's Alive with Brad Leone is back for episode 77 and this time Brad is making everybody's favorite variation on fruit: the leather kind. That's right, it's fermented fruit leather week at Bon Appétit. Join Brad as he struggles with a vacuum sealer, figures it out, gets distracted, remembers what he was doing and then moves on. Also in this episode: reminiscing on performing artist Seal's thighs, musings on picking blueberries and raspberries and so, so much more. 

It's Alive with Brad Leone is back for episode 78 and this time Brad is making fermented salsa. Join Brad as chars up some chilis and lets 'em ferment to make a salsa so nice you just might dip twice.

It's Alive with Brad Leone is back for episode 79 and this time Brad is volunteering at Food Bank for New York City in Harlem. Brad is joined by Chef Sheri Jefferson, the culinary manager in the community kitchen, where they cook one thousand meals a day. That's right, one thousand meals in one day. After a day of volunteering, they head back to the studio kitchen so Chef Sheri can show Brad just how they pull off this feat.

It's Alive with Brad Leone is back for episode 80 and this time Brad is making fermented pasta sauce. Brad uses campari tomatoes, but you can use any type of tomato you want for this recipe. Just make sure not to put to much onion in the sauce, Pauly!

It's Alive with Brad Leone is back for episode 81 and this time he's joined by our very own Chrissy Tracey in the woods of beautiful and underrated Connecticut. And what is the one thing you do when you're in the woods of Connecticut? You make maple syrup, that's what. From sap in a tree to syrup on your pancakes, this is how you make maple syrup.

It's Alive with Brad Leone is back for episode 82 and this time he's making fermented peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. This nut butter uses both peanuts and pecans that ya roast in the oven first. But be advised: don't go walking Hank the dog while they're in the oven, because they'll go from nice, fragrant and beautiful to scorched real fast. The jelly is a raspberry, blackberry and blueberry mix that you ferment until they're good and rotten (in a safe way).

It's Alive with Brad Leone is back for episode 83 and this time he's making fermented miso potatoes. Now folks, this french fry recipe is good enough to be in a 5-star restaurant and cost you $50 a plate. But now for a limited time, this recipe can be yours for just the time it takes to watch an 11 minute long video! Act fast!

It's Alive with Brad Leone is back for episode 84 and the first entry in a special 4-part series from Brad's own backyard. This week he's firing up the grill for burger time and bubba - you better believe Brad's got his own blend to bring to the banquet. That was a lot of B-words. Not "B-words" as in a swears or anything. "The B Word." You know what? Let's watch the video.

It's Alive with Brad Leone is back for episode 85 and part two of our special miniseries featuring Brad grilling in his backyard. This week Brad is breaking out the bait and tackle for an inky all-nighter, learning how to catch squid in the Atlantic Ocean with Captain Dan and Fisherman Vinny. With their precious cephalopods back home and ready to go, Brad and Dan whip up a few bowls of fresh smoked squid and tomato pasta to bond over. It's a beautiful thing.

Welcome back to It's Alive with Brad Leone for episode 86 and the penultimate installment of Brad's backyard grilling miniseries. This week is all about the ‘shrooms as Brad takes a trip to Seacoast Mushrooms for a look at their cultivation process with owner Chris Pacheco. Afterwards, Brad heads home to the backyard to prepare one of his favorite smoked mushroom dishes, featuring five varieties of his fungal friends. Far out, man.

Welcome back to It's Alive with Brad Leone for episode 87 and the final installment of Brad's special backyard grilling series. This week our guy is joined by friend and colleague Chrissy Tracey for a forest excursion focused on finding ramps - edible wild leeks that grow in shaded, woody areas. With their freshly picked supplies ready to go, our foraging pros head back to Casa Brad to rendezvous with Sam Seneviratne and bake a few pizzas with seasonal toppings. We're going forest to table with this one, folks. Let's do it.

Welcome back for episode 88 of It's Alive with Brad Leone where this week our man with the plan sets out to pickle peppers. Now, pickled peppers obviously present a great tongue twister for a master linguist like Mr. Leone, but the real appeal lies in that they're delicious and add a kick to nearly anything. Make a jar and it will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks, giving you access to these chill chilies right when you want them.

We're back for episode 89 of It's Alive with Brad Leone and in this first entry of a two-part series, our guy is heading out to Bozeman, Montana to experience some fly fishing. Brad is joined on the Yellowstone River by his buddy Steve Rinella from Netflix's MeatEater who breaks down all the ins and outs of catching native whitefish. Let's see what these intrepid fellas can get on their hooks and bring into the kitchen.

It's the 90th episode of It's Alive with Brad Leone and our guy is still on location in Montana spending quality time with MeatEater's Steve Rinella. As loyal viewers will recall, the gentlemen hauled in a fine catch of whitefish on the Yellowstone River in our previous episode - and now it's time to hit the kitchen. We're brining, we're smoking, we're stewing, we're making dips and tomato bakes. This Montana trip is shaping up to finish on a high note.

We're back for the 91st episode of It's Alive with Brad Leone and today our guy is mixing up a batch of fermented watermelon cocktails, one of the featured recipes in his new cookbook "Field Notes for Food Adventure: Recipes and Stories from the Woods to the Ocean." Sweet and spicy with a hint of salt, Brad's fermented watermelon cocktails make for an ideal end-of-summer beverage - either non-alcoholic or with some mezcal for the adult set.

Fermenting maestro Brade Leone is back with the next episode of It's Alive and this time he's turned his pickling attention to the venerable avocado. One of the best parts about Brad's method is it calls for unripened avocados, meaning there's no fussing around waiting for the perfect consistency. Just a few ingredients and a little patience yields a jar of pickled avocado goodness, ready to add a kick to any dish.

Enzyme enthusiast, grill master and cookbook author(!) Brad Leone returns for the next episode of It's Alive, this time to prepare smoked chicken with a fermented tomato purée - a recipe featured in his upcoming release "Field Notes for Food Adventure." Brad smokes the chicken low and slow, gradually building up a coating of fermented tomato glaze and making for some stellar results.

We're back with another episode of It's Alive and this time our man Brad is living a little bit of "la dolce vita" by making some fresh mozzarella. Now, seeing as he's never actually tried to make mozzarella before, Brad decided to call in a hand from his buddy Cody Reiss, a globe-hopping, cheese-mongering virtuoso you may know from "Cody's World of Cheese."

We're back with another episode of It's Alive with Brad and today the big guy is preparing sous vide ribs to pack away and bring into the great outdoors for finishing over a roaring grill. Brad's Mountain Ribs are topped with a sweet and spicy sauce made with fermented black bean paste, honey, chilies and other fun stuff, resulting in fall-off-the-bone goodness.

We're back with another episode of It's Alive and this time it's a family affair as Brad is joined by his dad George to prepare venison andouille sausage. Dad Leone has been making these links Brad's entire life and now this generation-spanning recipe will be forever enshrined in Brad's new book "Field Notes For Food Adventure."