Bobby Flay's Bar Americain Cookbook - Bobby Flay [0]
Photographs copyright © 2011 by Ben Fink
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Flay, Bobby.
Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain cookbook / Bobby Flay, with Stephanie Banyas, and Sally Jackson.—1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
1. Cookery, American. 2. Bar Americain (New York, N.Y.) I. Banyas, Stephanie. II. Jackson, Sally, 1978– III. Title. IV. Title: Bar Americain cookbook.
TX715.F61148 2010
641.5973—dc22 2009047832
eISBN: 978-0-307-88590-6
Design by Wayne Wolf/Blue Cup Creative
v3.1
ALSO BY BOBBY FLAY
Bobby Flay’s Throwdown!
Bobby Flay’s Burgers, Fries & Shakes
Bobby Flay’s Grill It!
Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook
Bobby Flay’s Grilling for Life
Bobby Flay’s Boy Gets Grill
Bobby Flay Cooks American
Bobby Flay’s Boy Meets Grill
Bobby Flay’s From My Kitchen to Your Table
Bobby Flay’s Bold American Food
This book is dedicated to my business partner of twenty-plus years, Laurence Kretchmer. Loyal and supportive of my every whim (even the ridiculous ones), he makes the most sincere effort to help me accomplish each one. His dedication to our businesses together is only eclipsed by his unwavering friendship, which I cherish every day.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Peter Hansen
Renee Forsberg
Leia Gaccione
Christopher Foster
Laura Mendez
Alex Roman
Josephine Pacquing
Mark Shay
Liz Jacobson
Angelo Pietrunti
Chrisopher Catanesi
Tyler Pitman
Heidi Vanderwal
Neil Manacle
Vicki Wells
Rick Pitcher
Christine Sanchez
Tara Keeler
Manny Gatdula
Jennifer Lee
Bullfrog & Baum
Jennifer Rudolph Walsh
Jon Rosen
Rockwell Group
Ben Fink
Barb Fritz
Kate Tyler
Jill Browning
Ashley Phillips
Chris Tanigawa
Joan Denman
Doris Cooper
Lauren Shakely
Marysarah Quinn
Dahlia Warner
A special thank-you to:
My assistants and coauthors, Stephanie Banyas and Sally Jackson
My business partners, Laurence Kretchmer, Jerry Kretchmer, and Jeff Bliss
Food Network
The staffs of Mesa Grill New York, Mesa Grill Las Vegas, Mesa Grill Bahamas, Bobby Flay Steak, and Bobby’s Burger Palace
And …
Rica Allannic, the best editor any author could hope for. Thank you for your steadfast support and your incredible attention to detail.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
COCKTAILS
SOUPS AND SALADS
SANDWICHES
APPETIZERS
FISH AND SHELLFISH
POULTRY AND MEAT
SIDES
BREADS AND DESSERTS
BRUNCH
SAUCES AND STOCKS
KITCHEN ESSENTIALS
THE AMERICAN PANTRY
EQUIPMENT ESSENTIALS
COOKING TECHNIQUES
SOURCES
INDEX
INTRODUCTION
Bar Americain is a product of my life’s discoveries. I didn’t finish high school in a conventional way (I took a test to garner a high school equivalency diploma so that I could apply to culinary school), and as it turns out, I’ve found I learn best through—well, just living! I am constantly observing, tasting, trying all the world has to offer. Every student, whether a traditional one or not, has a favorite subject, and mine is the foods and culinary traditions of the United States of America. It’s been an intense education, one that I hope never ends. And Bar Americain is my translation of that education.
I opened my first restaurant, Mesa Grill, in New York City in 1991 at the age of twenty-five. After running some kitchens for other people earlier on, I had arrived on the scene in a soaring space on lower Fifth Avenue with a bag of chile peppers and a high-profile business partner, Jerry Kretchmer, the owner of Gotham Bar and Grill alongside Chef Alfred Portale. It was exactly what a twenty-five-year-old with seven years of cooking experience and a pocketful of street sense should have—a big, brash, colorful space with big, bold flavors on the plate accompanied by handcrafted margaritas. The place had its own beat—but the rhythm