Cooking with Bobby Flay
By Suzanne Fatow Pollak
It's easy to be humbled by Bobby Flay when the famous chef fires up his grill and tosses on an assortment of fresh vegetables and some tender meat that's been marinated in one of his tasty sauces. All of a sudden that burger of yours begins to look a little sad.
Flay has elevated grilling to the point where there is virtually nothing he can't make taste great on a grill. Through his six restaurants, seven cookbooks and multiple TV series and specials, he's out to make sure no one thinks grilling only means barbecued chicken and burgers or hot dogs.
Perhaps it's the magic of the outdoors, where the Flay can also get in a round or two of his other love-golf. Or maybe it's just the idea of throwing ripe vegetables right onto the grill and cooking away, while not missing a word of conversation.
Flay has broadened his grilling menus to include, not only vegetables, but also mussels steamed in a kettle and just about any kind of meat, poultry or fish painted with his famous sauces. He even cooks his cornbread on the grill.
Growing up in Manhattan, Flay's interests in cooking blossomed while working in his father's restaurant. He joined the restaurant crew right after high school. "First I made salads," remembers Flay. Soon he enrolled at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, graduating in its first class. He cooked in several restaurants, perfecting his colorful southwestern creations.
He became chef and a partner at Mesa Grill in New York City in 1991. One year later Mesa Grill was named Best Restaurant by food columnist Gael Greene. The following year, Flay received the James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year award. That same year, Flay opened his second restaurant, Bolo, only a few blocks away from Mesa Grill. Bolo specializes in contemporary Spanish and other Mediterranean dishes. But, in an American compromise, Flay avoids the heavy use of animal fats that are so common in Spain and works with his spices and distinct flavors to get the taste across.
Not surprisingly, he has bottled his own brand of barbecue sauce, smoky and crammed with anchovies and chilies. His product line now includes over 25 sauces and condiments.
When cooking, Flay likes to keep things simple. He urges cooks to prepare early so they can enjoy time with their guests. He doesn't advocate getting bogged down in the kitchen serving individual courses. Instead, he prefers to set out a number of colorful dishes and let his guests choose the order.
"Cooking should be serious fun," says Flay. "I really consider myself more of a craftsman than an artist. We take a lot of pride in the presentation, but we don't let the plate sit in the kitchen 10 minutes trying to decide what it should look like."
"Cooking -- that's where all the passion is," he continues. "You can be totally creative. It's a natural high for me. It's what I like to do most."
And it's an experience Flay loves to share. His most recent cookbook, which hit bookstores October 2007, is Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill Cookbook: Explosive Flavors from the Southwestern Kitchen. It includes over 150 recipes of zesty Southwestern dishes, plus menu suggestions and tips on general cooking techniques. He also has a new book, Grill It!, expected to be released in Spring 2008.
Besides being a best-selling author, Flay has had several successful TV series, including the Food Network's Hot Off the Grill and Boy Meets Grill. These days you can catch him on Throwdown! With Bobby Flay, a show in which Flay drops in on some unexpecting master cooks and challenges them to a cook-off. He is also one of four Iron Chefs on Iron Chef America, and appears on a regular cooking segment on The Early Show. As his ratings and popularity continue to soar, he still finds time to spend with his family. Not bad for a guy who, as a child, sat glued to the TV watching The Galloping Gourmet, knowing that someday he'd own his own restaurant.
Great Grilling Recipes
Butterflied Chicken with Lemon, Garlic and Basil
Ingredients:
1 cup olive oil
8 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/ 2 cup fresh lemon juice
4 chickens, 2 1/2 pounds each, butterflied
32 fresh basil leaves
8 lemon slices
Instructions:
Salt and freshly-ground pepper Mix together the olive oil, garlic and lemon juice in a large shallow baking dish. Add the chickens and turn to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 4 hours. Remove chicken from marinade. Loosen skin around the breast area and place 1 lemon slice and 4 basil leaves onto the breast. Stretch the skin over the breast and secure with toothpicks if too loose. Season the chickens with salt and pepper to taste. Grill, skin-side down, for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Turn over and continue grilling for 12-14 minutes, turning occasionally, until cooked through.
Serves 8. Grilled Ratatouille
Ingredients:
2 zucchini, halved lengthwise
2 yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise
2 Asian eggplant, halved lengthwise
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and quartered
2 yellow bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and quartered
2 red onions, quartered
1 basket cherry tomatoes (12-16)
1/2 cup olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons
Salt and freshly-ground pepper
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely-chopped oregano
1/4 cup finely-chopped flat-leaf parsley
Instructions:
Preheat grill medium-high. Place all cut vegetables in a large, shallow baking dish, add the 1?2 cup of olive oil and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the vegetables on the grill and cook for 5-6 minutes, turning halfway through the cooking. Remove the tomatoes, cover grill and cook the remaining vegetables for 2 minutes, or until almost cooked through. Transfer remaining vegetables to a cutting board and coarsely chop. Place the chopped vegetables and tomatoes in a large bowl, add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, oregano and parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.
Serves 8.
Recipes reprinted with permission from Boy Meets Grill by Bobby Flay, published by Hyperion, New York, 1999. Photographs by Tom Eckerle.