Welcome to Bobby Flay Everyday!

I am not an expert. I have never even taken a class. I have no formal training - but I love to grill. I love the food off the grill and I just like the idea, the fun and the relaxation of grilling. So naturally Bobby Flay is a hero. I have his books, I watch his shows and I try out his recipes. So my idea is to grill one of Bobby's grilling recommendations everyday and see how it goes. Bobby Flay Everyday!

The idea to grill and blog is not original. Julie Powell wrote a blog that became a book and then a movie when she cooked all 524 recipes from Julia Child's cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. But this is not French Cooking - this is backyard, after work, tailgate, American male grilling. I grill outside in a man-cave in every kind of weather. There is no "grilling season" for me - its everyday, year-round. We will skip around through Bobby's books and TV shows and grill what we like. But grilling is more than food, its an experience - so we will also report on what music we listened to or what ball game was on while we were grilling. We will keep track of what we were drinking during the grilling and later with the food. I'll try to figure what went wrong when we fall short of Bobby's perfection and pass on any tips I know about or discover along the way. Maybe it will give others some ideas as well.

The photo is of me and two of my brother-in-laws roasting the Thanksgiving turkey on the grill last year. That's me on the far right. In real life I am a college professor and pilot. I have written 12 books, but they were all about flying - here we write about grilling. We write about Bobby Flay Everyday!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Friday Flatbread


 This is Bobby Flay’s Grilled Flatbread with Mozzarella, Fresh Tomato, Basil and Roasted Garlic (Boy Meets Grill page 36). I added Genoa Salami and Provolone. I spread out the dough on a cookie sheet and put it right on the grill. I brushed the dough with olive oil and placed the sliced tomatoes on the upper grate of the grill to heat up. When the dough was about half done I added all the ingredients right on the grill and then let the cheese melt.


Wisdom of the Grill. I also have a “pizza stone” that I use for pizza on the grill. The stone (actually ceramic) is round and is great for baking pizza and bread right on the grill. In this recipe I wanted rectangular flatbreads so I used the cookie sheet instead of the round stone, but either way it’s a unique use of a grill. You build the pizza right on the grill one layer at a time, just keep some olive oil for spreading. The grill should be on a low setting or use indirect heat and keep an eye on it.

Dorothy and I drove to the local grocery store in the snow, so its obviously not growing or harvesting season in Tennessee, but the store still had plenty of fresh fruits and veggies. We took a quick tour and started readying the little stickers on the produce. The sticker indicates the item code but also the country of origin. I found fresh produce from Guatemala, Columbia, Chili, Mexico, Ecuador, New Zealand, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Italy. So how is it that the world’s fruits and vegetables ended up in a supermarket in snowed-in America? How do farmers who produce these good on different continent away, find a market in America? The answer is – airplanes.

Aviation is suffering from an image problem these days – some of it is unfair. Aviation impacts people everyday in a positive way even if they never themselves fly. Most are totally unaware of these benefits. My fellow shoppers at the Kroger store were probably completely ignorant of the fact that airplanes brought them their dinner. What people see of aviation is terror threats, long lines, canceled flights and lost luggage not bananas and cantaloupes. This misperception is bad because if people are not aware of the benefits of aviation and they see only the bad stuff then they form a negatively-bias opinion. This makes it tough for my students and in the long run would be harmful to us all. The next time you bite into a crisp apple in January, think about the pilot and the airplane that was part of the chain that brought it too you.

Weather Report. The wind chill factor while grilling was -4 degrees. The actual temperature is forecast to be 9 tonight and we had flurries most of the day. It will be cold, but as long as I can keep the grill fired up we will keep going!

Paul





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