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!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

From Mesa Grill




This is Spice-Crusted New York Strip Steaks with Mesa Grill Steak Sauce. It is right off the menu of Bobby Flay’s 5th Avenue (NYC) restaurant The Mesa Grill and from page 155 of the Mesa Grill Cookbook. We also prepared Twice-Baked Potatoes (page 193).  I am learning to grill spices right into a steak on the grill and it make a big difference. When you eat a really good steak house you often wonder how they get the flavor down in the meat and that is one of the reasons steak house steak can be better than backyard steak. One answer is the way the seasoning is applied and seared in on a really hot grill. You can have steak house results from your own grill if you use the right ingredients and practice. The potatoes were better than restaurant quality as well. I baked them first, then cut off the top of the potato long-ways. I scooped out the potato from the skins, but left the skins in tact so they looked like a dug-out canoe. I mashed the potatoes and seasoned them following Bobby’s instructions. Then I stuffed the potatoes back into the canoes, together with cheese and put them on the top rack of the grill to re-bake and melt the cheese.




New Wisdom of the Grill. While I was mixing the steak rub and trying to duplicate the Mesa Grill signature barbecue sauce it hit me. My knowledge of spices and especially of peppers has at least doubled in the last month as I follow Bobby Flay’s tastes. Paul Kalemkiarian of the Wine of the Month Club read this blog and asked, "Do you think you are getting the character of his (Bobby Flay's) cooking?" The answer is yes because I am learning to use new ingredients to enhance, not to overpower the food. Along the way I have added to the pantry some spices that before I never used, some I had never heard of. And, the most important revelation is that I can make these rubs and sauces myself. I don’t need “ready-made” spices that some company has combined for me and no doubt over charged me for a service I now do not need. I want to adjust the flavors to my own liking instead of shaking out a pre-packaged seasoning of someone else’s liking and definition. So I cleaned out the pantry. I got rid of all the “ready-made” stuff. Nobody is telling me how to do this any more.





Gone from the pantry





Replaced with the "real" stuff








For this Mesa Grill Spice-Crusted New York Strip, I combined the following dry ingredients: (Clockwise from the top) Oregano, Cumin, Paprika, Mustard, Ancho Chili, and Coriander. 
















I raided the refrigerator as well. I threw out all the “ready-made” barbecue sauces that accumulate since I make my own now.


Gone from the fridge






The Mesa Grill sauce is Ketchup, Horseradish, Honey, Dijon Mustard, Maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, and Ancho Chili powder. 





Barbecue sauce NOT from a bottle






Bobby says (page 226 of the Mesa Grill Cookbook) that purists believe that a properly grilled steak does not need a sauce to make it great – the steak stands alone. Bobby says that he would agree to a point. That point is this steak sauce. I got the New York Strips from Tag’z Five Star Meat (see previous blog on Tag’z) so the cut of beef was the very best, but this sauce, used in moderation, did improve the steak to near perfection.

What to drink? I also went to Tim Mile’s Premium Wines and Spirits for a wine to match up with these spices. Tim has a “Wine of the Week” and this week his special was a perfect match. His recommendation was a red wine from Jumilla, Spain called Luzon. It was powerful. It had a spice of its own, but still fruity – perfect. If you get to go to Tim’s and Tag’z in the same day – then that is a pretty good day.

What was on? A really excellent group that proves great music has survived into the new millennium. The group: Maroon 5.  There first album, Songs about Jane is great. The second album, It Won’t be Soon Before Long, was almost as good.  Their third album is due out this year. I will definitely download it. Check them out at http://www.maroon5.com/home/

The learning and the grilling continues!
Paul

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