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, February 14, 2010

Chicken under a Brick

A brick for grilling? From Bobby Flay's television show, Grill It! this is Butterflied Chicken with a Basil, Oregano and Red Wine glaze. On the show, Bobby has a guest griller and one ingredient is grilled two different ways. Bobby's guest on this show made a version of Beer Can Chicken - Bobby made this Italian spiced version. When I got to the store I found a small whole chicken, but I had the butcher "butterfly" cut it. That means the backbone is cut along the chicken so that it can open out as you can see in the photo. The butterfly cut makes it possible for you to grill the entire chicken right on the grates. Turning the bird over is also no problem - just flip the whole thing. I added the brick. It is just a brick left over from when the house was built that I wrapped in foil. Placing the brick right on the chicken flattens it out even more than the butterfly cut alone, and insures even heat and even cooking throughout. After turning the chicken for the last time, I brushed on the mixture of fresh basil, oregano, olive oil and red wine that I had chopped up in the processor. 


Buying a whole chicken is much cheaper than buying it in pieces. The butcher won't charge any extra for making the butterfly cut, so it is also a way to save a little money. I grilled this chicken for about four bucks and we will have leftovers. Legs and wings for the game later!


What to Drink? Since we were grilling up Italian spiced chicken, I wanted an Italian wine. Italy has hundreds of different grape variates, but for this meal I wanted a Sangiovese. This is the grape that makes Chianti and comes from Tuscany. At Tim's Premium Wine store I found a Sangiovese from Ecco Domani (which translates to "Here's Tomorrow"). Sangiovese is not overpowering or spicy. It is dry (which means "not sweet") so it goes well with food that is also not too spicy. This was a great match. 


Did you see Booby Flay this morning on the CBS Sunday Morning show? Here is the clip you should see for Valentine's Day:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6207446n&tag=related;photovideo


Valentine's Day is all about great matches. More about matches between people and between grilled food and wine to come.
Paul 
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2 comments:

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

I did see bobby this morning... As well as the show you saw this recipe on. I haven't tried it yet, now I need to

Great post

February 14, 2010 at 5:28 PM
Unknown said...

here in Tuscany we do make chicken like your turkey and we call it "pollo alla diavola" we use herbs like rosemary, sage whole garlic cloves, salt and pepper, very simple and very tasty. For chicken the brick is not necessary as we flatten it out with the brick and then put it in between grill racks. oriana of tuscanycious.com hope this info was interesting

February 15, 2010 at 1:46 AM

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