Bobby Flay Everyday!: Mango Chicken

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!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Mango Chicken

Check it out - Jerked Chicken with Mango-Cilantro relish and barbequed red onion, from Boy Meets Grill, Page 59. This was a mid-week treat. I found some Mangos from Equador at the grocery so I picked them up and figured I could use them sometime. Sure enough Bobby Flay had a recipe to go with them. I first peeled and chopped up the Mangoes then added cilantro, lime juice, orange juice, olive oil, and red onions. I grilled the chicken as usual with olive oil, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. After the chicken was grilled to perfection – approaching 160 degrees interior temperature – the rest was easy. I just scooped the Mango mixture onto the chicken, added some rice and we were ready to eat. It was very tangy and sweet, but that was offset to some degree by the pepper on the chicken. It was a tasty combination – great in the winter, but probably even better in the summer.

The View. I got the chance to fly through and above the clouds today. It has been a while since I looked down on the clouds - lately the clouds have been filled with ice and therefore off limits. In time we flew out past the clouds and could see a snowscape as far as the visibility and the curvature of the Earth would allow. Looking down on the Earth is a great treat and privilege. Man’s ability to get this view is only a little over 100 years old. It is true, from above, there are no human boundaries - only God-made ones like mountain ridges and river valleys. Looking down resets your perspective. Everything that seems so important on the ground is so small when seen from up here. Everyday stress, cares, and concerns are put in their place when you are flying above them. Eventually I had to come down. Landing again surrounds you again with the cares again. After returning from the sky you truly understand the saying: Don’t sweat the small stuff because its all small stuff.

Don’t forget to check out the third episode of Bobby Flay Everyday on YouTube. The latest installment is from Valentine’s Day so I won’t blame you if you missed it! Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW9f1oW5uuE

Back on the ground, maybe the grill is the next best stress reducer to flying. More grilling and stress relief to come.
Paul