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!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Chefmakers at Sea

The dish in the front is Spring Onion and Herb Orzo, then clockwise you see Chicken Cordon Bleu with ham, Chicken Cordon Bleu without ham, Mahogany Chicken Wings and Mustard Basted Chicken with Rosemary Lemon Chicken thighs. That is a lot of chicken! Its all from a class called "All About Chicken" from Chefmakers Cooking Academy. Oh yes, there is one more unique thing you should know. All these Chicken meals were prepared on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas sailing in the Atlantic ocean somewhere between Port Canaveral and the Virgin Islands.
Royal Caribbean Cruises are known for there excellent dining, so why would we be cooking ourselves? Well it was very informative and a lot of fun. We ended up taking three different classes at sea from Chefmakers, but specifically from Drew Closs.
This was as far away from grilling as you can get. Not only were we 2,000 miles from my home grill, the ship does not allow any open flame. So no charcoal and no gas grilling allowed. Nevertheless, some of the tricks and techniques we learned will be get back on the grill!
These chicken wings were baked in one of the industrial convection ovens of the Chops Grille onboard the ship - but the same process can be used with indirect heat on the grill.
On another day, in another class we made Manicotti. We cooked the pasta in saute pans instead of boiling. They did not all make it to the table when we started practicing tossing and flipping the pasta in the pans
On another day we made vegetable soup - but it was really a Knife Skills class. We just made lunch from all we learned to cut (planks to strips, strips to dice). 
You should check out the Chefmakers website at www.chefmakeratsea.com and think about taking a class the next time you can't see land in any direction!