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 30, 2010

Powerful Pasta

From Bobby Flay's television show Grill It! this is Italian Spiced Chicken with Dorothy's special pasta, gravy and shaved Parmesan. There is simply nothing better than Dorothy's pasta and gravy. I grew up calling it sauce, but don't call this tomato sauce - its gravy! The actual ingredients are a closely guarded family secret handed down through Dorothy's grandmother from Naples, Italy. The first time she made it for me - I was in love - and the pasta wasn't bad either. Once my sister, Suzanne, came over and asked Dorothy to show her how to make her Baked Ziti with the secret gravy. They spent most of an afternoon with Suzanne taking careful notes. With this new knowledge, Suzanne prepared the meal for a new boyfriend that she was trying to impress. It worked. Alan and Suzanne have been married twenty years now. I am telling you that this is some powerful pasta and this time it was a perfect match to the spices on the chicken of rosemary, oregano, basil, salt and ground black pepper. 


YouTube. Watch the first video introduction to Bobby Flay Everyday now on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqziQ7h42zo

Dessert? When I was outside chipping ice of the grill, Dorothy baked triple chocolate cookie bars.
 Weather Report.
It was snow all afternoon and sleet all night. We lost electric power for about two hours, but that did not stop the grill fires from burning! The best thing to do is stay in and grill it!

What to drink? Just as the snow storm began to hit, we made a dash over to Tim's Premium Wine and Spirits for a wine pairing. Tim gave this some thought. Ordinarily with Italian gravy you would want a really strong wine - Zinfandel or Syrah. But we were also having chicken, so he came up with a great compromise. The Francis Ford Coppola Pinot Noir. You must be careful with Pinot Noir. I said in a previous blog that I would not trust a $12 Pinot because the cheaper ones are thin and look like rusty water. In this situation, you do get what you pay for. The Coppola was about $20 and it came through. We visited the Coppola winery several years ago in Napa Valley. Yes, this is the same Francis Ford Coppola who is the movie director, most notably the Godfather. The winery was once the Inglenook Chateau but now is know as Rubicon Estate http://www.rubiconestate.com/flash.php. Downstairs is the tasting rooms, but we also wandered up the main staircase to the second floor and made a discovery. All the Academy Awards that Coppola won for the Godfather (one, two and three) are on display at the winery and so is the set of Vito Corleone's office. You have seen that office. The very first scene of the first move is in that office. I sat behind The Godfather's desk and said "why do you disrespect me in this way? I must make you an offer that you can't refuse." Then we tasted the wine. Both the wine and my performance were Oscar worthy.


What was on? Snow Patrol, what else? We saw Snow Patrol in concert last summer as the lead act with Coldplay. Usually you don't pay much attention to the warm-up band, but they were really good and should have someone else warming them up soon. They are a rock band, but the music is not overpowering to the point that you miss the message. There is a record snow fall outside my door. We need a Snow Patrol today so check them out at http://www.snowpatrol.com/
After dinner, and with the last of the Coppola, we watched - The Godfather - again. Dorothy interprets the customs in the movie for me. But there is one thing about the movie that is a little unsettling. Its a story of a family of Italian brothers and a sister. In the end its the brother-in-law that gets whacked. I'm the brother-in-law with Dorothy's Italian brothers - is it a coincidence that the Godfather is one of her favorite movies? 
Thank goodness for a hot grill on an icy day. 
"Leave the gun. Take the Canoli" 
Paulie

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