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 10, 2010

Adobo!

From Bobby Flay's book Boy Meets Grill (page 180), this is Grilled Chicken in Adobo with Garlic Butter. In Spanish thats Pollo adobado. Adobo is oregano, garlic, chilies, and honey. Adobo is to Latin cultures what brown gravy over mashed potatoes was for me growing up. I marinated the chicken in the adobo sauce for about two hours - that may have been too long because this was very spicy. I grilled red, orange, yellow and green peppers to go with the chicken and it was the peppers that turned out to have less heat! You should still give this a try, because it was very good and very flavorful - but if you don't like it really spicy-hot then marinade for less time.

What to Drink? We pulled out a Blackstone Syrah. We knew we would need a big spicy wine to hold up against this dish and the wine met that requirement - but I still had a glass of ice water near by. For more on our Blackstone Winery experience check out the blog entry from back on New Year's Day!

What was on? Carly Simon. Sometimes you hear people say that a certain song or album is part of the "Soundtrack of their life." I gave this some thought. The Soundtrack of an entire life (at least of a life lived so far) should be a big deal. Here are the three requirements that I came up with for a song or album to qualify as a lifetime soundtrack. Number 1- When you first hear the music, you know every word, even though it may have been 10 years since you heard it last. Number 2- When you first hear the music again, a particular person, place or thing must instantly pop into your head. The music must carry you back to that moment when you first heard it. Number 3- The music must be from your past, but more so the music must qualify as being from "back in the day." I first heard the phrase, back in the day, from my adult son. I remember thinking that he hadn't lived long enough to know anything from back in the day. Then I over heard one of my college students use the phrase. He was reminiscing with nostalgia about something back in the day. This kid was only about 21 years old. He was not even alive back in the day! I eventually have concluded that back in the day really means back in your day. I have further concluded that back in your day took place when you were 19 years old. If you hear music that meets the criteria of Number 1 and Number 2, plus you first heard it when you were 19 or yonger then, and only then, does it meet Number 3's requirement and therefore qualifies as a "Soundtrack of your Life."

Carly Simon is definately a Soundtrack of my Life.

More helpful music definitions and grilling to come.
Paul

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