Smoky, earthy, fruity, and spicy, the flavors of the Southwest have intrigued Bobby Flay ever since he was a young chef, eventually serving as the inspiration for the menu at his first restaurant, Mesa Grill. Now sixteen years later, Bobby’s bold and vivacious take on this cuisine has made him a fixture on America’s culinary scene and turned Mesa Grill into a veritable institution. In Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook, the celebrity chef invites you to join him in the kitchen of his famous restaurant to learn the secrets of his of his signature contemporary Southwestern cuisine.
Here are 150 recipes for the drinks, appetizers, soups, salads, main dishes, sides, sauces, desserts, and brunch dishes that have earned Bobby his reputation for creating innovative combinations and big, rich flavors, including:
– Grilled Asparagus and Goat Cheese Quesadillas with Tomato Jam and Cilantro Yogurt
– Queso Fundido with Roasted Poblano Vinaigrette
– Sweet Potato and Roasted Plantain Soup with Smoked Chile Crema
– Grilled Shrimp Brushed with Smoked Chile Butter and Tomatillo Salsa
– Seared Tuna Tostado with Black Bean Mango Salsa
– Coffee-Rubbed Filets Mignons with Ancho-Mushroom Sauce
– Spicy Coconut Tapioca with Mango and Blackberries
Complete with a guide no tequila lover should be without, a list of must-haves for the Southwestern pantry, menu suggestions for festive occasions with friends and family, Bobby’s pointers on basic cooking techniques, and 100 full-color photographs, Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook helps you re-create the fun and flavors of Mesa Grill in your own kitchen.You’ve got to hand it to Bobby Flay. He opened his first restaurant, the inventive “new southwestern” Mesa Grill, in 1991–and he’s still celebrating the sweet, hot and spicy at that Manhattan outpost, not to mention on his TV shows and in other cookbooks like Boy Gets Grill and Bobby Flay’s Bold American Food. Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook offers 140-plus recipes for a wide range of new “signature dishes,” such as BBQ Duck Filled Blue Corn Pancakes with Habañero Sauce; Chile Rubbed Short Ribs with Creamy Polenta and Cotija Cheese; and Grilled Red Snapper with Tomato-New Mexico Red Chile Sauce. He also includes idiosyncratic takes on old favorites, like Whipped Potatoes with Cilantro Pesto, and desserts including Milk Chocolate-Peanut Butter Crème Brûlée, and Caramel Apple Shortcakes. Even drinks get the Flay treatment.
His food (at least in moderation) is difficult not to like. Cooks will find the recipes eminently doable if they’re willing to cull the necessary ingredients–there’s a fine ingredients glossary–and put aside a bit of time. This is great “occasion cooking” and should appeal to dyed-in-the-grill Flay fans, as well as those whose curiosity has been tickled by his winning culinary hegemony. –Arthur Boehm