Bobby Flay's Bar Americain Cookbook: Celebrate America's Great Flavors

by Bobby Flay, Stephanie Banyas, Sally Jackson

Overview

When Bobby Flay looks at a map of the United States, he doesn’t see states—he sees ingredients: wild Alaskan king salmon, tiny Maine blueberries, fiery southwestern chiles. The Food Network celebrity and renowned chef-restaurateur created his Bar Americain restaurants as our country’s answer to French bistros—to celebrate America’s regional flavors and dishes, interpreted as only Bobby Flay can.

Now you can rediscover American cuisine at home with the recipes in Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain Cookbook. Start with a Kentucky 95—a riff on a classic French cocktail but made with bourbon—and Barbecued Oysters with Black Pepper–Tarragon Butter. Choose from sumptuous soups and salads, including a creamy clam chowder built on a sweet potato base, and Kentucky ham and ripe figs over a bed of arugula dressed with molasses-mustard dressing. Entrees will fill your family family-style, from red snapper with a crisp skin of plantains accompanied by avocado, mango, and black beans to a host of beef steaks, spice-rubbed and accompanied by side dishes such as Brooklyn hash browns and cauliflower and goat cheese gratin. Bar Americain’s famed brunch dishes and irresistible desserts round out this collection of America’s favorite flavors.

Bobby also shares his tips for stocking your pantry with key ingredients for everyday cooking, as well as expert advice on essential kitchen equipment and indispensable techniques. With more than 110 recipes and 110 full-color photographs, Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain Cookbook shares Bobby’s passion for fantastic American food and will change the way any cook looks at our country’s bounty.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780307461384
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	09/20/2011
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,042,265
Product dimensions:	10.26(w) x 8.38(h) x 0.86(d)

About the Author

Bobby Flay is the chef-owner of six fine dining restaurants, including Mesa Grill, Bar Americain, and Bobby Flay Steak, and an expanding roster of Bobby’s Burger Palaces. He is the host of numerous popular cooking shows on Food Network, from the Emmy-winning Boy Meets Grill and Grill It! with Bobby Flay, to the Iron Chef America series, Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, and The Next Food Network Star. Brunch with Bobby debuted on the Cooking Channel in fall 2010. A New York Times bestselling author, he is also a contributing editor to Parade magazine. This is his eleventh book. His website is BobbyFlay.com.

Stephanie Banyas has been Bobby Flay’s business assistant since 1996. She is the coauthor of Bobby Flay’s Throwdown!; Bobby Flay’s Burgers, Fries & Shakes; Bobby Flay’s Grill It!; Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill Cookbook; and Bobby Flay’s Grilling for Life. She lives in New York City with her beloved cat, Emily Rose.

Sally Jackson began working with Bobby Flay in 2001. A member of the theater company Eastcheap Rep, she is a New York City–based food writer and actress.

Recipe

PUMPKIN BREAD PUDDING SPICY CARAMEL APPLE SAUCE
This fantastic dessert is perfect for the cool months of late fall and winter. Cubes of tender pumpkin bread are baked in a rich custard laced with bourbon and maple syrup. Crisp apple cider is the base of a buttery caramel sauce spiced with fresh ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and star anise. Forget about serving the same-old pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and put this out instead for a new twist on two old classics. The recipe includes directions for making your own pumpkin bread to use in the pudding, but you can of course also use a loaf of pumpkin bread from your favorite bakery. Brioche or cinnamon-raisin bread would also work perfectly.
Serves 8
Unsalted butter, for the pan
8 cups 1/2-inch cubed Pumpkin Bread (page 214) or other bread
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 cup canned pumpkin puree, not flavored pie filling
2 tablespoons bourbon
Freshly whipped cream, for serving
Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce (page 214)
Shelled pumpkin seeds (optional), for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter a 10-inch glass baking dish.
2. Spread the bread cubes on a large baking sheet and bake in the oven, turning once, until lightly toasted, about 15 minutes. Let cool.
3. Combine the cream, milk, and vanilla bean and seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
4. Whisk together the yolks, sugar, maple syrup, and pumpkin puree in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the hot cream mixture until combined. Discard the vanilla bean and whisk in the bourbon.
5. Scatter the pumpkin bread cubes in the prepared baking dish. Pour the custard over the bread, pressing down on the bread to totally submerge it in the custard. Let sit for 15 minutes to allow the bread to soak up some of the custard.
6. Place the dish in a larger roasting pan and pour hot water into the roasting pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the glass dish. Bake until the sides are slightly puffed and the center jiggles slightly, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and the water bath and cool on a wire rack for at least
30 minutes before serving.
7. Serve the warm bread pudding topped with whipped cream and drizzled with spicy caramel apple sauce. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds if desired.

Pumpkin Bread

Makes 1 (9-inch) loaf

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Scant 1 cup canned pumpkin puree, not flavored pie filling
2 large eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan.
2. Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves in a small bowl.
3. Beat the butter, sugar, and oil on high speed in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times, until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
4. Add the pumpkin puree and mix until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until just incorporated. Mixing on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture and 2/3 cup water and mix until just combined. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely.

Spicy Caramel Apple Sauce:
Makes about 2 cups
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup apple juice
1 star anise
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
4 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
11/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon apple schnapps

1. Combine the cream, apple juice, star anise, ginger, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and nutmeg in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let steep for at least 20 minutes. Strain the mixture into a clean small saucepan and place back over low heat while you make the caramel.

2. Combine the sugar, 1/2 cup water, and the vinegar in a medium saucepan over high heat and cook without stirring until a deep amber color, 8 to 10 minutes. Slowly and carefully whisk in the warm cream mixture a little at a time, and continue whisking until smooth. Add the apple schnapps and cook for 30 seconds longer. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm. The sauce can be made 2 days in advance and refrigerated. Reheat over low heat before serving.

Editorial Reviews

Bobby Flay's Bar Americain Cookbook arrives too late for Independence Day, but this celebration of the country's regional flavors and dishes is still guaranteed to raise your patriotic spirits. With his 110 recipes, Flay pays due tribute to his New York roots and Cajun cuisine training, but "the iron chef of synergy" also tips his chef's cap to local specialties including Kentucky Ham and Ripe Figs, Chesapeake Barbecued Oysters and Alaska King Salmon. This temptingly illustrated cookbook includes recipes for every meal course from cocktails to desserts, even including a timely section on brunch. Tasty recipes carefully concocted to elevate your cooking skills.

In the 27 years since his graduation from the French Culinary Institute, Flay has not only assumed the title of king of deep, rich American flavors, he has also become the iron chef of synergy, drawing from an ever expanding pool of television work, restaurants, and retail items. This is the second of his books to be directly inspired by one of his properties (following 2007's Mesa Grill Cookbook). Flay writes that he has two goals behind the cuisine from this particular eatery. The first is to "re-create the classics of French brasserie cuisine with the best of American ingredients." Examples of this include a lamb sausage dressed with a California Zinfandel vinegar, and sea scallops that are blackened Louisiana-style. Several entrees are served with something that Flay often relishes: relish. Mango-avocado relish is paired with red snapper, and pork tenderloin is accompanied by green tomato–peach relish. Flay's second stated goal is to put his own spin on the familiar dishes that make up America's "culinary heritage." So, pork chops and applesauce are reinvented as a rack of pork with molasses-mustard glaze, sour mash and apple butter, and chicken pot pie is made with smoked chicken and a sweet potato crust. German chocolate cake seems like a misdirection until Flay explains that the dessert is named for a U.S. chocolatier with that actual surname, thus making it "every bit as American as apple pie." (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

king of deep, rich flavors”
— Publisher's Weekly 

From the Publisher

Food Network star Flay had experience running several restaurants before opening Bar Americain, a two-location (Connecticut and New York) restaurant concept that captures the spirit and aesthetic of French brasseries and bistros while showcasing American regional dishes. Geographically, the book casts a wide net, incorporating flavors and techniques from the South, Southwest, Midwest, and East and West coasts. Recipes like Spicy Tuna Tartare, Blackened Roasted Prime Rib, and Lobster Potato Salad emphasize both luxury and comfort. This book will appeal to Flay's fans and the meat-and-potatoes crowd who frequent steakhouses and business lunch spots.

Library Journal