So Good: 100 Recipes from My Kitchen to Yours

by Richard Blais

Overview

100 all-new recipes from the favorite Top Chef All-Stars winner and Top Chef judge and Food Network regular

Fans know Richard Blais best as the winner of Bravo's Top Chef All-Stars, the first competitor to be invited back as a permanent judge on Top Chef, and now as a Food Network regular as well. On television, Blais is famous for his daring cooking, making use of science (think liquid nitrogen) to dazzle and impress. But how does he cook at home when the cameras are off? That's what this book will answer, with elevated homestyle recipes and personal stories which invite you behind the scenes and into his own kitchen for the first time. Some recipes might look familiar, like spaghetti and meatballs, but have a secret, flavor-boosting ingredient, and others feature clever but unexpected techniques, like his fried chicken which is first marinated in pickle juice. These are creative recipes that anyone can make and are sure to excite, from Seabass with Ginger Beer and Bok Choy to Jerked Spatchcock Chicken and Plantains, making this this the book Blais fans have been waiting for.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544663312
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	05/16/2017
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	235,493
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Perhaps most recognizable as the winner of Bravo’s Top Chef All-Stars and now a regular judge on Top Chef, as well as a rotating judge on Fox's hit show Master Chef, RICHARD BLAIS is a successful chef, restaurateur, James Beard Award-nominated cookbook author and television personality. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, he went on to train at some of the world’s most esteemed restaurants, including The French Laundry, Daniel, Chez Panisse, and el Bulli. Blais then relocated to Atlanta to oversee a local seafood concept, and his creative approach to cooking and cuisine led to the establishment of Trail Blais, Inc., a culinary company that has consulted on, designed, and operated multiple locations Flip Burger Boutique in Atlanta, Birmingham, and Nashville, and Juniper & Ivy and The Crack Shack restaurants in San Diego, where he now resides. Blais’s debut cookbook, Try This at Home: Recipes from My Head to Your Plate, was a finalist for a James Beard Foundation Award. Blais regularly appears as a host and judge on Food Network on programs such as Guy’s Grocery Games, Cutthroat Kitchen, Celebrity Food Fight, and Rachael vs. Guy. He has appeared on the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, The Rachael Ray Show, The Chew, The Talk, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, as well as in numerous publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, People, InStyle, and more. He lives in California.

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/20/2017
The practical follow-up to restaurateur and Top Chef winner Blais’s 2013 Try This at Home, which called for sous vide cookers, smoking guns, and squid, dials back the showmanship (for the most part) and amps up the flavor. One of the keys to Blais’s appeal is his ingenious juxtaposition of flavors, seen here in dishes such as roasted Concord grapes and ricotta toasts, and notions such as the addition of bone marrow to meatballs. He also innovates with ingredients, swapping out noodles for shaved coconut to prepare coconut noodles with peanut sauce. His creations are as tasty as they are surprising. Full-out showstoppers include fried duck confit with eucalyptus honey and mustard greens, and a barbecued lamb’s head carnitas. Blais also includes plenty of dishes that can be completed with less time and effort, such as snap peas with feta and mint, beet and barley chili, and Heath bar chocolate bread pudding. It’s clear that there’s a method to Blais’s culinary madness: he’s doing his damnedest to get the most flavor out of the best ingredients. Home cooks interested in upping their game will want to give this one a look. (May)

Publishers Weekly

“I cannot get over how amazing his food is. Can. Not. Get. Over!”—Amy Schumer
 
“As someone who has been lucky enough to taste Richard Blais’s cooking, I’m thrilled to bring his expertise and love of big flavors into my kitchen. This collection of recipes is accessibly bold, certain to wow your family and dinner guests.”—Jesse Tyler Ferguson
 
“Did you know that rock-star Top Chef Richard Blais delivers to your home? He brings recipes that aren’t fussy, just delicious, no special training required. Many of these dishes will become your go-to meals because they are so accessible and SO GOOD!”—Rachael Ray
 
“So Good is a fantastic collection of recipes that, at first glance, may seem out of a home cook’s league. However, Richard Blais has a way of turning beautiful restaurant-like dishes into approachable at-home recipes that will make you look like a rock star in the kitchen.”—Emeril Lagasse
 

From the Publisher

03/15/2017
Since winning Top Chef All-Stars, chef and restaurateur Blais (Try This at Home) has appeared as a host and judge on Top Chef, MasterChef, and Iron Chef America. Here, he shares the Southern and internationally influenced foods he enjoys with his wife and two daughters. Recipes for onion rings, vegetarian beet loaf, short ribs with lemongrass, and almost-cured salmon with horseradish may call for unusual ingredients (e.g., liquid nitrogen), but Blais always provides conventional alternatives. Adventurous meat lovers will enjoy tempting preparations for pork cheeks, trotters, oxtails, and a lamb's head. More approachable dishes include gnudi and brown butter, pickle juice-brined fried chicken, and Nutella ice cream. VERDICT Blais's latest is more accessible than its predecessor but no less creative. Expect demand from Top Chef and Food Network fans.

Library Journal

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