“Food for Thought” Cookbook book club – Bobby Flay’s “Boy Meets Grill” cookbook

We had our second meeting of the “Food for Thought” cookbook book club.  This gathering focused on Bobby Flay’s “Boy Meets Grill” cookbook and show recipes.

While I’ve heard Bobby speak twice – and I think his story is quite inspiring – and seen his television cooking shows many times, I don’t own any of his cookbooks or think I’ve made many, if any of his recipes.  But this is the purpose of the cookbook club – to get all of us to try new recipes and broaden our cooking skills and experiences.

Pat hosted this gathering.  We began our evening with a glass – or two, three – of Bobby’s Peach Sangria that Susan made.

It looked beautiful and tasted refreshing.  We all thought it would be perfect for any upcoming summer party.  Susan described the process of assembling the drink and quantified it as “easy” to make.

To accompany our cocktail, Terri made Hot Blue Cheese sauce for dipping potato chips.  I read online that this is a favorite appetizer found at Bobby’s “Bar Americain” restaurant.

The sauce was amazing.  The blue cheese did not overpower it.  It became very addicting and personally I couldn’t stop eating it.  Terri quantified the recipe as “easy” to make and said it made a good portion – plenty for a party appetizer.

Pat began grilling the main entrée for our dinner:  pork chops marinated in orange, ginger and toasted paprika.

The pork was juicy and extremely flavorful!  In typical Bobby fashion, the marinade, which is made ahead of time and the chops were soaked in overnight, includes onion, garlic, paprika, orange juice and ginger root that come together in an amazing combination.  Pat quantified the recipe as “easy” to make and commented that she would make it again.  We also thought the marinade would be great on pork tenderloin.

Accompanying the pork were three sides.  I made a Greek orzo and grilled shrimp salad with mustard dill vinaigrette.  Fresh dill is a must for this recipe – dried will not do.

Because we have a few who are seafood sensitive, I served the shrimp on the side of the orzo salad.

To be honest, the salad is so wonderful on its own you could make it with or without the shrimp.  Another tip:  if making it ahead of serving, reserve some of the vinaigrette or make extra to moisten before serving.  This recipe was very easy to make.  It makes plenty and I would definitely make it again!

Sharon made whipped potatoes with cilantro pesto.  The recipe commented that it’s a great side for pork – and it was!

The whipped potato dish was smooth and creamy with wonderful flavor coming from the cilantro pesto.  Sharon quantified the recipe as easy to make.  She also noted that it was important to fold not mix in the pesto so that you create the marbled ribbon effect with the pesto.

To cap off our main meal, our final side was a tomato-avocado salad with lime toasted cumin cilantro vinaigrette that Terri made.

The salad was very fresh tasting with wonderful flavor from the dressing.  It’s a perfect salad for summer, especially when local tomatoes are in season.  She said the recipe was very easy to make and also commented that it would be on her table this summer.

With all that wonderful food it’s amazing any of us had room for dessert, but we did!  I had peaked at Val’s dessert beforehand, so I was sure to leave room – and I’m glad I did!

Val made a gingerbread and lemon curd trifle with blackberry sauce that was not only moist and delicious, but also beautiful!

 

The trifle dessert was very tasty.  The combination of rich gingerbread with the lemon curd, whipped cream and blackberry sauce was awesome.  Everyone commented that this would be a wonderful dessert for the winter holidays.  Val quantified the dessert of intermediate difficulty.

For our “take-home treat,” I made Bobby’s blondies.

They were featured in an episode of his “Throw-down” challenge television show.  His recipe competed against Sugardaddy’s Sumptuous Sweets from Columbus, OH.  While his recipe didn’t win on the television show competition, I thought it was a winner – easy to make, delicious tasting and would make them again.  I packaged them up for everyone to share with their families – or not and eat them themselves.

In total, eight dishes were made from Bobby Flay’s recipe collection.  Every dish was delicious and an amazing collection of flavors.  It was a beautiful meal and another fun gathering.

Our next meeting is scheduled for mid June.  Susan is hosting.  We’ve selected Ree Drummond – The Pioneer Woman for our next celebrity chef focus.  We all look forward to the delicious dishes everyone creates!

 

Have you made any of these recipes? – or will you in the future?

What’s your favorite Bobby Flay recipe?