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Media Meltdown, Volume 12
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Barbecue Inferno: Cooking with Chile Peppers on the Grill, by Dave DeWitt and Nancy Gerlach. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2001. Trade paperback, color photos, 196 pages, $16.95. ISBN 1-58008-154-1.
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This is Dave and Nancy’s ninth book together, and it is fitting that it combines two of their favorite subjects: chile peppers and barbecue. "It was a natural fit," Dave told me. "After all, both Nancy and I have had barbecue infernos at our houses for decades." This book covers every conceivable connection between chiles and the grill, including the roasting and peeling of fresh green chiles to grilling meat, poultry, fish, and veggies, to fired-up versions of American barbecue classics. The recipes are imaginative, including Seared Chipotle and Garlic Venison, Margarita-Grilled Shrimp and Avocado Quesadilla, Caribbean Smoked Chicken with Habanero Marinade, and Pungent Pizza on the Grill. I particularly liked the chapter where whey spice up American BBQ classics like Kansas City Long Ends, Southern Hot Links, and Texas Beef Brisket, New Mexico-Style. If you love grilling and spice, this book is for you. Highly recommended. –James B. O’Malley
Book Excerpt with Recipes - see also: Barbecue Inferno: The Inside Story
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The Great Steak Book, by Grady Spears with Torri Randall. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2000. Trade paperback, color photos, 133 pages, $15.95. ISBN 1-58008-215-7.
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When Grady Spears opened his Reata Restaurant in Fort Worth, he noticed something right away: "They wanted a perfect steak. Every time. Not sometimes. Not almost perfect. Perfect every time. And so this book is our answer." Well, having a cowboy chef write a book on steaks–is that perfect, or what? And Grady comes through with flying, well, lariats. From how to choose a steak, how to select the cooking method, to recipes that will send you directly to the grill, he shares his secrets. Even his chicken-fried steak looks good, served as it is with Sage Cream Gravy. His parting secret: "Never walk away while you’re cooking your steak. You can always put it back and cook it a little longer if you take it off too soon, but once it’s overdone, well, you just have to get out some steak sauce and tell yourself, ‘Better luck next time.’" –Dave DeWitt
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The Heaven on Seven Cookbook, by Jimmy Bannos and John DeMers. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2000. Hardcover, color photos, 150 pages, $24.95. ISBN 1-58008-168-1.
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Heaven on Seven, Jimmy Bannos’ New Orleans-style restaurant in Chicago, has thousands of bottles of hot sauce shelved on the walls. Does that tell you why chile lovers take the elevators up to the seventh floor, wait in line for sometimes long periods of time, just to try some red beans and rice, gumbo, and rice pudding? Cooking from Jimmy’s cookbook is a good way to recreate the feelings and flavors of Heaven even if you aren’t in Chicago. Try his Jimmy’s Paneed Big-Ass Pork Chop with Wild Mushroon and Tasso Gravy, or his crabby Bayou Cakes with Hot Remoulade Sauce, or a Bayou Chile Relleno. Top those off with a slice of Fried Peach Pie, and you’ll swear you’re at the Pearly Gates. This is one of the better restaurant-oriented cookbooks I’ve seen recently, a real treat. –James B. O’Malley
