What do chefs eat when they need a palate cleanser after so much fancy restaurant fare? When they take off their aprons, they reach for the same indulgences we do -- perhaps just with an upgrade. Slashfood asked celebrity chefs to share their favorite cravings.
Mario Batali When orange-clogged chef and television personality Mario Batali isn't reinventing Italian cuisine, he's still got it in the bag -- of Doritos, that is. "I love two things: good gelato and, strangely enough, Doritos and salsa. It has to be Doritos, though. I especially like the lime-flavored ones with chili."
Nigella Lawson Which foods make domestic goddess Nigella Lawson feel sinful? None! Nigella, who is famous for her intimate, relaxed cooking style says, "I don't have any guilty food pleasures. The only thing one should ever feel guilty about is not taking pleasure."
See what snacks Bobby Flay, Tom Colicchio and other celebrity chefs sneak after the jump.
'A Great American Cook: Recipes from the Home Kitchen of One of Our Most Influential Cooks' Jonathan Waxman with Tom Steele Photographs by John Kernick Houghton Mifflin -- 2007 Buy it on Amazon
It's rather hilarious when a chef's cookbook matches his real-life persona.
It shouldn't have been a surprise that the man who trained Bobby Flay in the kitchen some 20 years ago is a pretty darn good teacher, and we were happily producing pretty decent artichoke specimens within minutes.
That same confident, coaxing voice is present throughout Waxman's cookbook, a hodgepodge of his culinary experiences. From the red-pepper pancakes with corn and caviar he introduced at Alice Waters' Chez Panisse to a potato gratin he picked up while training in France, this is a fine compilation from a man who has trained many of the American greats -- and who used to hobnob with the likes of James Beard and Julia Child.
What we tested and whether the book's worth buying, after the jump.
So you think you're out playing hooky from work on the promise of a lovely Southern lunch stewed up by your favorite cookbook authors and then all of a sudden, in strides Bobby Flay.
Matt Lee and Ted Lee and the rest of the assembled had been lured to a barge on the Hudson River -- Matt's preferred canoeing channel -- on the premise that the brothers would be filming a segment for a Food Network special called "Lowcountry Lowdown." They'd filmed the first half in Charleston, S.C., and reportedly, the duel would have gone down on their home turf, had Chef Flay not fallen prey to the vagaries of air travel.
Read more about throwing down with the Country Captain after the jump.
Politicians are used to getting grilled, but when Bobby Flay dropped by the White House for a private lesson, the tables were turned. The chef schooled President Obama on his corn technique and the importance of not flipping positions on meaty matters.
Long lines at the Great American Food and Music Fest. (c) Pamela Palma
With everyone yakking about sustainability, organics and local ingredients nowadays, especially in the San Francisco area, the sight of Bay Area residents (who notoriously champion these ideals) noshing on bagels flown in from New York City and BBQ trucked from Texas was an odd one.
At the Great American Food and Music Fest on Saturday more than 10,000 people turned out to a massive ampitheater overlooking the Santa Cruz mountains to tuck into food and music. Though the stage at the Shoreline will host Coldplay, No Doubt and Phish later this summer, on Saturday the fans that turned out in droves were mostly the hungry kind (hungrier than they expected, due to a technological meltdown involving electronic wristbands, very long lines and occasionally soldout food -- for which co-curator Ed Levine has profusely apologized).
But the day had its bright spots, among them glimpses of celebrity chefs and TV stars like Bobby Flay, Guy Fieri and Aida Mollenkamp demonstrating recipes for modern American cuisine. For price tags ranging from $35 to more than $500, festival-goers were able to see their heroes live and -- when the crowds didn't prove too daunting -- eat some serious food.
Next week, the Charleston Food + Wine Festival kicks off its fourth annual event enhancing the city's culinary reputation. While tasting the various unique flavors of the South Carolina Lowcountry, guests will enjoy epicurean delights of the country's best chefs, authors and wine makers at more than 50 events throughout the weekend.
On March 6, Bobby Flay will host a Down South Charity Luncheon. Mario Monticelli, winemaker at Trinchero Napa Valley, hosts a seminary on the Napa Valley. There will be several pastry chefs, including François Payard, hosting events as well. In addition, there will be over a dozen chefs from Charleston. The Charleston Food + Wine Festival is a non-profit organization; its proceeds go towards raising charitable donations for the MUSC Children's Hospital and area culinary-related charities.
The festival begins on March 5th and ends on the 8th. Events are quickly being sold out. So, if you're interested, do not hesitate to purchase tickets for events on the festival's website.
Each Most (I had a memory lapse last week and forgot to do a round-up. My apologies.) Thursdays, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week.
Several things I did not know about Bobby Flay before our brief, but amusing phone chat last week:
1. He has a trademark* on the term "crunchify" -- which means to add potato or tortilla chips to a sandwich or burger for the express purpose of introducing a textural element.
2. He's Churchill Downs' official Kentucky Derby Party Host. Though actually that puts to rest the nagging questions I'd had as to why a born and bred New Yorker would put a Hot Brown sandwich (it's a Bluegrass State thing) on his menu at Bar Americain.
3. Chips, dips and burgers for the Superbowl celebration chez Flay? Nope -- he's a paella man for big parties.
4. Holy heck, is he an entertaining radio host.
Bobby Flay Radio is a limited run series wherein the titular host waxes authoritative on subjects ranging from football, personal style, dating, and oh yeah -- food. While an audio-only cooking show might seems a tad spare, Flay manages to demo a Sandwich of the Week, conduct on-air taste tests (consisting largely of potato chip bags being opened loudly in front of open microphones) and dispense hardcore cooking advice to callers in a manner appealing enough to make one want to ratchet up the caliber of one's lunch plans once the show wraps at noon.
Bonus -- occasionally his wife, actress Stephanie March, shares mike duties and misses not a single chance to rebut his claims or bust his chops. A Burns & Allen in the making? Dunno -- how 'bout giving 'em more than five weeks to find out, Sirius?
Bobby Flay Radio airs on Sirius / XM Channel 108 from 10-12 on Thursdays (replaying Saturday and Sunday from 3-5) through February 5th. Don't subscribe? Sign up for a free online trial.
Alanna is traveling for the next couple of weeks, and while you may see a post or two up from her appear on the site while she's away, she isn't near a TV and so can't watch The Next Food Network Star. I'm going to be subbing in for her in the recap department. So let's get started, shall we?
I warn you, after this point, there will be spoilers!
It is beginning to look like unofficial hot dog day here at Slashfood, though I'd like to clarify that this recipe calls for 100% all-beef wieners rather than some of the other available alternatives. Ugh.
Anyhoo...
For those of you gearing up for some grilling this weekend, you may want to check out Bobby Flay's "Texas Dog" - a simple recipe which includes a hot dog smothered in his special homemade BBQ sauce, then topped with freshly-made coleslaw and quartered dill pickles. This is perfect for backyard "plate-less" eating since the usual side dishes are already on the bun.
Granted, this recipe may not win an award for being the fanciest dish or require a lot of skill to prepare, because let's be honest, at the end of the day it is still just a hot dog, but it tastes delicious and everything can be prepared beforehand. If you are having company over for a backyard barbecue, really, isn't that the point? I've included a copy of the recipe and instructions after the jump.
Bobby Flay has an impressive list of titles including famed chef, television personality, Iron Chef on the Food Network, and author of several cookbooks. He also runs a group of restaurants including Bolo and Bar Americain in New York City, Mesa Grill located in both New York and Las Vegas, and Bobby Flay Steak in Atlantic City. Today, Flay is opening a third Mesa Grill, located in the Bahamas at the Cove Atlantis - marking his first business venture outside of the United States.
Widely known for his Southwestern cuisine, Bobby Flay is apparently excited about mixing his signature style with ingredients and flavors of the Caribbean, and will be serving dishes such as Bahamian Spiced Chicken Skewers with Yogurt Cilantro Sauce, Crispy Squid and Cracked Conch Salad with Orange-Chipotle Vinaigrette, and Bahamian Lobster Tail with Red Chile-Coconut Sauce and Green Chile Rice. Sounds pretty delicious to me.
The restaurant, according to the Cove Atlantis webpage, overlooks beaches and the Atlantic Ocean and features vibrant colors, Southwestern motifs, and an auburn and white cow print on the dining chairs. The bar "features a terrazzo and sea shell counter with backlit glass and embedded goatskin, flanked by columns of river rock."
Up and coming chef Ben Sargent had just been given his very own half hour Food Network TV show--all about him and chowder, his specialty. With the sun barely up one morning in May, cameras followed him around the Fulton Fish Market. He stocked up on monkfish, live eels, and giant clams that looked like tubular aliens. The work was scrutinizing, but the last day on camera promised to be easy: a Brooklyn waterfront party where he cooked and his friends gnoshed. Like the cameras weren't even there.
The day arrived. Sargent happily and somewhat drunkenly prepared his chowder. He looked up, and Bobby Flay stood in the audience--the fiery haired Iron Chef, no less. Suddenly, Flay was on him, shaking his hand and challenging him to a chowder cook-off, right then and there.
This wasn't Sargent's show at all. This was Food Network's Throwdown with Bobby Flay and he'd just been had.
After talking about Throwdown with Bobby Flay earlier this week, I couldn't resist tuning in to view the steak episode. Early on in the show, I though that Bobby was guaranteed to win; grilling steaks, and meat in general, is one of his strong suits. Then I saw the competition. Eric Dominijanni, a.k.a. Captain D, a captain in the Marine Corps stationed in the California desert knew what he was doing, not to mention that he was really fun to watch on camera.
Bobby perfected his recipe in the test kitchen and headed out to the Mojave Desert to challenge the Captain at his base. They fired up their grills and started to cook in 112°F heat. Bobby Flay got progressively redder throughout the show, either from the heat or from a sunburn, and it was pretty funny to watch, although Captain D complimented him on how well he was holding up.
Here's a spoiler: Bobby Flay actually lost the challenge, although not by much. Watch the episode when it reruns to see Bobby Flay turn (adorably) into a beet and to cheer on Captain D. You can find Bobby's almost-winning recipe here.
Update: You can find Captain D's famous Hot and Tangy Marinade recipe here (Thanks, Tony C!).
Most chefs are very proud of what they do. They are used to working under a lot of pressure and the best chefs are the ones who thrive under it. Pressure and pride make a fiercely competitive person, whether they're competing to prove to themselves that they can do better or they're trying to prove it to others. We've seen aspects of this on Top Chef, but these elements are what make the Food Network's new show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, work.
The premise is this: Bobby Flay goes around and finds someone who is the best (or one of the best) at what they do. He challenges them to "throw down" and compete in a one-on-one culinary competition to see who can make the best product. The competitions are judged by different "experts" in each show.
In all honesty, I didn't expect the show to be any good. But it was.
Several things I did not know about Bobby Flay before our brief, but amusing phone chat last week:
It is beginning to look like unofficial hot dog day here at Slashfood, though I'd like to clarify that this recipe calls for 100% all-beef wieners rather than some of the 
Bobby Flay has an impressive list of titles including famed chef, television personality, Iron Chef on the Food Network, and author of several cookbooks. He also runs a 
Up and coming chef 
After talking about 
Most chefs are very proud of what they do. They are used to working under a lot of pressure and the best chefs are the ones who thrive under it. Pressure and pride make a fiercely competitive person, whether they're competing to prove to themselves that they can do better or they're trying to prove it to others. We've seen aspects of this on Top Chef, but these elements are what make the Food Network's new show, 
Food & Wine went to 50 cities around the
world and compiled their list of the 
What Can I Get You Folks? - Server Revenge
Reality-Show Celebrities Serve Up Chef Curtis Stone's 'Hundred-Dollar Burger'
Foods Celebrity Chefs Hate
