Read Bobby Flay's Throwdown! Online
Authors: Bobby Flay
Bobby Flay's Throwdown! (12 page)
Chicken Cacciatore
SERVES 4 TO 6
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 (3½- to 4-pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces (breasts halved)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 large yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 serrano or jalapeño chile, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups homemade
chicken stock
or canned low-sodium chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, with juices, pureed
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 sprigs fresh thyme
Honey
2 tablespoons brined capers, drained
¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves, plus whole leaves for garnish
1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente
Thinly shaved Parmesan cheese
1.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Season the chicken pieces on both sides with salt and pepper. Working in batches, place the chicken in the pan, skin side down, and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the chicken to a large plate.
2.
Add another tablespoon of the oil to the pan and heat until almost smoking. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown and their liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Remove to a plate.
3.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, the onion, and the bell pepper to the pan and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the serrano chile, garlic, and red pepper flakes, and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the wine and cook until almost completely reduced. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, rosemary, and thyme, and bring to a simmer. Return the dark meat and the mushrooms to the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and cook for 30 minutes.
4.
Add the white meat to the pan, cover, and continue cooking for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon to a large shallow bowl and tent it loosely with foil.
5.
Raise the heat under the pan to high and cook the liquid, stirring occasionally, until thickened to a sauce consistency, about 15 minutes.
6.
Season with salt, pepper, and honey to taste. Stir in the capers and basil, and pour the sauce over the chicken. Garnish with fresh basil sprigs. Serve over the spaghetti, and top with shaved Parmesan.
Chicken Cacciatore
SERVES 6 TO 8
¾ cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil
2 (3- to 3½-pound) chickens, cut into 8 pieces (breasts halved)
6 cloves garlic, halved
10 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, halved and cut into ½-inch-thick slices
2 green bell peppers, cut into ½-inch-wide slices
2 red bell peppers, cut into ½-inch-wide slices
1 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, with juices, crushed
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
12 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1.
Stir the flour, 2 tablespoons salt, and 1 tablespoon pepper together in a shallow dish. Heat the oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches so you don’t crowd the pan, toss the chicken in the flour to coat, shaking off any excess. Fry until golden brown all over, about 5 minutes per side, removing the chicken to a plate as it is done.
2.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic to the pot, and cook, stirring, until it turns golden brown. Transfer the garlic to the plate with the chicken.
3.
Raise the heat to medium-high, add the mushrooms, and cook until they release most of their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and green and red bell peppers, and cook until soft, about 7 minutes.
4.
Add the wine and simmer until reduced by about half. Stir in the tomato paste, then the tomatoes, red pepper flakes, oregano, and salt to taste. Return the chicken, garlic, and any juices on the plate to the pot, cover, and reduce the heat so that the mixture simmers. Simmer for 15 minutes.
5.
Uncover the pot and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 15 minutes. Stir in the fresh basil just before serving.
Names: Jack and Rocco Collucci
Establishment : 4 Bros. Bistro
Hometown: West Yarmouth, Massachusetts
Website:
www.colluccibros.com
,
www.4brosbistro.com
Phone: (508) 771-0799
“People ask us, ‘What’s Bobby Flay really like?’ He is the genuine article and extremely kind with his time. I can’t count how many pictures he posed for and never once even looked like maybe he’d had enough. He’s a Yankee fan, and of course we’re all Red Sox here. Our people gave him hell for it. Man, he took a lot from that crowd! My favorite part was listening to him and Rocco talking shop during the breaks, like they were just two chefs talking about the business. That was very cool.”
—JACK COLLUCCI
It’s an American classic: meatloaf. I stepped into the ring with Cape Codders Jack and Rocco Collucci, some serious trash-talking meatloaf makers.
The Colluccis are fourth-generation restaurateurs who were serving up fantastic food with extreme hospitality in the friendly environment of the Collucci Brothers Diner. Both their characters and their cuisine are larger than life and have earned them rave reviews in Cape Cod’s papers. Their aim: gourmet food served diner-style. Comfort food may fill their menu, but these good-natured brothers have another, not so soft side: both have a fierce competitive edge, at least when it comes to their food. Jack and Rocco were perfect
Throwdown!
material.
Their diner’s menu had all the classics—omelets, colossal sandwiches, burgers—but the specialty was meatloaf. Jack ran the front of the house while Rocco handled the kitchen. Jack said that as soon as he tasted the meatloaf that Rocco and their father developed, he knew they had their signature dish. Packed with rich flavor, their tender, moist version is sure to comfort any hungry soul.
In the test kitchen, I learned that, unlike most people, Stephanie and Miriam don’t have fond childhood memories of meatloaf. Miriam’s mom cooked it only once and it was so bad she never made it again. Stephanie’s mom made a great meatloaf but it was one of the few meals that Stephanie refused to eat. I liked this challenge—I enjoy taking American classics and giving them a dynamic twist. Meatloaf would be no exception. I gave the meatloaf lots of natural moistness by adding sautéed zucchini, onions, and peppers and went light on the bread crumbs. Balsamic vinegar, grated Parmesan cheese, lots of garlic, fresh parsley, and thyme pump up the meatloaf’s flavor profile even more. The Collucci brothers and I agree that great meatloaf needs to have a good amount of moisture, flavor (it can’t just taste like hamburger), and a great outside texture. Much as you would for tasty and tender Italian meatballs, we used a blend of ground beef, pork, and veal. We found the best way to get a good crust is to shape the loaf and bake it on a baking sheet, not in a deeper pan. This way the meat doesn’t steam in the pan’s confines and the oven’s direct heat can brown its total surface.
Cape Cod can be somewhat desolate in the off-season, but the Collucci Brothers Diner stayed hot all yearlong. We made our trek mid-winter, and while we almost didn’t make it (an ice storm canceled our flight, forcing us into a cab, onto the train to Boston, culminating in a midnight icy drive to our hotel—phew!), we found the Collucci family’s celebration in full swing. (They threw a sixty-fifth birthday party for their father to coincide with their Food Network “special.”)
The Colluccis’ meatloaf was an instant trip down memory lane, and while my souped-up version got a warm reception, the judges went with the good-time guys’ old-time favorite.