Beat Bobby Flay: Conquer the Kitchen with 100+ Battle-Tested Recipes

As celebrity chef Flay notes in this chest-beating compilation of recipes culled from nearly 500 episodes of his Food Network competition show, he tends to fall back on certain ingredients—among them Calabrian chile paste and copious amounts of butter—but the weapon most apparent is his over-the-top style. Uber-rich versions of traditional favorites include pierogies stuffed with lobster and bacon, and pork al pastor piled atop chili-cheese fries. Quite often, the recipes call for a lengthy list of ingredients; the humble tuna noodle casserole, and chicken and dumplings thickened with xanthan gum, demand nearly two dozen apiece. Each selection is tagged with an episode and notes who won the contest, while tips for advance preparation and storage offer guidance not available to contestants in their 45-minute battles. Testimonials provided at the beginning of recipes not created by Flay tend to lavish praise upon him and the show (“God bless Bobby Flay!” one contestant exclaims), but little context accompanies them—for example, Alex Reznik’s matzoh ball soup was victorious, but there’s no explanation of who Reznik is. For better or worse, this accurately reflects the famed host’s blustery television persona. (Sept.)