Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries, and Shakes: A Cookbook

My son has autism and love to cook he was so happy to get this cook book full of burgers. I just wish we cook meet the chefs!!!

The title of the book "Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries and Shakes" pretty much says it all. That is exactly what you will find in this wonderful cookbook--and it is all good. The recipe for a basic burger remains the same throughout the book--meat, salt and pepper. That's it. But what he adds between the meat and the bun is what makes this cookbook so much fun! You will find recipes that call for hot sauce, potato chips (his signature burger), Carolina Cole Slaw, tzatziki, remoulade , mole sauce, pineapple mustard glaze, hoisin barbeque sauce, queso sauce, sunny side up eggs, and chimichurri sauce, along with a host of other fun toppings. He makes burgers out of salmon, turkey, beef, and tuna. He gives an instructional how-to on the art of making a good burger, along with ways to cook them, in a chapter called "Burger Essentials". He gives us a primer on cheeses that can be used for burgers in a short chapter called "Cheeseburger Essentials". It's not so much that you may not be able to come up with a lot of these ideas on your own, it is that seeing the photos and following the recipe that inspires you to want to make something other than a regular burger with ketchup, mustard, lettuce and tomato. He has a way of taking basic ingredients and mixing them up to make really fun, great tasting burgers. He also has a section in the book for fry and onion ring recipes, and ends the book with some pretty great milkshake recipes like Dark Chocolate Milkshake with "Fluffy" Coconut Cream, a Fresh Mint-Chocolate Speckled Milkshake, a Peach Bellini shake, and a Toasted Marshmallow shake that he promises won't disappoint. He also gives you a recipe to prepare your own fruit flavored shakes at home (like strawberry, blueberry and the like) that keep the taste consistent for a fruit that may vary by taste according to where it is in the growing season. He has a few recipes for sauces for burgers as well as some for the shakes. And all this is accompanied by a host of pictures that show the finished product for many of the recipes you are making--a huge bonus in my mind. I feel it is absolutely necessary to have pictures in a cookbook so you can see what it is you are trying to make. I borrowed this book from my local library to see if I would like it before I bought it. I realized that I had tagged so many pages in the book to try, that I ended up buying a copy for myself. It would make a nice gift for someone who loves to grill burgers, or to take along as a hostess gift for a cookout. This is a fun cookbook that you will turn to again and again when you decide to fire up the grill AND the blender. Highly recommended!

Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries and Shakes is the first cookbook I've ever purchased (I usually watch Food Network and/or scour the Internet for recipes) and I am extremely pleased. Last night, I prepared an excellent trifecta of Flay's recipes including the Philadelphia Burger, Perfect French Fries and Dark Chocolate Milkshake with "Fluffy" Coconut Cream. Served along with the Homemade Dill Pickles I had prepared the day before, my wife and I enjoyed a truly inspired meal. Assembling this feast was no small task, it required a dose of prep work and a heaping of forethought (translated as nearly two hours of time in the kitchen, although perhaps this owes more to the fact that I consume voluminous amounts of beer and wine while cooking), but the rewarding meal was well worth the effort (my wife even took pictures of our bountiful feast). In this book you will find recipes for burgers, fries and shakes as clearly advertised; yet Flay shares much more, including condiment, seasoning and pickling recipes--more than enough to use with the recipes included and as a springboard for creations of your own. The recipes and their instructions are laid out simply alongside anectodotal commentary by Flay and plenty of full color photos to make your mouth water and confound your ability to decide between this or that.

Bobby Flay is seen all over the Food Network, but he's more than a pretty face, he's the owner and executive chef of seven top-rated restaurants. In this wonderful little book, Bobby turns his talent on that great American meal - hamburger, fries and milkshake. Included are 33 burger recipes, ten fries and onion ring recipes, seventeen milkshake recipes, and fifteen condiment recipes (if I counted correctly). So far, I have made the Bolo Burger and the Garlic Butter Burger, the Sweet Potato Fries (with a cinnamon dipping sauce of my own creation - I think that cinnamon goes great with sweet potatoes), and the Banana-Milk Chocolate Crackle Milkshake, and they all came out great. I think that this is a wonderful recipe book, and I give it my highest recommendations!

Flay is super active these days, as are many of TV fame, with shows, cookbooks, products, restaurants, etc. Flay has written many previous excellent cookbooks, especially for us home cooks, e.g. grilling and Spanish-American fare. This one hits one of his loves, that All-American fare of burgers, fries and shakes. His opening of restaurants around this trio inspired this recipe collection for the home. There are 33 burger offerings, 10 for fries and rings, and 17 shakes. Also included is condiments and sauces, as well as sources and helpful tips on each of the three fare. I found this really useful with such hints as finger punch in burgers to prevent proverbial flying saucer dome of a burger, and dome cover to melt cheese, as well as double cooking fries and advice on blending shakes to really helpful in providing consistent, quality results. Am so looking forward to trying this offering, but for now have really enjoyed serving: Trattoria Burger; Cheyenne Burger; Salmon Burger with Slaw; Sweet Potato Fries; and Pina Colada Shake; Toasted Marshmallow Shake. This is really great cookbook for home! As are all Clarkson Potter cookbooks, rich layout with four color photos make it succulent to get your burger/fry/shake mojo going.