Saturday, January 30, 2010

Weekend Cooking: A Restaurant, a Recipe, and a Cookbook


Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

If you read this blog, you know that I LOVE Top Chef, and one of my favorite contestants was fellow Southerner Richard Blais.

So, when I heard that he'd opened a restaurant here in Birmingham, I was beyond excited. Flip Burger Boutique is billed as "Fine Dining Between Two Buns" and features 20 different varieties of out-of-the-box burgers.

My mom and I shared the fried pickles, which had a light tempura-style batter and came with the most amazing Ranch dressing (that we kept dipping our forks into!). I had the po boyger, which was a shrimp patty with Old Bay mayo, shaved lettuce, tomato, fried lemon, and Tabasco.

Speaking of burger twists, here's my favorite topping for a grilled burger at home: Dill Pickle Remoulade. Once you have this, I promise you'll never go back to ketchup and mustard.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup dill pickle relish, drained
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

Finally, to bring this post around to books, Top Chef's third cookbook will be released this summer, How to Cook Like a Top Chef. I'm really looking forward to this one:


"This cookbook and culinary primer in one features recipes from all six seasons of the show and season one of Top Chef: Masters, along with insider techniques from everyone's favorite contestants and judges. Covering everything from knife skills to sauces and sous-vide, How to Cook Like a Top Chef teaches aspiring chefs what it takes to be a star in the kitchen. Packed with exclusive content including a foreword by Top Chef: Masters winner Rick Bayless, original recipes from contestants, behind-the-scenes interviews, juicy trivia, and tons of tips and tricks this volume is as indispensable on the cook's countertop as it is essential reading for Top Chef fans."

7 comments:

  1. Yummmmmmmmm. Lucky you to have gone to Flip Burger. Sounds fabulous.

    And I too am looking forward to that cookbook -- maybe they'll have copies at BEA.

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  2. oh yes, I too am a fan of Top Chef and well remember Richard Blais. And I love a great burger...

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  3. It is exciting to go to a restaurant where you know something about the chef. I must say the boyger sounds unique. Thanks for the recipe for the special sauce.

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  4. I'm not really a burger fan, but I do admit that the one you described could change my mind.

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  5. Oh man, my husband would love to go to Flip Burger - he's a huge Top Chef fan. We haven't been to Birmingham since we left Auburn, though. :(

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  6. I love Top Chef! You're so lucky to have a great chef at a new, fun local place. And fried pickles sound wonderful as well!

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  7. Patricia C. Ross
    I usually make tomato rice using pressure cooker.Recently my friend Shalini told me to try in electric rice cooker without using a kadai and she shared her recipe too. I love tomato rice only when it is fully packed with garam masalas.For Sendhil, it should be with least spices.So i tried Shalini’s recipe which has very less spices with a south Indian touch.He loved it a lot.I have made it many times so far.It comes out very well. http://ricecooker-hq.com/ ricecooker4u@gmail.com

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