Tyler Florence - Tyler Florences real kitchen

I am incredibly proud of this project. If youve never had the experience of putting a cookbook together (and I didnt), know that it is a monster of a task. Real Kitchen took two years write, test, shoot, and edit, and by no means did I do it alone. Some days were inspiring, and I burned through pages with lighting speed; other days I would have preferred root canal surgery to retesting the same recipe for the umpteenth time. But at the end of it all, I wouldnt change a minute of the process. Through it, I am a better cook today.

The adage that you are only as good as the people around you is so true. Without the small band of renegades that helped, coached, and consulted on this book, this project would have looked like a second grade book report written by a monkey on an Etch-a Sketch. My thanks go to:

Evyn Block, my girlfriend and life editor, for putting up with me, loving me, and always having a good idea;
JoAnn Cianciulli, the other woman in my life, producer, and lifelong friend. Without your dedication, organization, and planning this book would not have happened. I cant thank you enough.
Bill Bettencourt, the best damn photographer in the business. You brought the book to a whole different level. Thank you and congrats on your beautiful baby daughter.
Corinne Alhadeff, for testing the recipes down to a grain of salt. Theyre all perfect and you and David are a lot of laughs.
Pam Krauss, my editor at Clarkson Potter. Its funny how life puts two people together. Thanks for encouragement, tough love, and spell checking, and heres to a long relationship together. I also appreciate the great support I received from Amy Boorstein, Leigh Ann Ambrosi, Joan Denman, Adina Steiman, and Jane Treuhaft, all at Potter;
Bobby Flay: Thanks for clueing me in to whats what from day one. You are a great professional mentor and as sharp as they come, my friend;
The team at Subtitle for their artistic vision;
And Eileen Opatut and everyone at Food Network.

Im also indebted to the following: My family (thanks for the support); my favorite Brooklyn provisioners, including Fish Tales and Staubitz Meat Market on Court Street, Mike and Michael at Charcuterie (thanks for all the free coffee) and Natural Land and Natural Sea, on Flatbush Avenue; Leslie Booker, stylist to the stars; Teresa Fox, Johannes Sanzin, and Dominique Drevet at Bistro St. Marks; Anna Weinberg, Paul Masters, Joey Cappicino, Greg and Christine Okshetyn, Andrei Petrov, Lauren Bergman, Alex Grant, Max the love shack Mackenzie, the Union Square Greenmarket, and Frankie dont make me tell you the Brunello story DeCarlo.

Foreword

I first met Tyler Florence when he was the chef at the trendy New York City eatery Cafeteria. He impressed me as a talented cook with a great passion for good food. Since then, Tyler has gone on to become one of my Food Network colleagues and the host of Food 911, where he has been putting out fires in home kitchens around the country and elevating the level of home cooking everywhere in the process.

Cooking at home is on the rise and with good reasonwhat could be more satisfying than making a dish for friends or family and having them be totally blown away? Thats the kind of food youll find in this book. Tyler doesnt focus on one style of cuisine; hes a fan of things that taste good whether they are American classics, Italian dishes both new and old, or the Asian flavors that have swept the country like a tornado. Need an excuse to weed out your pantry and toss those tired old spices? Tyler will help you stock your shelves so youre ready for almost anything. Think how diversified your pantry will be with Asian ingredients like Chinese black vinegar, sesame oil, Latin chile peppers, and Italian products like Arborio rice and polenta.

This is food anyoneeven a chefneeds in his repertoire. I know which ones Ill be making first. When was the last time you had a great Chicken Cacciatore, a dish that makes the whole neighborhood smell good, with roasted peppers and tomatoes, with that cutting natural saltiness of capers and anchovies (a great place to sneak in the anchovies on your friends). Thick Pork Chops with Spiced Apples and Raisins reminds me of my childhood, and I know my mother would be happy with this rendition. And whats better than Cold Fried Chicken? This is the first time I have come across a recipe that actually suggests frying the chicken and letting it chill in the refrigeratoreven though we all know thats why we fry chicken in the first place. (Its kind of like roasting the turkey on Thanksgiving Day so we can have sandwiches the following afternoon.) And after seeing Tylers classic recipe for cheesecake, this New York end-of-the-meal icon will be making a return engagement to my table sooner rather than later.

Tylers style is straightforward, savory, and smart and his recipes are always clear and concise. Use him as your guide in the kitchen and you will be happyeven your four-year-old will be content! With Tyler Florences Real Kitchen in hand, you can delete the numbers 911 from your culinary speed dial.

Enjoy Tylers cuisine. I have and I know you will, too.

Bobby Flay

Ive been cooking professionally in one capacity or another for almost fifteen years, cutting my teeth in restaurants in my home state of South Carolina and later in New York City. Working in restaurants, it was exciting having access to the priciest and most intriguing ingredientsnot to mention plenty of kitchen staff to assist with the prep work and cleanupand I loved dreaming up elaborate presentations that made my customers sit up and take notice.

So it was something of a wake-up call when I started taping my shows for Food Network. While traveling and cooking with people all over the country, I found that home cooks werent really interested in recreating my feats of culinary virtuosity at home; in fact, they all said the same thing: Give us real food with simple ingredients that we can enjoy with family and friends. My viewers gave me the ultimate problem to solve, and I like to think that the solution is in the pages that follow.

Dont get me wrongnone of these recipes is in any way a compromise or dumbing down of more sophisticated food. Simple food doesnt have to be so basic that it is boring. To the contrary, its often been my experience that many of the cleanest, best flavors are very simple ones. What I have steered clear of are those productions that start out as an exciting cooking project, and end up taking an entire day to create, leaving you with an empty wallet and a sink filled with pots. Investing that kind of time is frustrating and really takes the fun out of cooking. Cooking should be inspirational because the ingredients are fresh, the flavors are amazing, and the final result looks beautiful. The recipes Ive collected here are for the kind of meals you want to have again and again, whether the number at your table is two or twenty (or two hundred!). No esoteric cooking equipment is required, although you will find a list of the cooking gadgets and investment pieces I use most. And youll find that most of the ingredients youll need are things you can get your hands on at any well-stocked supermarket with maybe a trip to the farm stand or gourmet store on the way.