Bobby Flay - Bobby at Home: Fearless Flavors from My Kitchen- A Cookbook

If youre familiar with me and my cooking at all, then you know how much I love breakfast and brunch foods. I created a show centered around this favorite meal of mine and have written a cookbook on it, too. Whats not to love? Fluffy pancakes, crisp waffles, flaky biscuits, perfectly cooked eggsfrom sweet to savory and back again, the list goes on and on. I also like entertaining for brunch, which is as much an event as it is a meal. Its the perfect time to break out large, family-style platters and great big pitchers of cocktails, and gather everyone around to indulge as you blur the line between morning and afternoon.

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My Favorite Black Pepper Biscuits Sure, Ive included this recipe in other books, but there was no way I could leave it out of my cookbook on how I cook at home! I literally make these biscuits at least once a week, either for breakfast, brunch, or dinnerthese biscuits are home.

Makes 12 biscuits

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

cup (1 sticks) cold unsalted butter , cut into small pieces

1 cups very cold buttermilk , shaken

cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper (not ground super fine or coarsesomewhere in between)

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 450F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Cut in the butter using your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the buttermilk and gently mix until the mixture just begins to come together.

Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured counter. Pat the dough into a 12-inch square or round, about 1 inch thick. Cut the dough into 12 equal squares or rounds. Put the biscuits 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with the cream and sprinkle with the pepper.

Bake the biscuits for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool a few minutes before serving warm.

Cornmeal-Chive Biscuits I cant be the only one torn between a flaky biscuit and a wedge of golden cornbread in the breadbasket. With this cornmeal-biscuit hybrid, youll never have to choose again. It has a nice, tender crumb as well as a touch of crunch and sweetness from the cornmeal. The biscuits are wonderful savory as is, but if youre in a sweet mode, omit the chives and serve them slathered with your favorite jam. You cant go wrong either way.

Makes 12 biscuits

3 cups all-purpose flour

cup plus 2 tablespoons fine yellow cornmeal

cup sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoons kosher salt

cup (1 sticks) cold unsalted butter , cut into small pieces

1 cups very cold buttermilk , shaken

cup finely chopped fresh chives

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the buttermilk and chives and gently mix until the mixture just begins to come together.

Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured counter. Pat the dough into a 12-inch square, about 1 inch thick. Cut the dough into 12 equal squares. Put the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the biscuits for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool a few minutes before serving warm.

Master Muffin Mix This master muffin formula is a brunch basic and a great recipe to keep in your back pocket. Plain and simple as is, a few easy additions will tilt the recipe savory or sweet depending upon your craving. Feeling savory? Try folding cheese, garlic, and/or herbs into the batter. Sweet muffins more your speed? Chocolate chunks or fruit will do the trick nicely. Just a note: Try not to get too overzealous when stirring in those last elements. Muffin batters, like pancake and waffle batters, are best when not overmixed.