Michael Chiarello - Michael Chiarellos Live Fire: 125 Recipes for Cooking Outdoors

MICHAEL
CHIARELLOS

125 RECIPES FOR
COOKING OUTDOORS

WITH ANN KRUEGER SPIVACK AND CLAUDIA SANSONE

PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRANKIE FRANKENY

Text copyright 2013 by Michael Chiarello.

Photographs copyright 2013 by Frankie Frankeny.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

ISBN 978-1-4521-2734-7

Design by Michael Mabry

Prop styling by Nissa Quanstrom

Food styling by Michael Laukert

The photographer wishes to thank Ann Spivack, Claudia Sansone, Michael Laukert, Greg OConnell, and Nissa Quanstrom for all their hard work on this book. With your help, the shoot days were pulled together and carried through with such professionalism. Thank you Eileen Gordon Chiarello for letting us take over your home; your graciousness made long photo shoots much easier. Many thanks to Ann Gaede and her team at Pro Camerawhat photographer does their job well without you? Kudos again to Michael Mabry and Lilyana Bone as well as the rest of his talented design team. Your beautiful work makes it a joy to see our images in print. Chlo, my wife and best friend, tutto possibile, grazie, grazie! And, most importantly, thank you Chef for trusting me once again to use my camera in bringing your great recipes and wonderful stories to life.

Aztec Grill is a registered trademark of Aztec Shops, Ltd., CORPORATION.

La Caja China is a registered trademark of La Caja China International, Inc., CORPORATION.

Chronicle Books LLC

680 Second Street

San Francisco, California 94107

www.chroniclebooks.com

DEDICATION

To my Pops Fortunato Chiarello, whose love of meat and fire was trumped only by his love for my mother Antoinette and his three boys. Thank you for your constant support and encouragement. I am forever in your debt. You will be deeply missed.

And to my wife and best friend Eileen. The biggest fire cannot equal the warmth and light you bring to my life every day.

I have, by all accounts, the best book team of all time. Many thanks to my dear friend Claudia Sansone for helping me organize, test, and shoot with the greatest of ease. Thanks to my writer, Ann Spivack. My favorite part of writing a book is sharing the stories with you and seeing them come to life on the page. Frankie Frankeninny Frankeny... damn girl, youre good. Each and every image can almost be eaten right off the page. My heartfelt thanks to Michael Laukey Laukert. Twenty years later and I am blessed to have your help in bringing yet another far-flung idea to life. It only works because of you, my friend. Thanks to our hero and design guru Michael Mabry and the amazing Lilyana Bone. Seven books later and you still blow my mind with the best graphic design in the industry.

Also thanks to Frankies assistants and stylists, Nissa Quanstrom and Greg OConnell, who not only help us get the shot every time but do it with style, grace, and humor.

To Bill LeBlond and Sarah Billingsley of Chronicle Books, thanks for making me part of the Chronicle family and for backing me when I wanted to go beyond the ordinary BBQ book.

Thanks to all my sons friends (and their parents) who came to our home for the sleepover breakfast. Thank you Max and his mom Karen, Bryce and his mom Molly, Trevor and his mom Briana, Aidan and his mom Eileen, Lilly and Audrey and their mom Tina, Viviane and Audrey and their mom Anne-Marie, and Harper and her mom Amanda. That photo shoot will live forever in my memory thanks to your beautiful faces and your amazing energy.

Thanks to everyone who brought to life our Harvest Dinner, especially Chef Ryan McIlwraith and Judy and Denis Gordon, who helped with everything from folding napkins to hanging balloons. Thank you to my guests at the Harvest Dinner, for making this annual event such a high point and for graciously allowing the book team to document this years dinner.

Thanks to Oscar Renteria for allowing us to photograph at the beautiful Pope Valley Beach. Thank you to Rob Hohmann, Michael Glissman, Margaret De Monte, Joel Hoachuck, and Kelly Magna, who are always ready to step in to make an event or a dinner even better.

Thanks to the staff at our Yountville NapaStyle store for their help, with a special thanks to Jennifer Flynn and Michael Bozzini for being our production assistants during the photo shoot. Thanks to everyone at V Marketplace. Thanks to Rob Hampton and J. J. Sansone for going above and beyond in lending a hand wherever it was needed.

Thanks to all our testers who cheerfully donated their time and their insight: Maria Bautista, Leigh Corshen, Leslie Crail, Paul Franson, Ken Morris, Julie Riordan, Tina Schultheiss, Betty Teller, and Chris Towns. A very special thanks to Ann Pepi, Wendy Rupprecht, and Rachael Tenerowicz.

A very loving thank you to my wife Eileen, for so very graciously allowing the book team to take over our home, and then making pizza for everyone. Thanks to Roux, Felicia, Giana, and Aidan for giving me the worlds best reasons to cook over fire.

And finally, many thanks to all of you who believe, as I do, that cooking beside the people who love you will change your life. (It sure has changed mine.) I am grateful beyond words for your ongoing support.

AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHEN THE FOOD HAS ALL BEEN SERVED AND SAVORED, WHATS LEFT IS YOUR CONNECTION TO THE PEOPLE AROUND YOUR FIRE.

A fire adds flavor to your food but its more than just a method of cooking. A live fire transforms the meal into a gathering, whether youre cooking for two people or two hundred. Italians know this at a cellular level. Ask any Italian, any time of day, if he would rather cook and eat outdoors or inside, and youll get a whaddya kidding me? kind of look. Outdoors! When I have a great fire going and a gorgeous cut of meat perfectly seasoned and ready to go on that fire, I am a happy man. I cant even explain this; I just know that cooking over a live fire satisfies some deep, primal urge.

Ill share a few restaurant techniques but this book is really about how I cook over a fire at home. My goal is to make cooking over a fire feel less intimidating, and Ive written the recipes so cooks at every skill level can use them. Youll see how I use a fire to mark big occasions but also how fire can elevate a midweek family dinner or transform leftovers into a great meal (like Potato Polpette, Two Ways, and youll find a pizza party that couldnt be easier. The prep work is simple, you cook the pizzas on the grill, and stay relaxed enough to visit with your guests.

In this book, Ill teach you how to cook over a big fire, but also show you how to make fire the center of smaller, more intimate gatherings. Yes, the folks at a Harvest Dinner will remember the drama of a whole lamb. But dont underestimate the power of flame to light up a simple Tuesday night dinner. (See The Urban Grill, , which shares where I had one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches Ive tasted.)