Table of Contents
A PLUME BOOK
TOP SECRET RESTAURANT RECIPES 2
TODD WILBUR is the top-selling QVC cookbook author. Hes appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Today, and Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, among others. He lives in Las Vegas
Many of [Wilburs] dishy imitations come, like a box of Cracker Jacks, with a surprise inside.
Mademoiselle
These probably come as close as you can get to the original recipes.
Boston Herald
The recipes are simply written and easy to do. This book offers great-tasting fun for the whole family,
The Clinton Chronicle (South Carolina)
PLUME
Published by Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., I I Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - , India Penguin Books (NZ) cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England
First published by Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Previously published under the title Super Secret Restaurant Collection.
First Printing, January
Some of the recipes in this edition are selected from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes, published by Plume.
Copyright Todd Wilbur, 1997,2007
All rights reserved.
Pages 391-392 constitute an extension of this copyright page.
This book was not prepared, approved, licensed, or endorsed by any of the owners of the trademarks or brand names referred to in this book. Terms mentioned that are known or believed to be trademarks or service marks have been indicated as such. See section on Trademarks.
Top Secret Recipes is a registered trademark of Todd Wilbur.
REGIS TERED TRADEMARKMARCA REGISTRADA
CIP data is ava lable.
eISBN : 978-1-429-54845-8
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For Ajay and Roxie
MANY THANKS ...
Cloning these famous recipes requires thousands of hours of work locked up alone in a kitchen with only the sounds of the dishwasher and Howard 101 to keep me company. However, a book like this could never have been made without the support and efforts of many others on the outside whom I must now thank.
I feel privileged to have hooked up with Plume in the early 1990s for the very first Top Secret Recipes cookbook. Since then we have published seven more trade paperbacks together, plus two special QVC editions and several other special market volumes. Plume has made this culinary publishing journey a pleasure every step of the way, and I wart to thank everyone there for your contributions, opinions and collaborations through the years. Specifically I must thank Barbara OShea, Clare Ferraro, Trena Keating, Emily Haynes, Sandra Dear Cherisse Dike, Kimberly Cagle, and Marie Coolman from the bottom of my heart for all of your hard work and support on this book.
Thanks to everyone behind the scenes at QVC and all the great on-air hosts for making these books the top-selling cookbook series on the shopping network. To Anthony Corrado, my man in the kitchen at QVC who always makes the food look so good on TV: Thanks, bud. Youre not only an awesome food stylist, but also a great friend.
Thanks to Robert Wortham of W&A Marketing and his assistant, John Lowry, for the great cover photos. Its more like a party than work, really And Im happy to see that you didnt leave hungry.
Thank you to all of the waiters, waitresses and bartenders who take the time to answer my annoying questions when Im on a cloning mission. Creating these recipes wouldnt be possible without the little tidbits of information and clues that you provide regarding ingredients and/or preparation techniques of these famous dishes.
Thanks to my family and friends for your anxious and helpful taste-testing of many of these recipes. As always, if youve got taste buds and an opinion, Ive got free food.
Thanks to Nobu the Akita for taking over where Zebu the Wonder Dog left off. Those are some big paw prints to fill, but youre doing great so far.
And last, thank you to Pamela, the love of my life. When Im stuck, you yank me out. When Im down, you lift me up. No matter what life dishes out, I know its going to be much better with you sharing my plate.
INTRODUCTION
I feel out of place at the ritzy Stirling Club in Las Vegaslike a Macho Nacho Burrito at a caviar tasting. But there I am attending an invite-only shindig where impressionist Rich Little speaks in his own voice, and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous host Robin Leach works the room. Its a very Vegas moment.
Then someone drags singer Clint Holmes over to our group. Hes the Tom Jones-esque crooner headlining at Harrahs who was voted Best All Around Entertainer in Las Vegas. I mention that I saw him perform in Atlantic City at the 1990 Miss America Pageant I was covering as a TV news reporter. When he ignores my comment I wonder, Did I just insult the man? Now Im not sure what to say
Thankfully, a friend cuts through the awkwardness to tell Clint what I do for a living, Todd writes cookbooks.
She looks back my way, expecting me to elaborate. The books are called Top Secret Recipes, I tell him. They show people how to make famous food at home with common ingredients.
From past experience I realize that at this point I havent provided enough information to make Clint understand my strange career path, so heres where I open up my stance and bend forward as though Im carefully studying a piece of food. I reverse-engineer brand-name foods, like a Big Mac or a Twinkie or Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits, and then create clone recipes that instruct you how to easily duplicate the taste of these foods in your own kitchen using ingredients you can find in any supermarket.
Now I wait to see if the ball will fall on red or black. About half of the people appreciate the unusual cookbook concept, and many of them have used the recipes before, either from the books or off the website. But the other halfand these are usually people who dont like to cookshoot me a blank, puzzled stare followed by a cordial nod of fake acknowledgment. Its a look that says, Why the heck would I want to duplicate food that I can just go out and buy? It seems like the Best All Around Entertainer of the Year is in the latter category. Lets just say the roulette ball fell on green that night, since Clint was whisked away before I could continue with my explanation.
