Guy Fieri - Guy on Fire 130 Recipes for Adventures in Outdoor Cooking

To the two greatest outdoor cooks I ever knew.

My dad, Jim, and my father-in-law, Bob Brisson

Thanks for teaching me that out of the frying pan and into the fire is a good thing.

The next generation.

Burn, baby, burn!

You can use leftover roast beef from another meal; simply refrigerate and then thinly slice. Refrigerating helps firm up the beef and makes it easier to slice thinly. You can also use roast beef from the deli, in a pinch.

To clean fresh octopus, turn the head inside out and remove the ink sac, innards, and mouthparts. Rinse gently, pat dry, and re-invert.

My favorite hot sauces for tacos are Tapatio, Cholula, and Valentina.

The 9:22 shot is a tradition across barbecue competitions, time chosen because no one is doing anything at 9:22everybodystiming their cooking on the quarter or half hour.

Important Roux Tip (or Youll Ruin the Day): Keep stirring the roux to keep the flour moving; it will burn very fast! If you see any black specks or if it smells burned... it is burned! Throw it away and start over. This roux will have a nutty aroma, so dont be confused. You want to slowly brown your roux to a dark chocolate color, which will result in a dark, rich gumbo!

This is a great opportunity to use any leftover proteins you have from previous meals. Toss in chicken, turkey, lump crabmeat, crumbled sausage, diced ham, or shredded pork or steak... even grilled vegetables for this mac-n-cheese. (Well, maybe not at the same time.)

H ere we go... cookbook number five... something Ill tell you I never imagined happening for me. Weve traveled the country together, back, forth, and back again with three installments of the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives series. What a trip! And I feel like weve walked down memory lane together through Guy Fieri Food, which at the time, I figured, encompassed my entire life (in and out of the kitchen) in one big funky tattooed behemoth of a book. But here we are, back at it, and let me tell you, were just getting started.

When it came time to start writing book number five, I really had to chew on it for bit. What do I write about? Weve covered so much. But then, on second (or umpteenth) thought, it came to me: I just need to write what I know. I can write about my love of funky joints... check. I can write about my life story in the kitchen... check. And now, I can write about how I cook on an everyday basis with my family with my friends and with anyone whos lookin to get down and dirty and make a great meal, anywhere, anytime.

Here in California, no doubt, were blessed with great weather. So, since I first set off on my culinary path, Ive always been about getting outside and cookin it up in the great outdoors. Of course, I dig a great summer grill session in the sunshine. But Im talking about much more than that, cooking as an adventure. From the simple backyard BBQ to tailgating to throwing a Dutch oven over the campfire, cooking outdoors is an art thats often either taken for granted or sometimes, very unfairly, overlooked as too difficult.

As humans, we love to be outside... were meant to be that way. I mean, thats where we invented fire in the first place! As kids, we play outside. As adults, we vacation outside. We go to restaurants and ask to eat outside. So, lets take the mystery out of cooking outside. Hot, cold, windy, wet... I say bring it on. Got fire? We can do this.

Whether its been as a kid packing into the Marble Mountains and wondering how on Earth my dad was able to bust out chicken and dumplings over a campfire or trying to figure out how to create the biggest, baddest tailgate party Raider Nation has ever seen, Ive always been about making it happen outside. Having space. Doing the unexpected. And making it delicious.

You want to cook up a great summer grilling party? Ive got you covered. Want to take the family camping but dont want to have to live on granola bars? Read on. Got a hankerin for some real-deal BBQ? Check it out. Time to throw down the mother of all tailgate parties? Lets get er done!

Guy on Fire is about helping you master your own outdoor cooking adventures while you maximize your outdoor entertaining. Learn to be properly prepped and geared up, understand a few new (or super old school) cooking techniques, grab some key tricks of the trade, and then take a stab at some of my tried-and-true recipes that at first glance may not even seem like they are doable outdoors. But trust me, every dish in this book is something that Ive busted out under the open sky, and Im as excited about the stories that Ive created making these dishes as I am about the food.

You dont have to live in the land of eternal sunshine to love cooking outside. Let me show you how to make awesome food happen anywhere, anytime, and all in the great outdoors. Its what I know. Now, lets get FIRED UP !

Love, Peace & Taco Grease,

Ryder, this is where it all starts.

R ustic cooking in your backyard, at a tailgate, in a rented cabin on a lake, or around a campfire doesnt have to mean dumbed-down or second-rate cuisine, and the first key to that is preparedness. Get the right arsenal together and youre on your way. Here Ive compiled a rundown of some of the most useful equipment for outdoor culinary adventures.

Dont be afraid. While Ive been known to haul all of the things on this list with me on monster camping trips, thats not necessary, and depending on whether youre cooking at a campground, in a trailer, or just in the backyard, what you need on hand will change. Use this list as a guide and to help you remember what to bring once youve planned your menus and studied your recipes.

A high level of confidence in your equipment will relieve you of a significant amount of stress while cooking or entertaining outdoors. Youre entering an uncontrolled environment, and the elements can be against you. If you find yourself in a strong wind with dirt blowing around, struggling to work with a bunch of flimsy utensils and not enough heat on your fire, you may wish you just packed a sandwich. So, dont go out and buy the cheapest spatula or tongs specifically for camping or the occasional backyard grilling just because you think youre only going to use it twice a year. I can tell you from experience that its always better to have one really good sharp chefs knife than two or three dull ones. You can build a set of quality equipment for the outdoors over time, but in the meantime go ahead and bring your trusted, familiar tools from home so you can prep the right way.