Bobby Flay's Bar Américain Cookbook - The Traveling Locavores

Bobby Flay’s Bar Américain Cookbook originally published on Food and Fond Memories on September 26, 2011 by sandyaxelrod Leave a Comment (Edit)

Bobby Flay’s Bar Américain Cookbook

Assorted ingredients on a butcher block red cabbage, shredded carrots, scallions, and orange, a lime, bottles of honey and canola oil and a glass apple with cracked pepper and a glass pear filled with kosher salt

Mise en Place for Red Cabbage Slaw

Red Pepper Crab Cakes with Red Cabbage Slaw and Basil Vinaigrette

I am sure that no one is surprised to learn that I got Bobby Flay’s newest cookbook on the very day it was released. In fact I pre-ordered Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain Cookbook at Amazon.com just so that I would have it my hot little hands on September 20. Since I read cookbooks like most people read novels, I am almost three quarters of the way through it and I have already prepared four of the entrees in Bobby’s eleventh cookbook.

Me and Bobby Frying Crab Cakes and
Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain Cookbook

Golden Brown Red Pepper Crab Cakes Frying

The first of the dishes that I prepared was a deconstructed Chicken Cordon Bleu. For that recipe making a few changes was a must because I did not have the triple cream brie that it called for. Instead I used a combination of white American cheese and sharp provolone. Next time I will make sure to have the brie on hand, but I can’t imagine that it will taste much better than my version did. I loved the crispy texture of the prosciutto so much more than the traditional version with soggy ham and cheese inside a rolled chicken breast. As Bobby suggested I served a peppery arugula salad dressed with a mustardy vinaigrette to accompany his American style Chicken Cordon Bleu.

The second recipe I tried was the Red Pepper Crab Cakes with Red Cabbage Slaw and Basil Vinaigrette. These crab cakes are almost entirely crabmeat. The addition of piquillo peppers, horseradish, scallions and chile de arbol adds a spicy, tangy sweetness with only a tiny bit of mayonnaise and a couple tablespoons of Wondra flour to bind them together. After chilling the crab mixture for at least a half hour, I formed the crab cakes and dipped them into seasoned panko, then fried them to a crisp golden brown. Serving them with the gorgeous, colorful slaw adds the crunch factor and the herbaceous basil vinaigrette marries everything beautifully.

A turquoise dinner plate filled with crab cakes and colorful slaw sitting on a butcher block and a multicolored striped napkin to the left of the plate.

Colorful and Delicious Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain Crab Cakes

We were thrilled to have leftover crab cakes for lunch the next day. I put them in burger buns topped with the slaw and a little of the vinaigrette. Fabulous! Steve already wants to know when I am making this again. My answer is: “Just as soon as I buy more crabmeat, honey. I promise it will be very, very soon!”