More Diners, Drives & Dive-Ins

You've seen him make your mouth water on the Food Network ... today, Guy Fieri stopped by our studio to show us a few of his favorite dishes from his new book, More Diners, Drive-ins and Dives!

Arancini
Adapted from a recipe courtesy of Sabrina DiPasquale of DiPasquale's

Meat Sauce:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small rib celery, minced
1 small carrot, minced
3 tablespoons minced onion
1 pound ground beef
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sweet peas

Rice:
46 ounces (5 3/4 cups) low-sodium chicken or beef stock
1 pound arborio rice
1 teaspoon butter
3/4 teaspoon ground saffron
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Assembly:
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups warm water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
About 2 ounces very fresh mozzarella cut into 1 inch cubes, room temperature
2 cups fine unseasoned dried breadcrumbs
Hot marinara sauce, for serving

1. For the meat sauce: Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat and saute the celery, carrot, and onion, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent. Add the ground beef and stir with a wooden spoon to break down any chunks; the beef should be as fine as possible. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Stir in the tomato paste and water. Once the mixture begins to simmer, turn heat to low, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. If the mixture begins to stick, add a touch more water. Remove from the heat and add the peas. Cool to room temperature.
3. For the rice: Bring the stock to a boil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the rice, butter, and saffron and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender but al dente, about 18 minutes. Stir in the cheese and pepper, taste, and add salt if necessary. Spread rice on a baking sheet and cool to room temperature.

4. To assemble: Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large until a deep-fry thermometer reads 330 degrees F. Whisk the flour, water, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a deep bowl to make a smooth batter. Put the bread crumbs in a shallow dish.

5. Divide the rice into 8 portions. Flatten one in your palm while forming an indent in the middle. Take about 3 tablespoons of meat sauce and a mozzarella cube and place in the indentation. Mold the rice up around the filling. Once all the arancini are formed, dip each into batter and then coat in bread crumbs. Fry the rice balls until golden brown, about 11 minutes.

6. To serve, ladle some hot marinara sauce on a plate, and top with an arancini.

Makes 8 large arancini

Bar-B-Q King Fried Chicken
Adapted from a recipe courtesy of Bar-B-Q King Drive-In. Give this method a go-just make sure you're using vinegar-based, tangy Carolina-style sauce.

2 cups water
1 cup milk
2 cups self-rising flour
2 cups finely ground cracker meal
1 (2 1/2 to 3-pound) chicken, cut into 10 pieces
Vegetable shortening or oil, for deep-frying
Carolina-style barbecue sauce of your choice, optional

1. Heat the shortening or oil in a deep-fryer or deep pot to 300 degrees F. Combine the water and milk in a large bowl. Whisk the flour and cracker meal in a shallow dish.

2. Dip the chicken pieces first in the milk mixture, then roll in the dry, dip again in the milk and roll in the dry.  Fry the pieces until golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes. If desired, roll the hot pieces in barbecue sauce as they come out of the fryer.

Serves 4

Sausage Sandwich
Adapted from a recipe courtesy of Sammy Amato of Amato's Café. When I get to learn something like homemade sausage ground fresh from a dude doing it since he was a kid, it's like meeting my favorite football player.

Pork Sausage
3 pounds boneless Boston butt, in 1-inch chunks
1 cup water
1/4 cup fennel seeds
2 1/2 tablespoons crushed red chile flakes
2 1/2 tablespoons fine sea salt
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
34 to 36 millimeter hog sausage casing

Pepper Sauce
1 (12 ounce jar) roasted red peppers, whole or strips, rinsed
1 cup marinara sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Garlic Butter Sauce
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 teaspoon chopped Italian parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 to 8 hoagie rolls, split with 1 side still attached, for serving

1. For the sausage: Toss the pork with the water, fennel seeds, red chile flakes, salt and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

2. Rinse the sausage casing. Attach the casing to the meat grinder and run the meat through on the coarse setting. Make 1 large coil or tie off 6 to 8 individual sausages.

For the Pepper Sauce: Chop the peppers into 1-inch pieces. When you are ready to make the sandwiches, bring the marinara sauce, peppers and olive oil to a low simmer; keep warm.

3. For the Garlic Butter Sauce: In a small saucepan melt the butter with the garlic salt, pepper, chile flakes, and parsley. Keep warm while you grill the sausages.

Preheat a griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and heat. Fry the sausages until they are crusty and cooked through, about 15 minutes.

4. Heat another skillet over medium heat, or wipe the griddle clean and reduce the heat a bit. Brush the hoagies with some butter sauce and toast cut-side down until golden brown. Put the sausages in the hoagie rolls and top with a few tablespoons of warm pepper sauce.

Makes 3 pounds sausage and 6 to 8 sandwiches with extra butter sauce

Latin-Spiced Lamb Burgers
Adapted from a recipe courtesy of Michael Sohocki of The Cove. This is something good and juicy--I dove into it then headed the car wash to hose myself down.

Sauce:
2 pasilla chiles, stems removed
1 each ancho and guajillo or pulla chiles, stems removed  
1 cup water
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon sour cream                                          
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Lamb Burgers:
1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns                                                            
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds                                                                      
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds                                                                            
2 pounds grass-fed ground lamb
2 cloves garlic, minced                                                          
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

To assemble:
6 ciabatta buns, split horizontally and grilled         
3 ounces Cotija cheese, crumbled                                        
4 large ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced  
1 red onion, thinly sliced                  
Lettuce

1. For the sauce: Tear the chiles open to shake out the seeds (if a few seeds are left in, that's fine). Throw the peppers in a saucepan with the water, bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook, uncovered, until only 1/4 cup of liquid remains at the bottom.

2. Put the peppers with their cooking liquid, the oil, lime juice, sour cream and garlic in a blender, and puree until very smooth. Scrape down the sides of the blender, add salt and blend again. Add cream and pulse a few times just to incorporate and get a saucy, squirtable consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings.

3. For the burgers: Toast the peppercorns, coriander, and cumin in a dry pan over medium-high heat, shaking the pan constantly, until they crackle and pop. They should be light brown, and smell smoky, or like toast or popcorn. Then grind them to a fine powder in a spice grinder. Add them to the lamb with the garlic, salt, and cayenne and use your hands to combine thoroughly. Gently form meat into 6 even patties.

4. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill the burgers until they have nice, dark grill marks, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare (130 degrees F). Rest the burgers a few minutes before serving. Spread some sauce on both halves of the buns, and top with the burgers, some crumbled Cotija and plenty of tomato, onion and lettuce.

Makes 6 burgers

Recipes courtesy of More Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

^{Photo Credit: Steve Giralt/Retna}

• 6 Comments
|
• Permalink

|