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The first time I was cooking for my wife, Stephanie, way before she was my wife, I actually put three chickens on the rotisserie and I closed the grill, which is really a bad idea. But I just wasn't thinking very straight that day. And I looked outside and I saw, like, smoke and flames.
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I dropped out of high school. I really had no interest in doing any school work whatsoever.
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A grill is just a source of heat. Just like a stove, it is very user-friendly.
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For me, it's all about moderation. I don't kick things out of my diet, like carbs. But I'm not going to eat fast food.
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I think everybody at some point in time has thought to themselves, 'I have a really great idea for a restaurant.'
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I want to go to college and go back to Georgetown. It's a really cool place.
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'The Food Network' was just starting in New York, and I was getting lots of attention from Mesa Grill. They had no money, so if you couldn't get there by subway, you couldn't be on. It wasn't like TV was something I really wanted to do - but I knew it would be great publicity for my restaurants.
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Brushes are crucial for applying glazes, sauces, and oils. The pastry brushes that you find in homestores can be pricey so pay a visit to your local hardware store and pick up a few paint brushes which are less expensive and work equally as well.
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I love the culture of grilling. It creates an atmosphere that is festive but casual.
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It is very important that when you put something on the grill, you leave it in place to cook. If you move it around too quickly, chances are it is going to stick.
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Chipotles to me are a one-of-a-kind pepper because they're smoked jalapenos, so they're fiery and they're smoky. It's good to use chipotles in salsas or soups or condiments - that works really well. To me, they always really pick up anything you put them in.
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I don't like to dump the dressing on top of the greens. Instead, I pour it against the side of the bowl - using only enough to glaze the leaves - then toss.
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Go vegetable heavy. Reverse the psychology of your plate by making meat the side dish and vegetables the main course.
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My contribution I hope is to get people to eat full-flavored food. If I could come away with that alone, that would be a fantastic accomplishment. I'm also very proud of being a very American chef.
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Basically, there are two things we know: Everybody has less time, and the general public is demanding better food - better in terms of quality and better in terms of flavor.
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Obviously, the easiest recipes are the most successful when it comes to the home cook, because they're not intimidated by them. If I'm doing 'Boy Meets Grill,' and I do something very simple like grilled hamburgers or steaks or chicken, those are the most sought-after recipes.
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I think a lot of times people design restaurants with flash in mind. I think you should design restaurants with function in mind. Make sure it's functional and works with what you're trying to accomplish. Design can come later.
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I probably use my chef's knives more than any other tool in the kitchen. I'm not married to a particular brand, because they all work, they all have sharp blades.
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Habaneros have a great fruity flavor, but the challenge is that you have to deflect the heat in order to taste the flavor. If you don't, you're dead. They should really have a warning sign on them. Deflect the habanero's heat by pairing it with sweet food.
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I spend 80% of my time in my restaurants. Taping my TV shows doesn't take much time, and then they get aired a lot. That's the thing people don't realize.
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I prefer lump charcoal over briquettes but I do use both for different reasons and different recipes and sometimes I combine them both when I really want the woodsy aroma from the lump charcoal and long, even heat from the briquettes.
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My feeling is that if you can cook, I can teach you how to do television.
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I live in New York and I'm in New York basically all the time. I spend a lot of my time in my restaurants, and I feel like that's why they're successful.
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Today, when I hire, I look for people who want to be trained and molded.