Let the Flames Begin: Tips, Techniques, and Recipes for Real Live Fire Cooking

In their books The Thrill of the Grill and How to Cook Meat, Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby told grillers what they need to know to make great outdoor food--and how to have fun doing it. Let the Flames Begin finds the pair similarly busy, and better than ever on the how-to-and-with-what equation. Establishing their commitment to live-fire, as opposed to gas-fueled, grilling (each live fire has its own personality, they say, and is thus more fun to cook over, and it's the sole source of "that true, ineffable grilled flavor"), they then present the six basic live-fire techniques, cold and hot smoking through barbecuing and grilling. (Barbecuing is "cool and slow," grilling is not.) The pair's recipes are always instructive--each one provides detailed information on the appropriate fire set up, for example--as well as inviting. Flames offers 250 of these for a wide range of basic and innovative dishes, among them Cumin-Crusted Grilled Sirloin Strip Steak with Grilled Avocados and Chipotle-Coated Onions, Barbecued Jerk Baby Back Ribs with Banana-Guava Catsup, and the incredibly incendiary Pasta from Hell: The Next Generation with Curried Grilled Chicken. (This comes with a release form absolving the authors from responsibility for the dish's effect on diners and the ozone layer.) Included also are formulas for the authors' signature in-the-coals foil-pouch cooking, which yields sides like Hobo Pack of Sweet Potatoes, Apples, and Sage. With a useful section on gauging food doneness, a helpful glossary, and wise counsel throughout, the book promises more grilling thrills than ever from the guys who have the drill down. --Arthur Boehm