I enjoyed this this stunning bottle of Sonoma cab at the Hollywood Bowl last night. Believe me, the fireworks in the bottle were far more impressive than those on stage. It is technically a cab because of it’s 75% cabernet content, but the remaining 25% Malbec makes it more of a Bordeaux-style blend. And though it ain’t cheap (about $65 from the winery), you will never find an ’05 Bordeaux it’s price range that comes anywhere close to matching its complex, lush notes. Bravo!

What a wild ride this summer has been. It all started with a three-day, cook-and-run flyer to Slovakia where I prepared a surreal meal for 300. Then, along with the Glutton crew, I traveled to Jacksonville, TX, Granby, QC, Toronto, Walla Walla, WA, Yuma, AZ and Taipei, Taiwan. In each location, I attempted to break or establish a Guinness World Record. I chopped salsa, stretched pizzas, peeled onions, tossed Caesar salads, cracked eggs, and picked up individual grains of rice with chopsticks until my fingers bled. If you count my pancake record from ’08, that makes 7 Guinness world record attempts. You can see the agony and the ecstasy of all of these attempts when the “record breaking edition” of Glutton debuts in early 2011 on Food Network Canada (and in other territories shortly thereafter).

The Taipei episode was the 58th and final challenge of Glutton (I know i said that last year, but this time i really mean it—don’t make me go back into the water). We are capping it all off with a behind-the-scenes episode. But there are no goodbyes. While in Taipei, I shot some scenes for the pilot of a new show. I’m sworn to secrecy, but suffice to say, this one will be more Ripley’s Believe it or Not, than Guinness World Records.

There’s no rest for the wicked. In early October I’m hitting the road to pimp my new book Glutton for Pleasure: signature recipes, epic stories, and surreal etiquette. It’s a book that started as a humble best-of compilation of my first four books, then took on a life of it’s own. The result is 275 pages that represent the best of everything I have done in the 18 years (yikes!) since the beginning of my accidental career.
I’m kicking the book tour off in Toronto on Oct 3 with a surreal meal at Charlie’s Burgers (a stealth restaurant with no fixed address except www.charliesburgers.ca). From there, I’ll be doing events across Canada and the U.S. if I am in your hood please come say hello. And if you have any ideas for an out-of-the-box event, don’t hesitate to write me. Just don’t mistake me for Andrew Zimmerman as they did the last time I was in the Philippines where they ambushed me on stage with Balut (a local delicacy that’s a partially formed duck embryo boiled in the shell)…how could I say no to the nice people of Manila?!.
I hope your summer has been a little more restful.

Best dishes,
bob

From Bob’s forthcoming book “Glutton for Pleasure”

This remarkably easy four-ingredient recipe creates a candied salmon fillet that melts in your mouth. And the black pepper crust provides the perfect counterpoint. It’s so good that even people who don’t like fish become devoted converts after just one bite. The exact proportions of the closely guarded recipe were divulged—after several hours on the torture rack—by Andrew Zimbel, owner of the Toronto catering company The Amazing Food Service.

Photo Credit: Suzi Varin

maple-icious salmon

¾ cup maple syrup
¼ cup soy sauce
4 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin removed
¼ cup coarsely ground black pepper (Grind it yourself, or purchase “cracked” pepper at your grocery store.)

In a small deep bowl, or a resealable plastic bag, mix maple syrup and soy sauce. Add fillets so that marinade completely covers fish. Marinate in the refrigerator for as long as possible (a minimum of 4 hours, but ideally 24 – 48). Turn salmon (or bag) every few hours.

Preheat grill to medium-high direct heat.

Place pepper on a small plate. Remove salmon from marinade and pat top side into cracked pepper to coat.

Grill for approximately 3 minutes per side, starting with pepper side down, or until salmon is just on the verge of turning opaque.

yield 4 servings
le secret The longer the salmon marinates the deeper the flavor. Avoid overcooking the fillets. Salmon is best when the color has turned to a pale pink, but the fish is still moist throughout.
level of difficulty The least amount of effort you will ever have to expend for the greatest number of complements
active prep time 10 minutes
inactive prep time 4 – 48 hours
grilling time 10 minutes
advance work Salmon can be placed in its marinade up to 48 hours in advance. It should only be peppered and grilled just before serving
multiplicity When multiplying the recipe for larger groups, it is not necessary to increase the marinade proportionately. Just mix enough marinade (in the same 3 parts maple syrup to 1 part soy sauce proportions) to cover all the fillets
oven version Salmon can also baked on an oiled cookie sheet in a preheated 500°F oven for approximately 6 – 8 minutes

There are many techniques for grilling corn. Some require soaking and others require you to trim various amounts of huskage. I’ve tried every option, and this method is by far the simplest.

4 ears of corn, husked

Preheat grill to medium high direct heat

Grill corn for 7 – 10 minutes. Every two minutes or so, roll each cob one quarter turn. Kernels should begin to brown in spots (indicating that the corn’s natural sugars are caramelizing) but should not be allowed to burn.

Remove from grill and serve.

yield Serves 4 as a side dish
active prep time 2 minutes
advance work Corn can be husked earlier in the day