`Mario Tailgates NASCAR Style' is a NASCAR published book by chef extraordinare, Mario Batali. To those who are not foodies and are unaware of cookbooks, chefs, and the Food Network, and who happen to be in this swim simply because of the label `NASCAR', let me reassure you that in his culinary world, Mario Batali is serious mojo. Among chefs, among chefs, he has achieved the equivalent of winning the Nextel cup twice and built up a racing team comparable to that of the Petty or Andretti families. And, the quality of the recipes in this book demonstrates this skill, even if it is poaching on the territory of fellow `Iron Chef', grillmeister Bobby Flay. But, it would seem from the pics and commentary in this book, Mario is a very serious fan of NASCAR and the kind of tailgating practiced by its fans.
Mario is such an ardent fan that my suspicions that this book was done entirely for the money are put to rest; however, I do believe that the book is just a bit more slipshod in editing and design than it should have been. For example, in the recipe for `Eggs in Hell', Mario cites his `basic tomato sauce' as an ingredient, yet in this book, there is no recipe for this `basic tomato sauce', which is odd, since the recipe is repeated in every one of his other books. I think this is unfortunate since unlike his other books, this one is likely to be bought by people who do not otherwise buy a lot of cookbooks. The least expensive source for the recipe would probably be to look for it on the Food Network web site (foodnetwork.com) or to get his first book, `Simple Italian Food, Recipes from My Two Villages'). Another slip is that only one of his sons' name is in the index, yet both sons' names (Leo and Benno) appear in the text, each associated with a specific recipe. Yet another slip (pet peeve, actually), is that none of the many pictures have any captions, whether or not the people in the picture are prominent culinary or racing figures, or just members of Mario's extended family. Also, to a veteran cookbook reviewer, I find the presentation of ingredients with many on a single line to be a significant drawback, especially if the book is to be used by a lot of amateur cooks.
Having gotten the annoyances out of the way, I feel that this is a superb collection of recipes for its purpose. I am especially pleased with the introductory material on how to equip a tailgating rig, and I recommend you take it to heart. Most important is the need for some kind of refrigeration, especially as many of the recipes in the book uses a really large number of eggs. Fortunately, there are not many seafood dishes, but you will want to keep that raw Italian sausage and ground meat well within the 40-degree safety zone for fresh foods. I also strongly suggest that you carefully read every recipe you plan to make before leaving your home to guarantee that you have all the cookware and ingredients you will need. I am not familiar with a typical NASCAR campout, but I suspect that the nearest megamart may be a very long walk from your hemmed in RV, station wagon, SUV, or minivan. Another reason for selecting every dish in advance is that some recipes may need a certain kind of baking or roasting environment that your average sized Weber grill does not support.
Mario Batali is the leading Italian chef / restauranteur in America, and yet only a minority of the dishes in this book are certifiably Italian. While none of the recipes are `ordinary', there are excellent versions of many major American classics herein. The eight chapters of recipes are:
Breakfast with lots of eggs, sausages, ham, and more eggs.
Appetizers including kabobs, satays, barbecue, salsas, skillet bread, and crab cakes.
Meat, featuring a lot of less expensive meat cut classics, such as burgers, roast beef sandwiches, hot dogs (Chicago Style), meatloaf, Philly cheese steaks, fajitas, brats, sausage and peppers (oh my), pork chops, subs, pork tenderloins, and chipotle-rubbed lamb.
Chicken and Fish, featuring jerked chicken, barbecued chicken, turkey burgers, shrimp, crab sandwiches and grilled lobsters with Limoncello (Southern Italian lemon liqueur) Vinaigrette.
Chili, Stew, and other things Cooked in a Pot with Sloppy Joes, Cocido Bogotano, and Pork Shoulder Braciolona. (These recipes should generally be made at home and reheated on site).
Vegetables and Sides including Potato Salad, cold bean dishes, corn and onion salad, and coleslaw (of course).
Desserts such as Strawberry shortcake, Bananas Foster, Key Lime Pie, and Apple Brown Betty
Drinks such as Watermelon Gin and Tonic, Negroni, Mint Juleps, and Horchata
All these recipes are selected much more for they're suitably to the tailgating ambiance and for their strong flavors and big portions rather than for their easy preparation. While none of these recipes require strong culinary skills, they do require a close attention to what you are doing and a fair amount of grilling experience. In the very beginning Mario strongly urges the cook to play close attention to what is going on with the grill, especially if you are not an experienced grilling cook. As cooking techniques go, grilling is very fast, so it requires much more attention to timing than, say baking, roasting, braising, poaching, or just about every other technique except stir-frying and saute. If I were to embark on a tailgating trip of this type, I would start with at least half made-at-home dishes and all but one on the scene dish done in a skillet. My first grilling essay would probably be sausage, hot dogs, or flank steak. Even hamburgers seem, to me, to require a bit of finesse.
For all you NASCAR non-foodies, I assure you that this book is the real deal, as long as you scout out that simple tomato sauce recipe.
