The idea behind creating Guy Fieri Food was to pull together the stories and recipes that show how I got to where I am today. I’ve put everything into this book as if it was the last thing I will ever do. That’s a huge position to take, and everyone who participated, from family to friends to supporting teams, had the same attitude from beginning to end. It was Go Big or Go Home.

With my Guy Fieri Knuckle Sandwich team, I developed recipes for the book by brainstorming on camping trips, on airplanes, through texts, over voicemails, on cocktail napkins, and by stepping into somebody’s kitchen while on the road. Every moment, all the time, the recipe machine was on. I can’t taste it, look at it, see it, smell it, want it, or be around it without thinking what more it could be, where it could be used and how it could be served. Creating new recipes is like playing on a giant culinary playground—as long as you bring a fearless attitude you’re in the game.

This book has it all. Dozens and dozens of kickass recipes? Got ‘em. Stories of my younger days wrangling pigs, becoming Mr. Awesome Pretzel, and mastering flambé captain duties? Of course! But I’ll also give you the backstory behind starting my restaurants and the recipes that became my culinary foundation, and I’ll even lead you through a tour of vegetables with my go-to methods on when to get them and how to best cook ‘em up. This is a 360 experience, from my roots to my restaurants to my shows and all the great food in between. Guy Fieri Food will feed all your senses, and if we had a good scratch and sniff it would’ve been in there.

Makes 2 pizzas

Ingredients

• 2 store-bought 1-pound pizza dough balls
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 sleeve graham crackers, crushed (about 1-1/4 cups crumbs)
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup fine cornmeal
• 3 cups mini marshmallows
• Two 4-ounce dark chocolate bars, broken into 1⁄4- inch chunks

Special Equipment: pizza peel and pizza stone (or pizza pan)

I say it on Triple D all the time— everything has a “kicker.” It’s what it takes to make the dish outta bounds. The kicker here is chili and cayenne. . . . Ooooh yeahhhhhh!

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Form the pizza dough into two 12- to 14- inch rounds, 1/4-inch thick. Bake, preferably on a pizza stone, for 4 to 6 minutes, until just beginning to brown. (See page 157 for more help on shaping and baking pizza crusts.) Leave the oven on at 400°F.

3. While the pizza crust is baking, toast the almonds in a dry medium skillet over medium- high heat. Transfer the almonds to a plate to cool.

4. Melt the butter in the skillet. Add the graham cracker crumbs, chili powder, cayenne, and salt. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the crumbs are well- coated. Remove from the heat and set aside.

5. For each pizza, top the crust with half of the marshmallows and scatter half of the chocolate over the marshmallows. Return to the oven for 3 to 5 minutes, until the marshmallows are puffed and lightly browned. Sprinkle the pizza with half of the graham cracker mixture and top with half of the almonds. Let rest 3 to 4 minutes, slice, and serve. Repeat to make the second pizza.

If you've checked out my Diners, Drive-ins and Dives books or visited my restaurants, Johnny Garlic's and Tex Wasabi's, you know I'm down with all types of good food—and that I'll do what's required to track it down. In Guy Fieri Food, I'm cookin' it my way, from the perfect recipe for Pepper Jack Pretzels (from Mr. Awesome Pretzel himself—that's me) to how to pull together a Red Rocker Margarita Chicken sandwich to a full-on vegetable Guy'd (bet you didn't see that one comin'!). Before I'm finished I'll have you throwing parties with everything from Bacon-Jalapeno Duck appe-tapas to Chicago Beef Pizza to Johnny Garlic's Cedar Plank Salmon.

Fact is, I've been cookin' it, livin' it, and lovin' it since I was just a kid, and it's a privilege to help you bring home some of my own classic, big, and bold flavors.