Flaying Bobby! (Hee, Hee, Hee)

"Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries and Shakes" by Bobby Flay (with Stephanie Banyas & Sally Jackson) Clarkson/Potter Publishers 160 pages $25.95

Six restaurants, nine books, on the Iron Chef America series and food correspondent for "The Early Show" CBS -- Bobby has been in our faces for more than his 15 minutes. Which is not to say that he isn't a perectly nice person. He may well be.

But it does strike me as dusting for the last bit of gold dust in the mine to write a book on foods as simple as hamburgers (no hot dogs - Ccoming soon to a bookstore near you!) fries and milkshakes.

Chef Flay's counsel on hamburgers? Use 80% lean, 20% fat Certified Angus hamburger. Never add anything to the meat (eggs, breadcrumbs, seasonings.) Form the patties without excessive handling. When the patty is ready for the grill, make a thumb-sized indentation in the center so that during cooking the patty will not swell up into hockey puck shape. You will be tempted to press the patty with a spatula! Don't do it! Pressing releases all of the fats and fats are what carry flavor and moisture!

Flay attempts to present "different" hamburgers by labeling them as something else -- the Argentinian Burger has chimichurri sauce! The Bistro Burger gets the cracked black pepper treatment with a Dijon-based vinaigrette on the lettuce. Caesar Salad Burger -- guess what's been done to the lettuce? This strikes me as ... misleading advertising somehow.

Two full pages of print on how to make French fries, steak fries, shoestring fries and more. "The key to making really great potato chips is slicing the potatoes really thin." And just who says that Chef Flay is not a rocket scientist?

I've never been a milkshake fan. 'Way too many calories and especially with a hamburger and fries. Flay gives us Lemon Meringue Pie Milkshake (topped with a mini waffle with a dollop of meringue,) Peach Bellini Milkshake, Peanut Butter-Banana Marshmallow Milkshake.

Bon appetite -- or wait for the next volume -- "How To Cook a Hot Dog."