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CNN Live Saturday

Interview With Food Network Chef Maureen Petrosky

Aired May 25, 2002 - 12:50   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's a Memorial Day weekend, so what does that mean? Of course, grilling outside. You got to dust off your grill, take off that little grill cover, and it's time to get down and dirty. Chef Maureen Petrosky is with the Food Network, and she's decided to join us to give us a better idea how to make barbecuing a lot more interesting. It's not just about hamburgers and hot dogs, is it?

MAUREEN PETROSKY, FOOD NETWORK: No, it's not. It can be really fun. Just like any other time that you're cooking, use what's freshest in the market. And we went today and we found a great pineapple, some peppers, some big plump red onion, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) swordfish.

(CROSSTALK)

PETROSKY: ... along with the ribs (ph). We kept something traditional, but we're going to go ahead and do some fish too.

WHITFIELD: All right. So you keep it simple by really taking what is available at the market, but what about seasoning? Because isn't it all about seasoning?

PETROSKY: Well, some would say the barbecue is about the sauce. But it doesn't always have to be about the sauce. You can change it up. I think salsa is often overlooked. You can use salsas, you can use mangos, different chutneys. You can keep it spicy or sweet, or just savory. Barbecue -- the most important thing is that it should be really fun and it should be easy. You don't want to be tied to a cookbook.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Well, that's true. Now, timing is everything, though. The worst is when you put the steaks on the grill, and then you put the vegetables on the grill and it's not timed right so you don't have everything hot at the same time, and you've got folks who are eating things in phases. So how do you time it out?

PETROSKY: Well, you can do some things ahead of time, and actually keep them in your oven. I mean, barbecued items, once these peppers are cooked and these mushrooms, we just keep them in a warm oven, or even a closed oven. They're going to stay warm. The nice thing about barbecue is that usually you're doing it when it's hot outside, so people aren't as concerned with their food being really hot.

Another thing is, a larger size grill. Some of these little tiny hibachi grills are going to be difficult to feed a lot of people from. So if you've got some different levels on grills and different sizes here, we've got a holding (UNINTELLIGIBLE) right next to our grill, so that's going to keep it warm.

WHITFIELD: All right. Are you putting anything on the pineapple or on the vegetables?

PETROSKY: Just a little bit of oil, a little bit of olive oil and salt. And we went and grilled some (UNINTELLIGIBLE) earlier, and we put some red pepper flakes on there, just to give it a little spice.

WHITFIELD: OK. Now, you've got some things in a foil. What's that all about?

PETROSKY: We got some garlic back there. You can do garlic right on the grill. And a nice addition to your chicken, if somebody doesn't want barbecue sauce because there's a lot of sugar in barbecue sauce, it's fairly sweet, you can do some roasted garlic right on the grill with some rosemary and thyme, really aromatic ingredients. Just put those together on a pita instead of barbecue sauce. And then we've got the fish, the healthy alternative. And there's a lot of great fishes to grill. You've got salmon, tuna, the heavier...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: And you're not necessarily seasoning the fish either, right?

PETROSKY: Salt and pepper.

WHITTFIELD: Wow, OK. Now, for the garlic, is that going to be just like -- are you going to treat it just as you would the roasted garlic? You're going to spread it on bread?

(CROSSTALK)

PETROSKY: Exactly. Just like a spread. So in that case then, you can introduce some sun-dried tomatoes into your barbecue for some different flavors. But garlic goes really nicely with all of the items that we've chosen today. You can put it on your bun for your burger. Change it up a little bit.

WHITFIELD: OK. Now, what about temperature settings? Is it going to be a bit different if you're using a gas grill versus a charcoal grill?

PETROSKY: The most -- the biggest difference there is going to be the flavors. Charcoal grills in part flavor into your food. And also, you can use wood chips. We've got mesquite, hickory, there is another one, applewood, you can use that, and that's going to impart flavor. The temperature, you can control better on a gas grill, because you can shut the gas grill off. It's like a gas stove, as opposed to an electric grill that's going to stay hotter longer. But the flavor's the real difference.

WHITFIELD: OK. Now, you've got skinless chicken out there.

PETROSKY: I do. I've got some boneless...

WHITFIELD: Many people would say that, you know, you really need the skin in order to bring some real flavor, especially when grilling.

PETROSKY: Well, we've gone ahead and marinated these chickens breasts, so we've got some olive oil on there, and some nice herbs and salt and pepper, and that's going to tenderize it a little bit. As long as you have a high heat, you can (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that juice in that chicken. So you don't always have to have the skin. And I think you lose a lot of the flavor because you put your seasonings on the skin, and then a lot of people don't eat it. So I go right for the breast, and then again, you can add your flavors with your chutneys or salsas.

WHITFIELD: OK. So let's talk grills now. Have you got any favorites in terms of, you know, whether you want a charcoal grill or whether you want a gas grill?

PETROSKY: I would preferably like a charcoal grill. I like the smoky flavor that you get from that. A gas grill -- my eyes are watering a little bit. It's going to let off some fumes. And on a windy day, it can be difficult to handle. It's extremely hot. Charcoal grills, again, you can keep it really smoky or lighter on the smoke. Anytime there's a barbecue festival or competition, they're using charcoal grills. And they'll swear by their charcoals. There's a reason for that.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: You can put mesquite in it.

PETROSKY: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: You really can't put those chips when you're dealing with gas grills.

PETROSKY: You shouldn't; you can start a fire.

WHITFIELD: The non-cook that I am, I'm taking notes, I'm learning.

PETROSKY: So all of this, all this char, this is good. I mean, you don't want it to be completely black. But with that pineapple, it's got a lot of sugar in there, so it's sweet. And you're going to get that smoky flavor from the charring.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks very much, chef Maureen Petrosky of the Food Network. You're going to put these pitas on the grill too?

PETROSKY: They've already been grilled. I'm just showing you that. We're going to put some of our chicken onto a pita, and do that right here.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, we've got some great ideas for this holiday now. And this kind of really is the springboard for the entire summer. You don't have to just grill this weekend. You can do it just about every weekend.

PETROSKY: You can do every weekend.

WHITFIELD: Maybe it's just as easy even when you get off work, right?

PETROSKY: You sure can.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot.

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