The Kitchen Appliance Bobby Flay Says Everyone Should Have In Their Kitchen
Celebrity chef Bobby Flay always has plenty of advice for improving your cooking skills. In a TikTok video for Food Network, for example, he suggests reading cookbooks, following chefs you admire online, and experimenting in your own kitchen. And, Flay says, don't overlook one particular appliance: toasters. Although he notes the obvious — that toasters can make "great toast" — he also uses it for so much more.
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When making pre-dinner appetizers, for example, Flay recommends using the appliance to warm up the best bread slices for impressive bruschetta and crostini. The toaster removes moisture from ingredients as they heat up, causing foods like bread to become perfectly crispy. Since bruschetta and crostini both rely on a sturdy base for toppings, this lack of moisture is essential.
The toaster can also be used to reheat previously cooked leftovers. If you wind up with Belgian waffles from yesterday's breakfast, for example, the appliance can crisp them back up to their original texture in no time.
How to perfect crostini and bruschetta with your toaster
Bobby Flay has previously shared a few of his favorite ways to make bruschetta or crostini, and you can utilize the toaster to achieve this textural perfection. When he's making the crispy bread-based appetizers, he slices French baguettes into smaller pieces then toasts them.
The two small plates differ depending on the size of the bread. For bruschetta, the bread should be a little thicker, while crostini is sliced more thinly. When the bread is warm and crispy, the chef adds a variety of toppings to finish off the dish. Oils, olives, jams, fruits, and cheeses are pretty common options to add a burst of flavor.
For a fresh and acidic flavor, the chef combines diced tomatoes, chopped garlic, olive oil, basil, and ground pepper. His bean-based option mixes white beans, balsamic vinegar, garlic, olive oil, and rosemary. If you want to make a tapenade, Flay suggests blending down black nicoise olives, capers, garlic, anchovies, lemon juice, and olive oil into a paste. The crunchy slices of bread can then be topped off and enjoyed when they're heated.
What else can you make with a toaster?
Toasting up bread slices or bagels may be the most standard way to use Bobby Flay's favorite appliance, but you can also use it for more creative options. If you invest in some toaster bags, for example, the appliance can double as a makeshift grilled cheese press. The reusable bags catch any melted cheese as the sandwich cooks up, preventing it from making a mess and burning at the bottom.
The bags can also be used to warm up leftover pizza, DIY some quesadillas, or reheat an oil-free veggie burger patty. Or, if you bring home leftover onion rings or french fries, use toaster bags to revive those foods to a crunchy texture when you're ready to eat them again.
If you're craving Mexican food for dinner, the toaster can also be the key to making hard shell tacos at home. You'll need to have soft flour tortillas on hand so you can fold one in half, then shape it and heat it in one of the slots. Once it toasts, the taco shell will hold its shape and can be filled with your favorite taco fillings.