Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Introduction

  APPLEBEE’S MUD SLIDE

  APPLEBEE’S PERFECT APPLE MARGARITA

  APPLEBEE’S PERFECT SUNRISE

  APPLEBEE’S ONION PEELS

  APPLEBEE’S BAKED FRENCH ONION SOUP

  APPLEBEE’S SANTA FE CHICKEN SALAD

  APPLEBEE’S ALMOND RICE PILAF

  APPLEBEE’S BOURBON STREET STEAK

  APPLEBEE’S CHICKEN FAJITA ROLLUP

  APPLEBEE’S CRISPY ORANGE CHICKEN BOWL

  APPLEBEE’S HONEY GRILLED SALMON

  APPLEBEE’S TEQUILA LIME CHICKEN

  APPLEBEE’S WHITE CHOCOLATE & WALNUT BLONDIE

  BENIHANA GINGER SALAD DRESSING

  BENIHANA JAPANESE ONION SOUP

  BENIHANA MANDARIN ORANGE CHEESECAKE

  BENNIGAN’S THE MONTE CRISTO

  BUFFALO WILD WINGS BUFFALO WINGS AND SAUCES

  CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN CALIFORNIA COSMO

  CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN THAI CRUNCH SALAD

  CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN CALIFORNIA CLUB PIZZA

  CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN JAMAICAN JERK CHICKEN PIZZA

  CARRABBA’S BREAD DIPPING BLEND

  CARRABBA’S HOUSE SALAD DRESSING (CREAMY PARMESAN)

  CARRABBA’S CHICKEN MARSALA

  THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY MINI CRABCAKES

  THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY SWEET CORN TAMALE CAKES

  THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY CHICKEN MADEIRA

  THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY BANG-BANG CHICKEN & SHRIMP

  THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY ORIGINAL CHEESECAKE

  THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TRUFFLE CHEESECAKE

  CHEVYS FRESH SALSA

  CHEVY’S MANGO SALSA

  CHEVYS CHILE CON QUESO

  CHEVYS GARLIC MASHED POTATOES

  CHEVYS SWEET CORN TOMALITO

  CHEVYS FLAN

  CHILI’S SALSA

  CHILI’S BONELESS BUFFALO WINGS

  CHILI’S BONELESS SHANGHAI WINGS

  CHILI’S CHICKEN CRISPERS

  CHILI’S CHILI QUESO

  CHILI’S LETTUCE WRAPS

  CHILI’S SOUTHWESTERN EGGROLLS

  CHILI’S CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP

  CHILI’S SOUTHWESTERN VEGETABLE SOUP

  CHILI’S HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING

  CHILI’S GRILLED BABY BACK RIBS

  CHILI’S CHOCOLATE CHIP PARADISE PIE

  CHILI’S MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKE

  CLAIM JUMPER GARLIC CHEESE BREAD

  CLAIM JUMPER FIRE-ROASTED ARTICHOKE

  CLAIM JUMPER CHEESE POTATOCAKES

  CLAIM JUMPER SPICY THAI SLAW

  CLAIM JUMPER MEATLOAF

  DENNY’S FABULOUS FRENCH TOAST

  DENNY’S BBQ CHICKEN SANDWICH

  DENNY’S CLUB SANDWICH

  HARD ROCK CAFE HOMEMADE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

  HARD ROCK CAFE BAR-B-QUE BEANS

  HARD ROCK CAFE COLESLAW

  HARD ROCK CAFE PIG SANDWICH

  HOUSTON’S CHICAGO-STYLE SPINACH DIP

  HOUSTON’S HONEY-LIME VINAIGRETTE

  HOUSTON’S COLESLAW

  IHOP CINN-A-STACKS

  IHOP COUNTRY GRIDDLE CAKES

  IHOP COUNTRY OMELETTE

  IHOP HARVEST GRAIN ’N NUT PANCAKES

  IHOP PUMPKIN PANCAKES

  ISLANDS CHINA COAST SALAD DRESSING

  ISLANDS ISLAND FRIES

  ISLANDS TORTILLA SOUP

  ISLANDS YAKI SOFT TACOS

  JOE’S CRAB SHACK BLUE CRAB DIP

  JOE’S CRAB SHACK GARLIC KING CRAB LEGS

  LONE STAR STEAKHOUSE LETTUCE WEDGE SALAD

  LONE STAR STEAKHOUSE BAKED SWEET POTATO

  LONE STAR STEAKHOUSE LONE STAR CHILI

  MARGARITAVILLE CRAB, SHRIMP AND MUSHROOM DIP

  MARGARITAVILLE JAMAICA MISTAICA WINGS

  MARGARITAVILLE KEY LIME PIE

  MARIE CALLENDER’S LEMON CREAM CHEESE PIE

  MARIE CALLENDER’S PUMPKIN PIE

  MIMI’S CAFE CARROT RAISIN BREAD

  MIMI’S CAFE CORN CHOWDER

  MIMI’S CAFE FRENCH MARKET ONION SOUP

  OLIVE GARDEN LIMONCELLO LEMONADE

  OLIVE GARDEN BRUSCHETTA

  OLIVE GARDEN SICILIAN SCAMPI

  OLIVE GARDEN STUFFED MUSHROOMS

  OLIVE GARDEN TOASTED RAVIOLI

  OLIVE GARDEN PASTA E FAGIOLI

  OLIVE GARDEN MINESTRONE SOUP

  OLIVE GARDEN CHICKEN SCAMPI

  OLIVE GARDEN CHOCOLATE LASAGNA

  OLIVE GARDEN FROZEN TIRAMISU

  OLIVE GARDEN LEMON CREAM CAKE

  OLIVE GARDEN TIRAMISU

  ORIGINAL PANCAKE HOUSE APPLE PANCAKE

  ORIGINAL PANCAKE HOUSE GERMAN PANCAKE

  OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE HONEY WHEAT BUSHMAN BREAD

  OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE GRILLED SHRIMP ON THE BARBIE

  OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE KOOKABURRA WINGS

  OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE BLEU CHEESE DRESSING

  OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE CAESAR SALAD DRESSING

  OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE HONEY MUSTARD SALAD DRESSING

  OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE RANCH SALAD DRESSING

  OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE TANGY TOMATO DRESSING

  OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE CINNAMON APPLE OBLIVION

  OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE SYDNEY’S SINFUL SUNDAE

  P. F. CHANG’S MAI TAI

  P. F. CHANG’S CHANG’S SPARE RIBS

  P. F. CHANG’S CHICKEN IN SOOTHING LETTUCE WRAPS

  P. F. CHANG’S SHRIMP DUMPLINGS

  P. F. CHANG’S GARLIC SNAP PEAS

  P. F. CHANG’S CHANG’S SPICY CHICKEN

  P. F. CHANG’S DAN-DAN NOODLES

  P. F. CHANG’S LEMON PEPPER SHRIMP

  P. F. CHANG’S MONGOLIAN BEEF

  P. F. CHANG’S OOLONG MARINATED SEA BASS

  P. F. CHANG’S ORANGE PEEL CHICKEN

  P. F. CHANG’S CHOCOLATE TORTE

  RED LOBSTER TARTAR SAUCE

  RED LOBSTER CHEDDAR BAY BISCUITS

  RED LOBSTER BACON-WRAPPED STUFFED SHRIMP

  RED LOBSTER CHEDDAR BAY CRAB BAKE

  RED LOBSTER PARROT BAY COCONUT SHRIMP

  RED LOBSTER NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

  RED LOBSTER TERIYAKI GLAZED FRESH FISH

  RED ROBIN SEASONING

  RED ROBIN 5 ALARM BURGER

  RED ROBIN BANZAI BURGER

  RED ROBIN TERIYAKI CHICKEN BURGER

  ROADHOUSE GRILL ROADHOUSE RITA

  ROADHOUSE GRILL ROADHOUSE CHEESE WRAPS

  ROADHOUSE GRILL BABY BACK RIBS

  ROMANO’S MACARONI GRILL CHICKEN PORTOBELLO

  ROMANO’S MACARONI GRILL CHICKEN SCALOPPINE

  ROMANO’S MACARONI GRILL PENNE RUSTICA

  RUBY TUESDAY CREAMY MASHED CAULIFLOWER

  TGI FRIDAY’S BLACK BEAN SOUP

  T.G.I. FRIDAY’S BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP

  T.G.I. FRIDAY’S PECAN-CRUSTED CHICKEN SALAD

  T.G.I. FRIDAY’S SIZZLING SHRIMP

  TONY ROMA’S BLUE RIDGE SMOKIES SAUCE

  TONY ROMA’S BAKED POTATO SOUP

  TONY ROMA’S MAPLE SWEET POTATOES

  TONY ROMA’S CAROLINA HONEYS BBQ SALMON

  WAFFLE HOUSE WAFFLES

  TRADEMARKS

  INDEX

  A PLUME BOOK

  TOP SECRET RESTAURANT RECIPES 2

  TODD WILBUR is the top-selling QVC cookbook author. He’s appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Today, and Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, among others. He lives in Las Vegas

  “Many of [Wilbur’s] dishy imitations come, like a box of Cracker Jacks, with a surprise inside.”

  —Mademoiselle

  “These probably co
me as close as you can get to the original recipes.”

  —Boston Herald

  “The recipes are simply written and easy to do. This book offers great-tasting fun for the whole family,”

  —The Clinton Chronicle (South Carolina)

  PLUME

  Published by Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. • Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd.) • Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., I I Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - , India • Penguin Books (NZ) cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England

  First published by Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Previously published under the title Super Secret Restaurant Collection.

  First Printing, January

  Some of the recipes in this edition are selected from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes, published by Plume.

  Copyright © Todd Wilbur, 1997,2007

  All rights reserved.

  Pages 391-392 constitute an extension of this copyright page.

  This book was not prepared, approved, licensed, or endorsed by any of the owners of the trademarks or brand names referred to in this book. Terms mentioned that are known or believed to be trademarks or service marks have been indicated as such. See section on “Trademarks.”

  Top Secret Recipes is a registered trademark of Todd Wilbur.

  REGIS TERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

  CIP data is ava lable.

  eISBN : 978-1-429-54845-8

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored In or Introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE AT QUANTITY DISCOUNTS WHEN USED TO PROMOTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES FOR INFORMATION PLEASE WRITE TO PREMIUM MARKET DIVISION, PENGUIN GROUP (USA) INC., 375 HUDSON STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10014

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  For Ajay and Roxie

  MANY THANKS ...

  Cloning these famous recipes requires thousands of hours of work locked up alone in a kitchen with only the sounds of the dishwasher and Howard 101 to keep me company. However, a book like this could never have been made without the support and efforts of many others on the outside whom I must now thank.

  I feel privileged to have hooked up with Plume in the early 1990s for the very first Top Secret Recipes cookbook. Since then we have published seven more trade paperbacks together, plus two special QVC editions and several other special market volumes. Plume has made this culinary publishing journey a pleasure every step of the way, and I wart to thank everyone there for your contributions, opinions and collaborations through the years. Specifically I must thank Barbara O’Shea, Clare Ferraro, Trena Keating, Emily Haynes, Sandra Dear Cherisse Dike, Kimberly Cagle, and Marie Coolman from the bottom of my heart for all of your hard work and support on this book.

  Thanks to everyone behind the scenes at QVC and all the great on-air hosts for making these books the top-selling cookbook series on the shopping network. To Anthony Corrado, my man in the kitchen at QVC who always makes the food look so good on TV: Thanks, bud. You’re not only an awesome food stylist, but also a great friend.

  Thanks to Robert Wortham of W&A Marketing and his assistant, John Lowry, for the great cover photos. It’s more like a party than work, really And I’m happy to see that you didn’t leave hungry.

  Thank you to all of the waiters, waitresses and bartenders who take the time to answer my annoying questions when I’m on a cloning mission. Creating these recipes wouldn’t be possible without the little tidbits of information and clues that you provide regarding ingredients and/or preparation techniques of these famous dishes.

  Thanks to my family and friends for your anxious and helpful taste-testing of many of these recipes. As always, if you’ve got taste buds and an opinion, I’ve got free food.

  Thanks to Nobu the Akita for taking over where Zebu the Wonder Dog left off. Those are some big paw prints to fill, but you’re doing great so far.

  And last, thank you to Pamela, the love of my life. When I’m stuck, you yank me out. When I’m down, you lift me up. No matter what life dishes out, I know it’s going to be much better with you sharing my plate.

  INTRODUCTION

  I feel out of place at the ritzy Stirling Club in Las Vegas—like a Macho Nacho Burrito at a caviar tasting. But there I am attending an invite-only shindig where impressionist Rich Little speaks in his own voice, and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous host Robin Leach works the room. It’s a very Vegas moment.

  Then someone drags singer Clint Holmes over to our group. He’s the Tom Jones-esque crooner headlining at Harrah’s who was voted “Best All Around Entertainer in Las Vegas.” I mention that I saw him perform in Atlantic City at the 1990 Miss America Pageant I was covering as a TV news reporter. When he ignores my comment I wonder, “Did I just insult the man?” Now I’m not sure what to say

  Thankfully, a friend cuts through the awkwardness to tell Clint what I do for a living, “Todd writes cookbooks.”

  She looks back my way, expecting me to elaborate. “The books are called Top Secret Recipes,” I tell him. “They show people how to make famous food at home with common ingredients.”

  From past experience I realize that at this point I haven’t provided enough information to make Clint understand my strange career path, so here’s where I open up my stance and bend forward as though I’m carefully studying a piece of food. “I reverse-engineer brand-name foods, like a Big Mac or a Twinkie or Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits, and then create clone recipes that instruct you how to easily duplicate the taste of these foods in your own kitchen using ingredients you can find in any supermarket.”

  Now I wait to see if the ball will fall on red or black. About half of the people appreciate the unusual cookbook concept, and many of them have used the recipes before, either from the books or off the website. But the other half—and these are usually people who don’t like to cook—shoot me a blank, puzzled stare followed by a cordial nod of fake acknowledgment. It’s a look that says, “Why the heck would I want to duplicate food that I can just go out and buy?” It seems like the Best All Around Entertainer of the Year is in the latter category. Let’s just say the roulette ball fell on green that night, since Clint was whisked away before I could continue with my explanation.

  If I’d had the chance to explain in more detail why so many people enjoy cloning famous foods, I think I could have won Clint over. I’d tell him how cool it is making America’s most popular food in our own kitchens and then watching people freak out when they take a bite. I would suggest that we can save money by making these dishes at home, and that with these formulas we have the freedom to customize our favorite brand-name foods for special tastes and dietary requirements. I’d remark that unlike any other cookbook, when you cook for the first time from a Top Secret Recipes cookbook, you know in a
dvance what the finished product will taste like.

  By this time, I’m sure I’d see the huge lightbulb over Clint’s head pop on. And then he would ask the next inevitable question: “How do you get away with this?”

  Now I would explain to Clint that these are original, personally copyrighted recipes that I create from scratch in my own laboratory (I know, ha ha; it’s really my kitchen, Clint). I’d describe to him the time-consuming process of dissecting multiple samples, of sniffing out ingredients, of straining sauces and calculating measurements. And then I’d finish by explaining that I never represent these recipes as the actual recipes for the brand-name foods, because I respect the success and trademarks of the companies, and that I imitate as a compliment to the corporate chefs. It’s flattery in its sincerest form, I’d say.

  By now Clint would be ignoring everyone else. As he starts to understand the multiple benefits of this niche concept of culinary deconstruction/reconstruction, he would refuse to sing a song for the crowd, because he wants to hear more. “How exactly do you get these recipes? Do you get a job at the restaurants and steal them?” When he still doesn’t completely grasp what I’m saying, I’d spend more time with him, and I would make sure to talk very slowly.

  I would tell Clint that creating these recipes is a game. Each Top Secret Recipe is a little mystery to be unraveled without full knowledge of the original formula. I’d tell him that I have never worked at any of these chains, nor have I ever obtained corporate recipes. I would explain how the game must be played using certain kitchen sleuthing techniques that I have developed over the past 20 years. I will, for example, order the food to go, but ask that all of the elements of the dish be packed up separately (sauces, garnishes, etc.) so that back in the lab can copy each component of the dish one at a time. I’d also describe my extensive research in cookbooks and on the Internet to understand ways that similar recipes are crafted. I’d tell him that only then do I write out the recipe and make my first attempt. After that, it’s like sculpting, I’d say. I add a little of this, take out a little of that, until many, many batches later a good clone is formed.