We spoke to Richard over the phone about “Try This At Home” while he was at his house with his two children. During the course of the interview, a furniture explosion took place in the background. “We just popped a vintage bean bag chair, there are little pellets all over the place. My wife’s grandmother had this awesome giant late ‘60s bean bag and now there are (I’m sure toxic) plastic pellets all over the living room. This is a good interview. This is good live stuff here.” Richard remained unfazed and soldiered on.

To get Richard’s recommendations for where to eat, drink and food shop in Atlanta, download the Find. Eat. Drink. iPhone App.

Q & A with Chef Richard Blais

Q. Tell us about your new cookbook “Try This At Home?”

A. The book is really just trying to demystify what a lot of people think about me, people that know me already. They might think that my food is overly scientific or over the top or ultra creative, that it’s very difficult and time consuming. This book is really about how you cook at home. I wanted to showcase that if you give me a sauté pan and some butter, salt and vinegar, I can make great food. It’s definitely a home cookbook.

Q. Each recipe features a personal story, what was behind that?

A. A lot of the dishes have either been in one of my restaurants or come from a particular moment in time with my family. Instead of just saying, ‘This is how you make this dish,’  I wanted to tell a story. My food is a little bit more thoughtful and I wanted to showcase that.

Q. What are some of your favorite recipes from the book?

A. There’s a brisket recipe which is put some seasoning on it, wrap it in aluminum foil and put it in an oven. I think it’s just a great recipe that really cooks by itself and could cook overnight in a low oven while you’re sleeping or while you’re out and about, doing work around the house or something like that. It’s so easy and the results are just so tender and so--I hate this word--mouthwatering. It’s kind of hard to keep people away from it once you make that dish.

Then there’s a roast chicken dish with lemon curd. It’s a creative twist on lemon pepper chicken. Those are two dishes that jump out of the top of my head as ones to try.

Q. There’s a saying in the food critic world that if somebody can do chicken well, it’s like the ultimate test of their ability.  Do you believe that?

A. I think so. I think a lot of chefs, especially a lot of serious restaurant chefs think, or I have in my past, thought of chicken as, ‘Who eats chicken?’  The fact is everyone eats chicken. I eat chicken a lot in my house. It’s a difficult protein to cook. Even if it’s just a boneless skinless breast because it’s easy to overcook, it’s easy to undercook. In the book, I talk about lobster kind of similar, the degree is difficult, but not a lot of people would think of it that way. If you make a good roast chicken that’s a telltale sign of a good chef and a good home cook.

Q. You talk about liquid nitrogen in your book and tips on being careful. How dangerous is it?

A. In the restaurants, we treat it like frying oil. You wouldn’t do anything with liquid nitrogen that you wouldn’t do with oil, because you would get burned. It’s as cold as frying oil is hot. That’s the way to think of it. But if you just touch your hand briefly in it or just kind of juggle it in your hand, the way you might put your finger over a candle or wave your hand over a candle, it’s not going to burn you. But it’s a book and I wanted to make sure that we don’t set someone off into the backyard with liquid nitrogen.

Q. The McDonald’s hot coffee kind of thing?

A. That’s kind of what it is. Can hot coffee be dangerous? Sure. I guess it can be. There’s also a page in the back of the book called Don’t Eat This. It’s recipes of non-food related items, toothpaste, hand soap, hair products. There’s a picture of my little girl taking a bath in a sous vide machine. These are things that are recipes, but just be smart about when you employ them.

Q. Thank you for time this morning and good luck picking up the bean bags.

A. Yeah. I think the four year old is heading towards a timeout.

Recipes

- Country-Fried Steak with Sausage-Milk Gravy & Arugula Salad