How to Make Guacamole

What is it about guacamole? When those avocados are ripe (and on sale) it brings out the need for guacamole. If the guacamole and salsa are great then I can build the rest of the food around it!

Tytus takes us through the steps of making Guacamole. I'm going to share a few tips for picking avocados, knives for aspiring young chefs, and recommend a cut-resistant glove for extra safety. You can find the recipe HERE.

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PIZZA! Start to Finish!

Pizza! Start to Finish! Is a promise we gave you in "trial run 2". We said we would revisit PIZZA in more detail and here we have! There's no food shortage in Barton's house. We say this because you can whip up some dough and throw all kinds of leftovers on top and call it a pizza! LOL The boys and I have fun with this! We use either a pizza stone or a pizza steal in the oven. We have both. Some people feel the need to let it cool down and remove it after use. We leave the stone/steel in there all the time. We cook right on top of it. Doesn't matter if its a sheet tray of cookies or a casserole in a glass dish. Here's a recipe to get you started... Easy Bread and Pizza Dough Recipe

Salsa in 4 minutes and 4 ingredients!

Restaurant quality salsa made with 4 ingredients! This salsa takes 4 minutes or less to make. You can add as many extra ingredients as you like, but the taste is excellent by itself. 

Tytus and I decided to put this video together as we were making some salsa for Nachos. We're also releasing it early in case you need a quick recipe for Taco Tuesday! LOL 

Tell us about your favorite salsa and ingredients you like to add.

Waffles vs Pancakes

Why choose? Simple recipe and preparation of Waffles and Pancakes. 

This episode we let Tytus do some of the videoing and Tyrone (dad) tries to quit saying "alright" during filming. Ezra will again make his appearance as the official taste tester. This episode was brought to you by The Hot Mess Kitchen Crew! and Spices by Sarah!

**We aren't being sponsored by them, we just like their products. 

Simple Waffle and Pancake Recipe: 

1 cup all-purpose flour, 

2 tablespoons (or more) Honey 

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1 teaspoon salt 

1 cup milk (a little less for waffles) 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or vegetable oil 

1 large egg 

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract (optional) 

Things we noticed to work on next time:
Lighting (we see some sunlight bleach out some parts of the video)
Sound (sound can range up and down as we try to film at different lengths)

Low­Fat Banana & Chocolate Chip Muffins

INGREDIENTS

○  3 medium very ripe bananas
○  1egg
○  1/3 cup low­fat milk
○  1/2 cup granulated sugar (maybe substitute with honey)
○  1/2 cup brown sugar
○  1 1/2 cups flour (wheat or white)
○  1 teaspoon baking soda
○  1 teaspoon salt
○  2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup chocolate chips (depends on how chocolatey you like it!) Also I like to use mini chips, less chance of them sinking to the bottom of the muffin.
○  2 tablespoons pecans/chopped walnuts (optional)
○  1/2 Cup Applesauce
○  1/2 Cup Rolled Oats (also called old-fashioned or whole oats)

• 
  # The last two ingredients applesauce & oats are also optional, but I wouldn't use one without the other. It messes with the structure of the muffin. Wet & Dry.
• 
  DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Lightly coat 12 muffin tin liners with cooking spray and place in muffin tin.
   
3. In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork.
   
4. Whisk in egg, milk, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
   
5. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
   
6. Add flour mixture to banana mixture and combine well.
   
7. Fold in chocolate chips and optional pecans/walnuts.
   
8. Spoon equal amounts of batter into 12 muffin cups.
   
9. Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
   
10. Allow to cool slightly in pan, then remove to wire rack.
    

# Baking times will vary depending on your oven and size of tin. We like to use the mini muffin tins which take less time.

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Chile Coban Pecans (Pecan Crack)

This recipe, as most of my recipes, has a story behind it...

A Chef friend came to stay with me last summer for a few days because we both were attending the same conference in my town. We could catch up, show him around town, hang out...and of course attend the conference together. It just so happened that he brought me some gifts. One gift was several pounds of pecans.

A short time later another friend came back from a trip to Guatemala and gave me a package of Chile Coban, a very specific tasting dried pepper with a bit of smoke flavor. 

[Fast Forward a bit in time...]

Around the Fall holidays I was using a spiced nut recipe because I wanted to create some Christmas gifts and snacks that had a personal touch. But I was very unhappy with the results I was getting from a highly rated internet recipe. BAM! I had a stroke of genius, "Tyrone, why don't you just create your own recipe and use what you have on hand?!". [You won't ever convince me talking to yourself doesn't have its benefits!] And that's how this recipe came to be! 

A personal "Thanks!" goes out to Gary H. and PW. (aka - Pastor Will). This recipe has been tested by hundreds of palates by now with great reviews. The "heat" in this recipe is only noted in taste, not burn.

PS. To all my food service friends, this makes a full sheet pan (2 or 3 of the home cookie/sheet pans) These are best a couple days after making, they get a little crunchier and taste seems to "mature".

Ingredients

3 egg white
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon ground cloves
1 1/2 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon Chile Coban

Or use cayenne, chipotle powder, something with some heat you like.

3 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 pounds pecan halves

Or walnuts, mixed nuts, BUT pecan is my favorite for this.

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or parchment paper.

In a large bowl beat egg white until foamy. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, salt, Chile Coban, (or substitute), and vanilla.

Whip to "melted marshmallow consistency" Add nuts, and stir to coat. Spread evenly onto prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, until well toasted and golden brown. Remove from oven, and cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

The end result...

And it's delicious!

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Recipe is an "Idea"

Jacque Pepin describes it best in this video. Watch it! It's a small investment of time. [3:55]

"Have you ever had a dish turn out wrong no matter how closely you stick to the recipe? According to legendary chef Jacques Pépin, recipes describe a process that can never be duplicated exactly; what you need to understand is the “idea” behind the recipe, and use it as a point of departure."

Who is Jacque? One of the greatest! (at least in my opinion) He was on PBS in the early days with Julia Child.

But Tyrone, you just sent me a recipe for joining your family newsletter! Yes, I did. And will probably include more in future newsletters. People love recipes, and I love to cook and create. We can argue that there are no "original" recipes left and I am ok with that. But I want to give you a starting point in which to find a dish you love to make. A dish you will create yourself and change, tweak, and diversify to make it your own.

For years I never wrote down any recipes. I actually didn't care to do it. I cook from my head and often did the same thing Jacque talked about in this video, using a recipe as a starting point. But it helps to find good starting points. Some of the recipes I will share you may not care for, or, maybe something that is not part of your diet. And that's OK. I get it. I can't reasonably think that you would love everything I put out.

Do your own thing, create.
[For some excellent video on cooking, Jacque Pepin - Fast Food My Way]

Easy Bread and Pizza Dough

I put this recipe together for my own use a long time ago.  A yeast dough (and different kinds of dough in general) get a certain 'feel' to them and you start noticing this...Then you make better judgments on when to add a little more water, more flour, or a pinch more salt.  From this same dough, I can alter the sugar and other ingredients to produce cinnamon rolls, pizza crust, pita bread, naan...sometimes it's just the kneading, rise time, technique, or cooking method with the same recipe that makes it another dough 'product'.  It can even be multiplied successfully for bulk preparation in commercial kitchens. (I know, I was doing it for years!)

Easy "Bread" Dough (use whole wheat flour for wheat dough) for Bread or Rolls

• 4 Cups High Gluten Flour - or - 5 Cups of All-Purpose Flour


• 1 Tablespoon Yeast


• 1 Tablespoon Sugar


• 1 Tablespoon Salt (scant)


• 1 Tablespoon Oil


• 2 cups warm/hot water (not above 110F)

Put dry ingredients and oil in a mixer. Use mixer set on 2 or 3 (not fast, but not real slow) and use the dough hook. Add up to 2 cups of warm/hot water from the faucet. Pour in the mixer while the dough hook is working. Watch for the dough to start to come together then let the mixer run for about 5 to 8 minutes…you can also need the dough by hand for about the same amount of time instead of using the mixer.

You are looking for a soft smooth texture to the dough, oil dough ball, put in a bowl and cover…let rise for about 40-60 minutes (adjust rise time to your humidity/heat) dough may double in size quicker in more warm and humid conditions or slower in cold conditions.

** If you're making pizza, it's up to you about the rise time or if you want to store it overnight in the fridge to develop more flavor. But you can start working with the dough as quick as 30 minutes if you're rolling out pizza.

Smash or punch down, then shape into rolls or 2 loaves in bread pans and wait the same amount of time for the second rise (or longer if needed) bake in an oven at 160C or 350F for about 30-40 minutes.

Let cool slightly, eat fresh and warm.

*Later on when you feel pretty confident about your skills as a basic bread dough maker you can try mixing the sugar, water, and yeast together and waiting till it starts to bubble. Then you can add it to the flour and salt that is mixing in the bowl. And don't forget the oil!

Comments welcome or contact me for further questions...this recipe was developed as a beginner's understanding of dough.

Waffles & Pancakes!

Classic Waffles Mix

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 tablespoons white sugar (or honey/other sweetener)

2 eggs

1-1/2 cups warm milk

1/3 cup butter, melted (or oil)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Pancakes, add another 1/2 cup of liquid.

This mix is extremely customizable! I used wheat flour, fresh blueberries, and some coconut milk as part of the liquid to make silver dollar pancakes for my boys the other morning.  I use an old GE Belgian waffle maker for waffles and a Cuisenart  griddle for the small pancakes.