Guacamole Dip SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!

IT'S SUPER BOWL SUNDAY
TIME FOR FOOD, FAMILY, FOOTBALL AND ANOTHER STEELER WIN!

Today one of my many dishes for our family party is home-made Guacamole Dip!

This a great game day dip, that can stand alone or be added on to your loaded nachos.

INGREDIENTS
3 Fresh Avocado's
1 Tablespoon of Garlic
2 Tablespoons of Rotel peppers and tomatoes
1/4 cup of Sour Cream
1/4 cup of Mayo
1/4 teaspoon of salt (note I said 1/4 tablespoon in the video - I meant 1/4 teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon of pepper (note I said 1/4 tablespoon in the video - I meant 1/4 teaspoon)
1/4 Tablespoon of cilantro
1/4 Tablespoon of cumin
Couple dashes of Chrystal's hot sauce

Mix all ingredients
Chill and Serve!

MPH My Pole-ish Horseshoes

This is one of my most favorite weeks of the year! Super Bowl Week!!!!!!! What makes this years Super Bowl week even better is that my favorite team, the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing the Super Bowl. This week I am doing some articles on game day foods and fun!

A few week ago I got an awesome new tailgating game from our friends at MPH My Pole-ish Horseshoes. This game is a new twist on an American classic. Unfortunately right now it's 4 degrees here, so I won't be playing my new game Sunday. Luckily Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an early Spring!

My Pole-ish Horseshoes is combines skill and endurance as players defend their post from opposing teams. It provides hours of outdoor competition and fun. The object of the game is to score points by throwing a Frisbee at the opponent’s pole and knocking the can off its perch, while holding a 12-ounce beverage in one hand at all times during the game. The first team to get 21 points wins the game!

Check out the Official Rules to the Game!

My Pole-ish Horseshoes Game Rules

1. My Pole-ish Horseshoes is played with two teams of two people.


2. Place MPH poles 30 feet apart or a desired distance.


3. Place a 12-ounce beverage can on top of each pole.

1. Each team takes a turn throwing the Frisbee. The throwing team is the offensive team and the team catching the Frisbee is the defensive team. Team members switch back and forth with their partners every time it is their turn to throw.

1. When throwing the Frisbee you must stand behind your pole.


2. The defending team only has to catch the Frisbee when the throw is within one step left or right of the two people defending. If the two defending people have to jump to catch the Frisbee they don’t have to catch it. No points are awarded when the throw is out of range.


3. Throw the Frisbee and hit nothing – but the other team catches the Frisbee – the offensive teams gets no points.


4. Throw the Frisbee and hit nothing – but the other team drops the Frisbee – the offensive team gets a single point. Throw the Frisbee and hit the pole, and the can falls off, the offensive team gets two points. If the defensive team catches the Frisbee or the can – but not both – the offensive team gets one point. Should the defensive team catch both the Frisbee and the can, the offensive team gets no points.

1. Throw the Frisbee and hit the can off the pole, you get three points. If the defensive team catches the can or Frisbee but not both the offensive team gets two points. If the defensive team catches both the can and Frisbee, the offensive team gets one point.


2. If the offensive team throws the Frisbee short of the pole, the defensive team gets a penalty shot. A penalty shot allows the defensive team to take a shot from where the Frisbee landed.

The winner is the team that first reaches 11 or 21. Good luck!

The object of the game is to throw the Frisbee and knock a can off the pole while holding a 12-ounce beverage can in one hand at all times during the game.

Remember, when setting up My Pole-ish Horseshoes the base's middle pole faces the other team.

Get your own set at

MPH - My Pole-ish Horseshoes

www.mypole-ishhorseshoes.com

GET THEM OUT - GRAB A COLD ONE AND HAVE SOME FUN!

Crystal's Hot Sauce

I have always been a big hot sauce fan. I love to try the different brands and I have found some favorites. One hot sauce that has been a favorite of my for some time now is Crystal's Hot Sauce from Baumer Foods. The other night I was eating some Jambalaya and decided I need a little more spice, so I added some Crystal's Hot Sauce - WOW talk about enhancing the flavor. Crystals gives you a nice touch of heat, but very smooth and always consistent.

I have used Crystal's in wings for years and have used it as a condiment for even longer. So I got me thinking what else can I make with Crystals? Well your gonna find out! Over the next month I am going to, not only show you how to make great wings, but also a couple non-traditional dishes using Crystals Hot Sauce!

Also being a food geek - I always like to do a little reading about the history behind some of my favorite brands. So I thought I would share with you what I read about the history of Baumer Foods, the company that brings us Crystals!

This part is taken from their website

"Since 1923, when the first cayenne peppers were ground, aged and bottled as Crystal Hot Sauce, Baumer products have been synonymous with quality and service. Baumer Foods was founded by Alvin and Mildred Baumer on Tchoupitoulas Street in New Orleans. Today, Alvin A. Baumer, Jr., their son, carries on the business, still personally inspecting the pepper fields prior to harvest to make sure each cayenne is hand-picked at its sun-ripened best.

With a little over 200 employees, domestic sales of Crystal Hot Sauce have been red hot, increasing every year for five consecutive years. International distribution brings the great taste of Crystal Hot Sauce to pepper loving people in more than 73 countries. Every year, 3 million gallons of Crystal Hot Sauce are shipped out of our New Orleans plant to destinations around the world.

While hot sauce is the heart of Baumer Foods, the company also boasts a taste-driven product line that includes Crystal Extra Hot Hot Sauce (three times hotter, just as flavorful); specialty hot sauces; steak, soy, Worcestershire and teriyaki sauces; chicken wing and barbecue sauces.

One taste and you'll understand why we say the difference is clear: Crystal."

If you would like to read more go to

http://www.baumerfoods.com/

And don't forget - Stay tuned for some great recipes using Crystals!

Easy Eight O'Clock Mocha Mousse

The other night I was watching one of my favorite shows on Food TV - Dinner Impossible.
On this episode Chef Irvine was making Chocolate Mousse for the desert in the meal, and it looked really good! So I decided I would have my own Desert Impossible challenge tonight.

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it, involves making Chocolate Mousse without making a trip to the grocery store. You have 2 hours to complete this mission"

So I ran to the kitchen and took inventory of the fridge and pantry. What I found that I could use to make my mousse was some Cool Whip, Pudding and Milk. Well I can make an easy mousse with that, but I want to make it a little unique. So I decided to add a little coffee flavor! I also had Vanilla and Chocolate pudding, so I decided to make French Vanilla Mousse and Chocolate Espresso Mousse.

Here are my 2 recipes

CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO MOUSSE

INGREDIENTS
1 box of chocolate pudding
1-7/8 cup of cold milk
1/8 cup of Eight O'Clock Italian Roast Espresso (chilled - I strained it over ice a couple times)
1/2 tub of Cool Whip

PROCESS
In a chilled stainless steel or glass bowl
Mix the pudding, espresso and milk
Beat ingredients vigorously.
Put mixture in fridge for 1 hour and forty minutes
After 1 hour and forty minutes your pudding should be set up.
Take out of the fridge and add a 1/2 of tub of Cool Whip.
Then with a plastic spatula fold the Cool Whip and Pudding together, until mousse is achieve.

Put in a serving bowl or glass and serve!

FRENCH VANILLA MOUSSE

INGREDIENTS
1 box of chocolate pudding
1-7/8 cup of cold milk
1/8 cup of Eight O'Clock French Vanilla Roast Coffee (chilled - I strained it over ice a couple times)
1/2 tub of Cool Whip

PROCESS
In a chilled stainless steel or glass bowl
Mix the pudding, coffee and milk
Beat ingredients vigorously.
Put mixture in fridge for 1 hour and forty minutes
After 1 hour and forty minutes your pudding should be set up.
Take out of the fridge and add a 1/2 of tub of Cool Whip.
Then with a plastic spatula fold the Cool Whip and Pudding together, until mousse is achieve.

Put in a serving bowl or glass and serve!

RESULTS
I succeeded in my mission, my family enjoyed a unique and tasty Mousse in less the 2 hours start to finish and I did it with what I had in my house!

Chef Irvine - Chef Dad is ready for a Mission!

REAL Snow Cones

I don't know about you, but we have had snow fall the last couple days. So I decided it was a perfect opportunity to make REAL snow cones. Let me tell you this was great fun for the whole family. I like to find ways to get the kids involved in cooking and this was a fun project and it couldn't be easier.

How is all you need!

1. a large metal bowl.
2. a spoon
3. serving bowls or glasses
4. 1 packet of Kool-Aid
5. 1 Cup of Sugar
6. 16oz of cold water

PROCESS
When the snow starts to fall, place a large metal bowl outside to collect the snow. Make sure it is up off the ground in a spot that it will stay clean. While you bowl is collecting the snow. Take 1 packet of Kool-Aid, 1 cup of sugar and 16oz of cold water and mix well in a bowl. Then pour in a squirt bottle and put in refrigerator until needed.
Once you have enough snow. Bring you bowl inside and spoon the snow into you serving bowls or glasses. Make sure to pack you snow together, so it makes a nice dense ball. Then pour your syrup slowly over your snow. Be generous with the syrup and cover the snow well, but be careful not to melt all your snow.

Serve and enjoy the sweet flavor and the sweet smiles that come with this fun snack!

Tiesta Tea a Great Story

Since I have started the Chef Dad Omaha Blog I have had the opportunity to be introduced to a lot of unique products and some companies that have inspiring stories. Tiesta Tea is no exception!

Tiesta Tea was founded by a group of college students. The became inspire during a weekend study abroad trip in Spring of 2009 to Prauge. One night when wandering the streets of Prague, they stumbled upon a traditional Czech tea house. They ordered a famous fruit tea called Granny's Garden and wanted to introduce this type of beverage to America

They bought a few bags to sneak home on the plane. They realized how important coffee and tea shops were to European society. So they said to themselves, why not the United States? Then on March of 2010 Tiesta Tea was born.

"Tiesta Tea is a company sponsored by the University of Illinois. Tiesta Tea provides the highest quality custom-blended, flavored teas in the world, specifically created to cater to a customer’s daily lifestyle needs. Tiesta Tea offers five lines of teas categorized by their effects on the consumer rather than by their color or type. The five effects we focus on are vital to every person’s health and physical well-being: Energizer, Relaxer, Slenderizer , Immunity, and Forever Young. Each line of tea has a wide variety of flavors designed to appeal to every beverage drinker. Tiesta Tea believes that for tea to truly enter the mainstream, it must be simplified and accessible to people of all ages. Tiesta Tea’s goal is to transform tea from an affordable luxury to a daily health necessity"

After reading about the beginnings of Tiesta Tea, I just had to try some. I was really impressed with these young people to not only discover this opportunity, but their drive to pursue it and see it through. When most colleges kids come home from a weekend with only empty pockets and a hang over. These fine young people came home with a dream and the ambition to make it a reality.

Some the flavors I have tried so far are, Lemon Zen, Chunky Watermelon and Fruity Pebbles. The one thing that is constant with all of them is great flavor and absolutely incredible aroma! Now I have had all three flavors hot and I have tried them brewed then poured over ice, because I am huge ice tea guy. Now all you tea purest out there settle down - it's my tea I can drink they way I like it. Regardless of weather your are a hot or iced tea fan, you can't go wrong with Tiesta! Great Tea's, Great Taste, Great Smell and a Great Company!

Check them out at http://www.tiestatea.com/

Making Basic Pizza with Kitchen Paddles

I started doing a lot of research for an article on Pizza. I have been doing some reading on the different styles of pizza and their history. Of coarse I will share with you how to create a pizza of each style at home. I have made some incredible sauce and have found some great toppings, but my crust has just been good, but I am on a quest to make a GREAT crust from the thinnest St. Louis style cracker crust to the the thick and hearty Chicago Deep dish. For today's demonstration were are making a very easy and basic Pepperoni Pizza

During my quest I have come across a great tool that every serious pizza maker needs - The Kitchen Paddles. The Kitchen Paddles have taken the concept of the traditional pizza peel and made it more functional with their revolutionary new design.

"The peel apart Kitchen Paddles use a natural side by side motion to place your pizza, bread or other baked creations with toppings intact, exactly where you want it on the cooking surface. During baking you can use the paddles with an easy shuffle motion to rotate your pizza, etc. in place for evenly baked results. Removing your pizza, etc. masterpiece is made so easy by picking it up with the tapered edges and using that natural side by side motion.

Together, while paddles are interlocked, they have a total area spanning 12×20 inches, from side to side, tip to handle, respectively – with a total working area of about 12×12 inches. Apart, each paddle measures a convenient size of 6×20 inches for specialized tasks and easy storage."

Aside from being a great tool for your kitchen the Kitchen Paddles have a couple other great features. One, they are made from bamboo. Bamboo is a great substitute for traditional hardwoods, since bamboo grows 1000’s of times faster than hard wood trees, using it helps contribute towards saving the environment. Number two, Pizza For All LLC. donates 50 cents from every sale of the Kitchen Paddle to Action Against Hunger to help fight world hunger.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 teaspoon of dry active yeast
1 teaspoon of white sugar
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1/2 cup of luke warm water
1/2 cup of cold water
3-1/4 cups of flour
1/4 lb of Peperoni
3 cups of shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 cup of Pizza Sauce

EQUIPMENT
1 set of Kitchen Paddles
1 pizza stone
1 kitchen aid stand up mixture with mixing paddle and dough hook
Roll of Saran wrap
Measuring cups and spoons


PROCESS
Dissolve yeast into 1/2 cup of luke warm water. After a few minutes pour yeast mixture, sugar, olive oil and cold water into your mixing bowl. First use mixing paddle attachment and mix on low and slowly add a 1/4 cup of four at a time until you have a batter. Then change to the dough hook attachment and continue to add flour slowly. Continue to mix until a ball is formed. Add an additional 1/4 of four if needed.
Once your dough is formed, take off of the hook and form a nice round ball with your dough, then place in a large greased bowl. Cover the bowl with Saran wrap and place in refrigerator for 24 hours to slowly rise.

After 24 hours has past, preheat your oven to 425 degrees with your pizza stone in the oven on the middle rack. Then place you Kitchen Paddles on the counter and sprinkle with flour. You enough dough to make 2 medium pizzas on the paddles so divide your dough and half. Then take half your dough and sprinkle with flour and form your crust on the paddle. Once you have formed one nice round thin crust on your paddles, evenly spread a 1/2 cup of sauce on to the crust. Then place you pepperoni on top of the sauce. Finally spread 1-1/2 cup of cheese over the top of your pizza. Then pick up your Kitchen Paddles with your pizza on it and slowly separate your paddles as you slide you pizza of the paddles on to the stone. NOTE: make sure you flour your paddles so the pizza slides off nice and easy. Then close oven and turn on light. Watch you pizza, when your crust starts to crisp and your cheese bubbles it is done. Take your pizza paddles and reverse them, so the part that interlocks is facing out and the tapper part is facing in. Slide you paddles under your pizza and pick up and take out of the oven and place on cutting board to rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve!
Remember you have enough dough for two pizzas, so repeat the process and make another pizza

You can get your own Kitchen Paddles at
The Kitchen Paddles website