Guacamole

Fabulous guacamole, courtesy of Alton Brown. As I am a tomato and cilantro hater, I leave those out from the original recipe and add in Red Pepper for color and texture!

Ingredients:
3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 red pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:
In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, jalapeno, red peppers, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.

Baked Plantain Chips

A healthier chip option, courtesy of Martha Stewart.

Ingredients:
2 pounds plantains or green bananas, scored, peeled, and thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Divide plantains between two rimmed baking sheets. Toss with oil, then arrange in a single layer on sheets. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until golden and crisp, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating sheets and flipping plantains halfway through. Drain plantains on paper towels.

To store, place cooled chips in an airtight container, up to 2 days.

Passover Crumb Cake

Another amazing Passover cake! Recipe courtesy of Susie Fishbein's Passover By Design cookbook.

Ingredients:
nonstick cooking spray
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 cup potato starch

Crumb Topping:
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, cut into small bits
3/4 (5.5-ounce) box vanilla cookies, crushed and crumbled (I used a food processor)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spray a 9- by- 13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, at medium speed, mix the sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, vanilla sugar, oil, eggs, and potato starch until you have a smooth batter.

Pour into prepared pan and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, toss the cinnamon, butter or margarine, crushed cookies, brown sugar, and sugar. Use your fingers to pinch into coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle the crumbs on top of the cake and return to the oven to bake for an additional 35 minutes.