Webster’s Definition of Guacamole: A popular Mexican specialty of mashed avocado mixed with lemon or time juice and various seasonings (usually chili powder and red pepper) Sometimes finely chopped tomato, green onion and cilantro are added. Guacamole can be used as a dip, sauce, topping or side dish. It must be covered closely and tightly to prevent discoloration.

My definition: Yummy – when made right.

This past weekend, since I had an extra day, I made sure to do as much cooking as the wife would allow me to do. On Saturday I decided to put together some [tag]guacamole[/tag] and then nachos for dinner. Not exactly gourmet food, but tasty and satisfying nontheless.

Nick’s Guacamole
Ingredients

• 3-4 Large Haas Avacados (or 5-6 small) – Make sure they are ripe
• 1 medium red onion
• 2 limes
• 2-3 Fresh Jalapenos
• Salt (I used coarse kosher)
• Pepper (fresh ground)

Also, I had originally planned on adding some fresh chopped cilantro, but the wife picked up parsley instead. Recipe turned out fine without it, but you can make it either way.

Step 1: Cubing the Avocados

Slice your avocado lenthwise, and then twist to seperate the two sides.
Carefully, cut your avocado (still in skin) crosswise into small cubes.

Now, using a spoon, you can easily scoop out the cubes from the avocado. This really helps speed up the process and it’s a snap to do.

Step 2: Chopping the Onion & Jalapeno

Chop your onion and seeded jalapenos finely.

Step 3: Putting it together

I didn’t get a photo of one step. Prior to adding all the ingredients together, you need to mash the avocados with a potato masher, but not too much, as you will do some additional mashing when you add in the other ingredients.

In this step, add all the onions, jalapenos, salt & pepper, as well as the juice of one lime. Mix well.

Step 4: Guacamole

Now, since I hate tomatoes, I made my batch without. But if you like them, then mix in some fresh chopped tomatoes last. You don’t want them watering down the guac too much.

Nachos
Below are the Nachos I made, topped with the Guacamole from above.

By Tony Kindelspire
The Daily Times-Call

You’ve heard of concept restaurants? Two years ago, that’s all Dragon Wingz Gourmet Hot Wingz was — a concept.

Chris Andre and his wife, Terri Koleber, didn’t have any restaurant experience, but they had a plan: open a hot wings restaurant in Firestone, near where they lived, and then open another in Longmont.

“One restaurant’s a job, and with two restaurants you’re making money,” Andre said of his thinking at the time.

The couple brought in Mark Wolfe as a consultant. Wolfe had assisted with hundreds of restaurant openings during his years in the business, and had a decade of experience working with wings shops.

One of the original concepts of Dragon Wingz was to offer what Koleber calls their “mega-sauce collection” — nearly 50 different varieties of sauce to choose from.

Another part of the concept that was almost a happy accident is that Dragon Wingz uses only Maverick Ranch all-natural, free-range chicken. Credit Wolfe with that one.

A fan of one of the morning shows on Denver radio, Wolfe was attending a “Live Audience Friday” event hosted by the station, and Maverick Ranch was catering the event.

Wolfe instantly fell in love with the meat, and a few days later Dragon Wingz signed a contract with Maverick.

“They had been doing chicken for stores, but nobody would buy the wings,” Wolfe said.

Now, Dragon Wingz buys them to the tune of 800 to 1,000 pounds a week. “In football season it’ll probably jump to 4,000 pounds of wings a week,” said Wolfe, who reverently speaks of Super Bowl Sunday as “the day of all days.”

The Firestone restaurant stayed open about nine months, but the trio finally gave up on the town when they were denied a liquor license. Town fathers viewed Dragon Wingz as a fast-food restaurant and saw no need for such a place to sell cold beer.

The Longmont location, in the Fox Creek Village shopping center at 17th Avenue and Pace Street, opened last month.

The owners are hoping to make business even better after this weekend, when they and other businesses in the center host a grand opening party.

Technically, Dragon Wingz is fast food, but in the literal sense, not in the McDonald’s-Burger King-KFC sense.

“We bake it first and then we fry it,” said Wolfe. “Most wing places fry their wings to cook them. We don’t. We bake them.”

After 20 to 25 minutes of baking, the wings are put into a fryer for about three minutes to “crisp up.” After that, they are promptly coated in one of the many sauces in a variety of categories: traditional, barbecue, Asian, Caribbean, mustard, hot and even fruity.

For any sauce that rates four or five peppers on the heat scale, customers are required to taste it first, Koleber said, adding that the rule had to be put in place after too many overconfident customers ordered hot sauces thinking they could take the heat, only to discover they were out of their league.

Only two sauces, “Harold’s Dangerously Hot” and “Semper Fry,” have a rating of five peppers, but that doesn’t stop people from trying them.

“You get the posturing with the high school kids, of who can eat the hottest sauce,” Wolfe said.

“I think they’re trying out for the role of alpha sauce taster,” adds Koleber.

Part of Koleber’s job is to track down the sauce producers — offering the ones she likes shelf space to sell bottles of their sauce, as well as a spot on the menu. Magazines such as “Fiery Foods” and “Chili Pepper” are good sources, she said.

Most of the sauce brands aren’t recognizable, but that’s by design, Koleber said.

“Some of the big-name companies were not willing to come through,” she said. “I think that all of these small-business saucemakers realize that small businesses have to stick together.”

Aside from being director of operations, Wolfe also holds the title of director of franchising. The franchise concept has been there all along, he said, because of Dragon Wingz’ simple approach to its business practices.

So far, franchising inquiries have come in from Loveland, Texas and Montana, Wolfe said, adding that franchise fees are approximately $200,000 and require a 10-year commitment.

The owners are taking their time in choosing franchisees, he said, but everything from the chicken and sauce distribution network they’ve established to the method of cooking and serving the customers make it “primed for franchising,” he said.

“We took the KISS concept” — keep it simple, stupid — “to a new level,” Wolfe said.

Tony Kindelspire can be reached at 303-684-5291, or by e-mail at tkindelspire@times-call.com.

COALS
1888 EASTCHESTER ROAD
718-823-7002

Chef Bill Etzel first tried grilled pizza in New England, and he was hooked. The former librbarian convinced his childhood friend to open a restaurant devoted to it. 5 months ago thier dream became a reality when they opened Coals right across from the Albert Einstein college of medicine, in the Morris Park section of the Bronx.

There are nine kinds of pizza on the menu plus a daily special, and they all start with Bill’s secret dough that uses a bit of whole wheat.

Firecracker Pizza

Ingredients:
Pizza dough (from local pizza place or made from scratch)
1/2 cup bel paese cheese
1/2 cup fresh tomato sauce
1/4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
1/2 cup corn kernels
2 tbls roasted jalapeno olive oil (specialty food stores)
1 tsp chopped parsley
2 tbls olive oil

Instructions:
Use 1 cup of rolled dough.
Press out till thin on cutting board (may need to use a little olive oil so it doesn’t stick)
Then add it right on top of hot grill (indoor grill or barbcue grill)
Within seconds it will bubble. Using tongs, check underside for char marks.
When visible, flip over to cooler side of grill brush with olive oil.
Drizzle bel paese, tomato sauce, pecorino romano, corn and jalapeno oil.
Move to hotter part of grill, add parsely. As oil starts to bubble, remove from grill.
Slice and serve. Serves 1 person