Back to School Lunches with Chef David Guas

Whether it’s preparing kids’ lunches for the new school year or coming up with another creative idea to bring to the office, panic sets in.  To the rescue is honey lover and chef David Guas of Bayou Bakery in Arlington, VA, who will ease your lunchtime meal planning worries.  As an award-winning pastry chef, a cookbook author and father of two, Chef Guas uses honey as his go-to secret ingredient for his kids’ lunches and the entire family.  As a pure, natural ingredient, honey enhances the flavor of any recipe and is incredibly versatile in sweet and savory dishes.

In celebration of “National Honey Month,” Guas shares his top honey tips, as well as his recipe for Crunchy Honey Toasted Almond Spread, perfect on toast, in sandwiches or on top of celery or crackers.  Kids and adults alike will love the playful component of smooth and crunchy – and it’s a great snack item for school or the workplace.
 
David Guas’ top honey tips…

• Using different varietals of honey can accent any dish from making it floral and light to rich and smooth. Be adventurous and playful, and explore the many choices of honey.  In his own cabinet, Guas has more than 25 selections from across the country and not one tastes the same.
• Honey is a key component in Chef Guas’ homemade salad dressings. It acts as a stabilizer and the dressings seem to maintain a fresh-tasting quality after it remains in the refrigerator for an extended amount of time.
• When using honey in an ice cream-based recipe, the honey acts as an anti-freeze, which lends to the final consistency being smooth and free of any crystallization.

Chef David Guas Honey Recipes

Honey BBQ Pulled Chicken on Buttermilk Biscuits - (Makes 8 servings)

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 chicken legs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 4 cups Honey BBQ Sauce, divided (recipe below)
• 8 Buttermilk Biscuits (recipe below)

Heat oven to 375°F. Combine flour with spices and salt in a shallow bowl; dredge chicken in flour mixture. Heat a 16-inch cast iron skillet on medium-high heat; add oil. Place chicken in skillet, skin-side down, and brown well. Turn and cook 2-3 minutes on flesh side. Place skillet in oven for about 15 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, heat a stove-top grill. Remove chicken from skillet; place in a large mixing bowl and toss with 3 cups Honey BBQ Sauce until well coated. Place chicken on grill, skin-side down, and cook 3-4 minutes or until chicken is crisp and sauce is sticky. Refrigerate until cold.

With a fork or your hands, pull chicken meat from bones. Mix chicken with 1 cup Honey BBQ Sauce, using a wooden spoon or your hands to break up chicken and mix it thoroughly into the sauce. With a serrated bread knife, cut biscuits in half horizontally. Place about 1/4 cup pulled chicken on bottom of each biscuit and cover with top half of biscuit.

 

Honey BBQ Sauce - (Makes about 2 quarts)

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 cups chopped sweet onions
• 1 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers
• 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups honey
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• Salt
• Cracked black pepper
• Cayenne pepper

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, peppers and parsley; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent. Add tomato sauce, honey, orange juice, wine, vinegar, lemon juice and garlic; cover and simmer on low heat for 1 hour. Add Worcestershire sauce and season with salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Simmer, covered, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  Purée with a hand-held blender or transfer sauce to a blender and blend on medium speed for 1 minute.

 

Buttermilk Biscuits - (Makes 8 biscuits)

• 2 1/4 cups White Lily flour (not self-rising), or all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• About 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Heat oven to 375°F. Place 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add cold butter and process for 10 one-second pulses or until pieces of butter are no bigger than small peas. Transfer flour mixture to a large bowl and add 3/4 cup buttermilk, incorporating it into the dry ingredients with your hand in a circular motion. Add more buttermilk as needed just until dough comes together.

On a work surface dusted with 1/4 cup flour, roll dough to 1-inch thickness. With a 2-1/4 inch biscuit cutter, cut out as many biscuits as you can and place on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Gently bring dough scraps together and press to 1-inch thickness. Cut out as many biscuits as you can, place them on the baking sheet, and discard scraps.

Brush tops of biscuits with buttermilk and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove biscuits from oven and brush with melted butter.

 

Honey Bee Cupcakes - (Makes 2 dozen cupcakes)

VANILLA BEAN CUPCAKES

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 6 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk
• Burnt Honey Buttercream (recipe below)

Heat oven to 325°F. Line muffin pans with 24 paper cupcake liners. Sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda; add salt. Combine butter, sugar, vanilla bean (seeds only) and vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium high speed with paddle attachment for about 3 minutes.

Reduce speed to low and add eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is completely mixed in before adding the next.  Add flour mixture on low speed in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk in 3 additions. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pans. Bake about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cupcakes comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool completely; frost with Burnt Honey Buttercream.

BURNT HONEY BUTTERCREAM

• 1/3 cup Tupelo or wildflower honey
• 1/3 cup water
• 8 egg yolks
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 pound unsalted butter, softened

In a saucepan, bring honey to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until honey begins to smoke slightly. Immediately remove from heat; slowly add 2 tablespoons water. In the bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment, whisk egg yolks for 3 to 4 minutes. Add sugar and remaining water to honey mixture and cook over high heat until temperature reaches 240°F on a candy thermometer (soft ball stage). Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle honey mixture down the side of the bowl into egg yolks. Continue to whisk at a medium speed for about 5 minutes or until mixture is thick and cool. Whisk in butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, until incorporated.

 

“Crunchy” Honey Toasted Almond Spread

Almond Butter - (Yields 2 cups of almond butter)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups roasted almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, kosher
• 1 each vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 5 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• 2 tablespoons honey

Procedure:
Toast the almonds by spreading them in a thin layer on a baking sheet at 325°F for about 12-15 minutes. Stir a couple of times to ensure even roasting. Combine the almonds (warm), vanilla bean meat and salt in a food processor and process until the nuts are ?nely ground. Add the oil while blending and continue processing until the almond butter reaches your desired degree of smoothness, adding more oil if necessary. Add honey, blend for approximately 30 seconds more. Store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. Almond Butter

Honey-Almond Crunch - (Yields 3 cups of crunch)

This recipe, featuring clover honey, sliced almonds, and corn flakes, is fun for kids to cook and snack on.  The recipe yields enough for 6-8 small hands.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2-1/2 cups corn flakes

Procedure:
Combine almonds, honey, butter, and salt in a 10-inch sauté pan over medium heat.  Stirring constantly, cook until almonds and honey begin to take on an amber color. Remove from heat and stir in corn flakes. Pour out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and allow to cool for approximately 5-10 minutes.  Store in an air-tight container for up to 3-4 days.

Assembly:
English Muffin/Toast: Spread the almond butter on top of the toast or English muffin then sprinkle Honey-Almond Crunch on top.

Sandwich: Spread the almond butter on the bread, add sliced bananas and sprinkle with Honey-Almond Crunch.

Vegetable Snack: Stuff 2 tablespoons of almond butter into celery sticks and top with Honey-Almond Crunch. Makes a great kids snack and carrots can be substituted or used in addition to the celery.

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