Tyler's Ultimate Tips

Tyler’s move to California inspired him to start cooking more simply. He is a fan of letting the "pure clean flavors from the best ingredients" shine. "What you’re cooking tastes like what it’s supposed to taste like and delivers flavor at the highest level," says Tyler.

"Spend quality time teaching your children an important life skill by cooking for your family at home," advises Tyler. If you teach your kids the basics "your kids will learn that pizza doesn’t come from a pizza tree, it’s actually a cooking technique." Introduce your kids to the art of pizza with Tyler's Margherita Pizza Recipe.

A great antipasto platter is easy and "it breaks the ice," says Tyler. "It gets everybody right into the party." Also, "it doesn’t take anything fancy, it’s all about the technique." You get a little of everything: salty, sweet and savory.

Toss fresh arugula over pizza or add a squeeze of fresh lemon. Tyler adds a lot of fresh herbs to his recipes. If your dish includes fennel, add the fennel fronds as well "don’t throw this out, all this stuff has great flavor," suggests Tyler.

Experiment with your leafy greens. Tyler serves Creamed Swiss Chard instead of spinach alongside a perfectly seared steak.

Use herbed panko bread crumbs or garnish dishes with crispy fried herbs. "I’m big into texture," says Tyler. Add a browned herbed panko bread crumb topping steaks and chicken. Smash up herbs and oil in a mortar and pestle to release more flavor and add the oil to the panko. Tyler calls the mortar and pestle a "flavor weapon."

If you don’t have enough space, brown in batches. "Color equals flavor," says Tyler.