How you doin’? There is a famous song from Disney’s Mary Poppins…“Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.”  Well if that’s true, can you imagine what a little bit of chocolate can do! During our time under house arrest, chocolate can be used as a mood elevator that carries us through the long days. I think it should be mandatory to have at least 1-ounce of chocolate every day.
 
This all comes from an email I got from Mark Spini, the VP of Sales at Guittard Chocolate, telling me how much he looks forward to the recipe blog. This reminded me that I haven’t shared any of our great Choclatique recipes with this audience. So, here it comes, one of my all-time favorites—Mmmm… Chocolate Mousse Pie.
 
This is going to become your go-to chocolate dessert from now on. It’s simple to make and Mmmm… so yummy to eat!  It is sky-high and simply scrumptious—one of the best fluffy chocolate delights to serve for any dessert occasion—or for no occasion at all. You can put the pie together in a wink and a nod and it will disappear just as fast! You can substitute a store-bought chocolate or graham cracker crust and just mound the filling within and let it cool. As a bonus, add a couple of tablespoons of shaved chocolate as a fancy sprinkle on top.
 
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Bake Time: 5 minutes
Cool Time: 5 hours
Ready In: 6 hours
Yield: 1 9-inch pie
 
Ingredients:
For the crust
Butter (to grease the springform pan)
20 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed (I use Oreos)
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
 
For the filling
1 cup heavy cream
12 ounces dark chocolate chips (I use Guittard)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
1/4 cup granulated sugar
 
For the topping
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
2 tablespoon of orange liqueur (Grand Marnier)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
 
Directions:
To make the crust

1. Preheat an oven to 350ºF.
2. Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the crushed cookies, almond extract and softened butter and press mixture evenly around the bottom and up the edges of the springform pan.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove and allow the crust to thoroughly cool.

To make the filling

1. In a microwave-safe bowl combine 1 cup cream, chocolate chips, vanilla extract and salt; heat in 15 second burst until chocolate is fully melted and mixture is smooth.  The chocolate chips will not change shape until you mix. Do not burn. 
2. Set the chocolate mixture aside to cool completely to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
3. In a large bowl, beat 2 cups chilled cream with 1/4 cup sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form.
4. Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture.
5. Gently spoon the blended chocolate mixture into cooled crust.
6. Chill the pie for at least 5 hours before serving.

To make the topping 

1. Just before serving, beat remaining 1 cup chilled cream with orange liqueur and 1/4 cup sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form.
2. Before serving spoon a dollop of whipped cream on top of each piece. 

#ChocolateMousse #Pie #Mousse #Choclatique #Guittard #Dessert #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19

How you doin’? I feel like such a bobble head as we have been going through such a ruf time. I have remembered to help everyone with some interesting and helpful recipes to save both time and money but have overlooked poor Rover.

Let me start from the beginning. Have you ever asked your dog, do you want a cookie? The reaction is usually immediate recognition and in-your-face panting. Even when Max (the fattest dog in the world) was in his twilight years, he could still hear a cookie break a hundred yards away. Max’s brother, Snickers (the sweetest, but dumbest dog in the world) had a skin allergy and would only eat chicken liver pâté that I made most weekends. Max, on the other hand, would anything— except green peas— and had serious lust for Trader Joe’s peanut butter dog snacks… that was before the invention of Max’s Doggie Walking Treats. 
 
What Max and Snickers (and many other dogs in this world) had in common is what we called a love of walking treats. They knew that the early morning walk was always rewarded with Max’s Doggie Walking Treats. So, this one is for all the wonderful, loyal canines out there who have dutifully been keeping you company while you are home on lockdown sharing their space and time. Arf, arf, arf!
 
Prep time:  30 minutes
Bake time:  3-hours 30 minutes
Cool time:  20 minutes
Yield:  50 doggie treats
 
Ingredients
 For the treat
16 ounces sliced bacon, uncooked, cut into 1-inch wide pieces
16 ounces liver or other organ meat, uncooked, cut in to 1/2-inch pieces (I used chicken livers)
3.75 ounces fine corn meal
12.75 ounces all-purpose flour
8 ounces chicken stock or whatever stock you have on hand
 
For the glaze
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoons egg white
 
Directions

1. Position the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
2. Preheat an oven to 250⁰F.
3. Line two baking sheet pans with parchment paper.
4. Cut bacon into 1-inch pieces and set aside.
5. Cut liver or organ meat into 1/2-inch pieces and set aside.
6. In a small bowl, combine ketchup and egg to make the dog treat glaze: set aside.
7. Using a large sauté pan over high heat, cook the bacon for about 10 minutes, until the fat is fully rendered the bacon is a rich golden brown.
8. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain the pieces on paper towels.
9. Pour off most of the bacon fat and add the liver/organ meat to the same pan.
10. Sauté, turning the liver and pressing it slightly with the back of a spoon until it's broken down into a paste and remove from the heat. If you're using other organ meat that doesn't break down, cook the bits well.
11. Place the cooked bacon in a food processor and pulse to grind it.
12. Add the cooked livers or organ meat to the bacon and process to combine.
13. Add the cornmeal and process until you have a coarse mixture.
14. Transfer the mixture to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and slowly add the flour and mix to combine.
15. Slowly pour in the chicken stock and mix until the dough begins to pull together around the paddle and feels moist to the touch.
16. Press the dough between your fingers. The dough should feel moist enough to hold together, but not gummy. The dough will feel smooth and a little elastic but should roll easily without sticking.
17. Remove the dough from the mixer and knead it just enough to combine. You may need to add more flour to keep it from sticking.
18. Roll out the dough to about 1/3 inch thick.
19. Using your favorite dog themed cutter, cut out the treats.
20. Arrange them on the prepared sheet pans. The cookies will not spread in the oven so add more than usual.
21. Knead the trimmings together, roll out again, and cut out as many treats as possible.
22. Bake at 250⁰ F until the treats are completely dry, about 3 hours (1-1/2 hours in a convection oven).
23. Remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 200⁰ F.
24. Brush the glaze over warm treats just out of the oven.
25. Return the pans to the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the glaze has set.
26. Place the pans on a cooling rack and cool for 5-10 minutes, then transfer the treats to the rack to cool completely.
27. The treats keep well stored in a covered container for up to 1 month.
    

#DogTreats #PamperedPets #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #CanineComfortFoods

How you doin’? It’s Happy Hour Friday!  In a few hours I’ll be pulling up a lounge chair on my patio to get ready for another Covid-19 happy hour date night. The warmer weather has arrived in Southern California and while still locked in, I might as well have a cocktail or two. If you haven’t already heard, alcohol consumption in the United States is up over 250% since the coronavirus lock down. If you’re going to have a few cocktails remember to call Uber or Lyft.
 
DRINK RESPONSIBLY… DON’T DRIVE BUZZED!
 
Okay, the temperatures are reaching into the high 80s and mid-90s which is a great excuse for summertime, warm weather cocktails. When I think of warm weather cocktails, the Daiquiri comes to mind as one of the most common and popular.
 
The Daiquiri represents an obvious marriage between local Caribbean island ingredients—rum, sugar, limes— and American technology—cocktail shaker and ice. The Daiquiri caught on around the Caribbean during Prohibition and then grew in popularity in the States during the second World War, when rum was easy to get but whiskey wasn't. It is said that John F. Kennedy drank a Daiquiri the night he was elected president. So, drink up… you're in good company.
 
The Daiquiri was also the preferred drink of Ernest Hemingway. The old man and the sea author used to hang out at the El Floridita bar in Havana and drink Daiquiris—lots of them. One afternoon, he was said to have broken the El Floridita record by drinking 17 Daiquiris. He didn't drink his with sugar, just a double shot of rum. And that, my intoxicated friend, is how the Papa Doble, or Hemingway Daiquiri, was invented.
 
Hemingway is long gone, but El Floridita still lives on in his image, literally; the bar is decked out with pictures and statues in his likeliness. There's also a sign there that reads "La Cuna Del Daiquiri"—the cradle of the Daiquiri.
 
You don't even need to get out the blender, though the Daiquiri is most often seen in slushie form, often injected with strawberry flavoring--ick! It's really a simple, strained cocktail. The three ingredients are shaken over ice and then strained into a chilled cocktail glass straight up.
 
All the ingredients are of tropical descent—the Caribbean islands (ya mon), so it's fair to categorize the Daiquiri as a drink best served under palm leaves. But with sugar, rum for earthy sweetness and fresh lime juice for tart counterbalance, it's always good, regardless of locale. And all you really need for it besides what you have stocked in the kitchen is a bottle of really good white rum.
 
You don’t have to be a trained baresta to make a Daiquiri. Here's the road map to make this essential, indomitable “classic” rum cocktail.
 
Ingredients
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon superfine sugar
2 oz. fine white rum
Lime wheel garnish
 
Directions
 Squeeze the lime into a shaker, stir in the sugar, then add rum.  Shake well with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Cheers!
 
ChefSecret:  Classic rum drinks are plentiful in the Caribbean and around the world. Think Mojito—it, too, was a favorite of Hemingway—as was the Dark and Stormy. The Brazilian Caipirinha is like a Daiquiri on the rocks made with Brazil's Cachaça—a Rio rum from further south. And for another cocktail attributed to Hemingway that is wholly dissimilar from the Daiquiri, try Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon. It has absinthe and brut champagne.

#Rum #Daiquiri #Hemingway #ElFloridita #HappyHour #Cocktails #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19

Come stai? How you doin’? Aren’t you thoroughly impressed with my mastery of the I-talian language? Well fortunately, I cook Italian better than I speak the language. Italian food is more than just a bowl of meatballs and spaghetti.
 
Risotto is like a blank canvas—you can do just about everything with it—flavors, add-ins and textures. This recipe, Instant Pot Italian Risotto, is one of my favorites. For this version I used medium sized peeled and deveined frozen shrimp.

I like to use frozen shrimp that has been left out on the counter for 30 minutes or so to slack out a little before adding them into the cooked risotto at the very end. See the directions later in this recipe.
 
Let me explain the less-than-perfect photo image. I forgot to take the picture when it was originally plated up. So, what you’re seeing is a bowl that has been already been half devoured. Sorry about that… it looked so good I just couldn’t wait.
 
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20-25 minutes
Yield:  4 servings
 
Ingredients
4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine (cheap white wine works well)
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup finely grated fontina cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1-1/2 cups medium-sized peeled/deveined frozen shrimp (slacked out for 30 minutes).
 
Directions

1. Heat the broth in the microwave until it is hot. This is to avoid pouring it into the Instant Pot when it is cold.
2. While the broth is warming, chop the shallot and grate the cheeses (so they are ready when needed).
3. Set the Instant Pot to SAUTÉ and melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and add the olive oil. Add the chopped shallot and sweat it until fragrant and beginning to soften, about 4 MINUTES.
4. Add the rice to the pressure cooker and stir until every grain is coated with the butter and oil. Continue stirring the rice until the edges have turned translucent but the center is still opaque and starts to lightly, about 5 MINUTES.
5. Turn OFF the SAUTÉ function and add the white wine, scraping to remove any bits and stuck rice. Continue to stir until most of the wine has evaporated, about 4 MINUTES.
6. Add the heated broth, secure the lid, and set the cooker to MANUAL, HIGH, and dial down the time to 6 MINUTES. The pot should take about 4 MINUTES to come to pressure.
7. Immediately release the pressure using a QUICK RELEASE. Carefully remove the lid and, using oven mitts, remove the insert from the cooker to prevent overcooking.
8. Add the shrimp, 1 tablespoon of butter and the cheeses quickly, stirring to combine and taste. Add salt and pepper, as desired.
9. Serve the risotto immediately.

ChefSecret:  The longer the finished risotto stands, the more the starches and cheeses will set, and you'll lose the creamy silkiness.
#Risotto #Shrimp #Entrees #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #InstantPot #ComfortFoods

How you doin’? I’m feeling great today, but whenever I have an off day, get frustrated or even mildly depressed, I like to cook and bake (of course, I also like to bake when I’m happy, too!). Doing something constructive with my hands just makes me feel good. There is nothing better to relieve tension than to knead a dough ball while making bread or mix a beautiful batter and watch it bake.

I am excellent cook (even if I do say so myself) and consider myself a pretty good baker—which means I bake from scratch at least once a week. More often than not, I try not to use a boxed mix, a pre-made batter, puck or the refrigerated Poppin’ Fresh tube. In my book, Choclatique—150 Simply Elegant Desserts—Running Press, I demonstrate how easy it is to make great desserts from scratch. I just feel mixing a few ingredients together makes a huge difference in the taste and really doesn't take that much longer.

Before I go shopping at the store, I always try to take inventory of what’s in my pantry, refrigerator and freezer. I hate to miss something lurking in the corner that may end up going bad and having to be tossed out. Somewhere behind the 3-year old cans of tuna and the water chestnuts lurks a box of 2-year old cake mix. I don’t know how it got there, but there it is. Do I toss it out? Not on your life.
 
The best way to improve your 2-year old (probably out-of-code) box cake mix and make it taste like a cake made-from-scratch is… don’t follow the directions on the box.
 
Start by whisking in 1 teaspoon of freshly purchased baking powder. Don’t use the baking powder that’s been on the shelf—well, forever. Next, replace the vegetable oil with almost the same amount of melted butter. Not only does it improve the moisture and texture, but the butter adds an amazing buttery flavor to your almost-ancient cake mix. Just for the record, butter actually has fewer calories per tablespoon than oil.

You will need this handy-dandy guide to replacing oil with unsalted melted butter. Cut along the dotted line and put it in a place where you will remember it even after the pandemic is over.
 
ChefSecret:  Your cake mix doesn’t have to be old, out of code or showing signs of dinosaur DNA—it can be a new, just-purchased box of any flavor of Betty’s best, Duncan’s finest or even a store brand—my butter and baking powder work on the new stuff as well.

#Cake #Baking #Choclatique #Dessert #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #RunningPress