How you doin’? I have a great idea for your 4th of July backyard picnic. It seems that every region of the United States has a “boil” of some sort—New England has a lobster boil, Maryland has a crab boil, Louisiana has a crawfish boil, the Carolina’s have their shrimp boil and in California, we mix things up to make a seafood and sausage boil—and I love it. Though it may look complicated at first glance, please read through the entire recipe. It really is quick and easy “plug and play” Instant Pot holiday recipe. You will need a 6-quart Instant Pot— you may need two, depending on the number of people invited—and a very long extension cord to reach out to the backyard. Plug in your Instant Pot and get ready to Play with your food! A seafood boil can be served as-is, but many people like to add a few side dishes to round out the meal—green salad, French or sourdough bread, coleslaw or potato salad. You can feed about four hungry people with this recipe and it can be ready in 30 minutes. Before you start mixing herbs and spices, read down the ChefSecret for a simple, zesty spice mixture. This recipe is sized for a 6-quart Instant Pot. By the way, a few things I learned going down this path.
Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 1-minute; Instant Pot will take about 10 to 15 minutes to come up to pressure. Yield: 4 big servings Ingredients For the homemade boil seasoning 2 teaspoons sea salt 1 teaspoon celery seed 2 teaspoons smoked paprika 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon onion powder 2 teaspoons dried parsley 1 teaspoon red chile flakes 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seed (optional, if you can find it.) 3 tablespoon minced garlic 1 seeded lemon, cut in quarters For the boil pot 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock 2 bay leaves 1-pound petite red potatoes, washed, halved 1-pound smoked sausage—mild or hot, sliced into 1/2" rounds 6 ears fresh corn, husked, cut into thirds 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1-pound shrimp, peeled and de-veined (21-25) 1/2-pound of clams or mussels 1-pound crawfish Directions
ChefSecret: If you like your boils on the Louisiana spicy side, you can save time shopping and mixing all the herbs and spice and use a bag of Zatarain's Crawfish, Shrimp & Crab Boil seasoning instead (it’s in a boil bag inside the box). Just drop the whole bag into the stock in the Instant Pot in place of the seasons, add 2 teaspoons of salt and an additional cup of stock. Your lips and tongue may sing a bit. #SeafoodBoil #Entrees #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #InstantPot #ComfortFoods #Lobster #Crawfish #Clams #Mussels #Zatarains #July4 #IndependenceDay
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(An Homage to Peter Luger Steak House Style Sauce-Brooklyn) How you doin’? As I write this blog my mouth is watering for a slice of Peter Luger’s Porterhouse Steak. You may have heard of it or if you travel to NYC often you might have gone there at least once. I had a friend who made Luger’s a once-a-week visit to satisfy his inner carnivore (definitely not a place for vegetarians). Due to the pandemic, the restaurant is currently closed for dine-in service, but they are making some items available for pick-up or delivery. Peter Luger is still the one and only “monument to meat” in Brooklyn. Since 1887 they have been serving buttery 26-day house-aged, USDA Prime Porterhouse Steaks. And then there is the service—all I can say is, “it’s Brooklyn” and the servers are “Noo Yawkers” who speak “Brooklynese.” Zagat defines the service, “… cantankerous career waiters in a “busy” “old-time” German beer hall setting.” This rough-and-tumble style only adds to the charm. The prices are steep even by New York standards. Bring a bundle of cash ‘cause they don’t take credit (debit cards are accepted, and credit cards are accepted for online ordering). The best deal, if you just want to kick the tires a bit, is the Peter Luger lunch burger. They grind the USDA steak trimmings from their prized dry aged porterhouse to make a no-fills, lunch-only burger for under 15 bucks. But as delicious as their beef is, I didn’t come here to talk about steaks—I want to talk about their sauce. Peter Luger Steak House Old Fashioned Sauce is an all-purpose condiment that is not only great on steak, but also as a salad dressing, on slabs of red ripe tomatoes and avocados, burgers, chicken and even a great base sauce for pizza. Like most things Luger, it is the best! They began bottling and selling their sauce after customers begged for it. The taste is somewhere between cocktail sauce (spicy with a touch of horseradish) and traditional steak sauce. I started hacking it nearly 20-years ago. Another plus… the sauce is fat-free. So, with great humility, I would like to share with you my hack on Peter Luger Steak House Old Fashioned Sauce. Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Cool time: 30 minutes Yield: 24 ounces Ingredients 12 ounces ketchup (I prefer Heinz) 4-3/4 ounces apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 3.75 ounces Worcestershire Sauce (I prefer Lea & Perrins) 2 tablespoons freshly minced white onion 1-1/2 tablespoons fresh, finely-grated horseradish Directions
ChefSecret: If you are running out of time, some supermarkets carry Peter Luger Sauce in the meat department—it is a bit pricey. #Sauce #Steak #PeterLuger #Dressing #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 How you doin’? I’m great, thank you! It’s my favorite day of the week—Happy Hour Friday! After a long hard week, our office staff used to go to one of several restaurants in West Los Angeles and have a couple of cocktails or a glass of wine and some nibblies. Sometimes we all just order dinner and ended the meal with a dessert cocktail, like a Chocolate Martini. Are you ready for a true Hollywood story? Here goes—The Chocolate Martini was invented in America in 1955. It evolved from a cocktail called the Martinez—the original Martini—served sometime in the early 1860s at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco. So, the Chocolate Martini is a recent innovation in comparison to other martinis. It was created by none other than the legendary Hollywood film stars, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor. These two were working together making the film Giant. Aside from being good friends they were also chocolate lovers. One night in Texas (sounds like the name of a movie), the two of them created the Chocolate Martini by mixing Hershey chocolate syrup (ick), a nondescript chocolate liqueur and vodka. One smart studio PR person thought it was a great story and an incredibly tasty drink and published the pictures. The rest of story is history as the Chocolate Martini attained popularity in America. There are many versions of a chocolate martini, but how many are made with real chocolate? Most use chocolate flavored syrups or chocolate liqueurs to add the chocolate flavor, however in my estimation only real chocolate keeps the martini’s taste clean, crisp and dry. If you like your martini extra dry (not sweet), then this recipe with dark chocolate does what it is supposed to do. Start by making your own chocolate base. Prep time: 20 minutes Yield: 2 cocktails Ingredients For the chocolate sauce 5 ounces water (I prefer spring water) 3 ounces dark chocolate (70%), broken into pieces 3 ounces light brown sugar For the cocktails Cubed ice 4 ounces of the chocolate sauce (see recipe above) 4 ounces gin or vodka (I prefer Hendrick’s Gin or Kettle One Vodka) 2 ounces dry vermouth (I prefer Noilly Prat White) Cocoa powder, for dusting (about a half teaspoon) Directions To make the chocolate sauce
#ChocolateMartini #Martini #Cocktails #Gin #Vodka #HappyHour #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #Ghirardelli #Guittard #ForbesChocolate #Hendricks #RockHudson #ElizabethTaylor #Giant How you doin’? The calendar is inching toward the Fourth of July. While we may have to forego the Independence Day parades, public fireworks displays and sporting events, we don’t have to give up our picnics, especially if they're in our own backyards—which is still probably the safest place to be. I’ve had a hand-crank ice cream maker since I was in college. Later, I splurged on an electric crank device. No difference in the quality of the finished consistency of the frozen dessert, as long as you just keep cranking. For Christmas a few years back, I received a self-contained Gelato Junior ice cream maker. While having a smaller churning container, the results were still excellent. My point is, you really have to screw up badly to make a bad batch of ice cream or frozen custard. Frozen Custard? That may be something new to you if you didn’t grow up in Wisconsin (think Gilles, Kitt’s, Kopp's, Leon’s and Culver’s in Milwaukee) or other mid-western states. So, what’s the difference between frozen custard and ice cream? Ice cream is made from milk, cream or a combination of the two. Frozen custard is made from milk, cream and egg yolks. Also, while the machine used to make ice cream churns air (called overrun) into it to make it have a lighter mouthfeel, frozen custard is produced in a machine that barely incorporates any additional air into it, which means it's way more smooth, dense, creamy and delicious. Follow the recipe below for the best Fourth of July frozen treat ever— smooth and creamy Dark Chocolate Frozen Custard Milwaukee-style. Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 5 minutes Chill time: 6 hours or overnight Churn time: 15 minutes Hard freeze time: 6 hours Yield: 8 servings, or maybe just 1 if it’s been a bad day Ingredients 2-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup whole milk 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder 1 or 2-ounces high-quality dark chocolate (64%), finely chopped 5 large egg yolks 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract Directions
ChefSecret: The secret ingredient for an ever-so-rich Dark Chocolate Custard is Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Dark Chocolate and Cocoa Powder. Guittard and Forbes have similar ingredients, but they may be a little bit more difficult to find. Make it your own by adding chocolate chips, marshmallow or nuts or make ice cream sandwiches—yummmmm! #Custard #IndependenceDay #July4 #IceCream #Gilles #Leons #Kitts #Kopps #Culvers #Dessert #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 How you doin? Its cherry season… get ‘em while they’re fresh! My Cherry Pie recipe would make George Washington a believer—no lie! It is a not-to-sweet rich, ruby-red cherry pie, with just a hint of almond flavor and a modest cinnamon halo all baked inside a flaky yet crisp crust. The cherries play peek-a-boo through the lattice crust. Cherry pie is a pie baked with a cherry filling, of course. Cherry pies should be made with tart rather than sweet cherries. Morello cherries are ones I use (but you can use other varieties if available—you may have to adjust the sugar level so the filling isn’t too sweet). English history credits making the first cherry pie to Queen Elizabeth I. Pies came to America with the English settlers. The early colonists cooked their pies in long narrow pans calling them "coffins" like the crust in England. As in the Roman times, the early American pie crusts were not eaten, but simply designed to hold the filling during baking—what a waste of a good crust. Prep time: 30 minutes Bake time: 55-60 minutes Cool time: 45 minutes Yield: 8 servings Ingredients For the pie filling 1-1/4 cups granulate sugar 1/3 cup cornstarch 1 cup cherry juice blend (apple-cherry juice is just fine) 5 to 6 cups fresh tart cherries, pitted 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 double-crust pastry For the pastry 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup shortening (see ChefSecret) 5 to 7 tablespoons cold water Directions
ChefSecret: Personally, I use a combination of shortenings (fats) for my pie crusts—1/3 cup cold butter and 1/3 cup lard. This makes a buttery, crisp crust. You can also use a hard vegetable shortening like Crisco. Do you want to cut down on the time and complexity of making a crust? Just buy a ready-made crust found in the refrigerated section at your supermarket. #Dessert #CherryPie #GeorgeWashington #Baking #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 |
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