How you doin’? We are always trying to make things a little easier for you or whomever is making dinner tonight, and today’s recipe demonstrates that. When we think about summer, we think about lighting up the barbecue—and that “a man’s job.” Now don’t send me a lot of emails saying that’s a sexist comment—this is backed up by research and years of advertising from the manufacturers of charcoal briquettes and BBQ grills. According to Pew Research, women prepare the meals 80% of the time and since nobody likes to cook in a hot kitchen during the summer, women shrewdly turn the grilling duties over to the barbecue master (editor’s note: hey, if a fancy title is needed to get the job done, so be it). Fewer pots and pans to wash and no hot kitchen to slave in. So, no emails, please. Shrimp and Couscous Foil Packets is an easy dinner in a onesie! These summery packets contain layers of couscous, uncooked, peeled and deveined medium sized shrimp and a sweet and citrusy mango avocado salsa. It's a light Caribbean meal that will blow your family— and guests when they’re allowed—away! Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 12 to 15 minutes Total time: 32 minutes Yield: 4 servings Ingredients Food release cooking spray (Pam) 6 oz spinach (about 8 cups), washed and drained, roughly chopped 1-1/3 cups couscous, uncooked (not pearl couscous) 1-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1-1/4-pounds medium shrimp (21-25’s), raw peeled and deveined 3-1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided (a portion for the salsa) 2-1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided (a portion for the salsa) 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, divided (a portion for the salsa) 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon ground cumin For the salsa 1 large mango, peeled and diced 1 large avocado, peeled and diced 1 medium vine ripe tomato, diced 1/3 cup chopped red onion, rinsed and drained Cilantro (from above) Directions
ChefSecret: There is no need to precook the couscous as it will cook just fine on the barbie.
What else can you do in foil packets? Sliced sausages and most vegetables and anything with flaky fish and chicken tenders work well. Try Garlic & Herb Artichoke Salmon Packets, Cheesy Ham & Potato Packets, Tomato-Herb Grilled Tilapia Packets, Lemon-Dill Salmon Packets, Sliced Italian Sausage and Zucchini Packets. #Couscous #Mango #Grilling #Shrimp #Entrees #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19
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How you doin’? The Nashvillians are coming! And that’s a good thing if you really “need” some hot fried chicken. I can’t quite remember when the invasion started in SoCal, but several restaurants popped up selling Nashville “Hot” Fried Chicken at almost the same time. This chicken is not just good, it is addictive… it has that “come back flavor” you crave. One of the best hot chicken joints I’ve found is the country-style chicken at Howlin’ Rays. Growing up in Los Angeles, Johnny “Ray” Zone paid his dues. He worked in some of the most prestigious kitchens around under chefs such as Thomas Keller, Gordon Ramsay and Nobu Matsuhisa and he learned how to cook a chicken. It wasn’t until a trip to Nashville, though, that Johnny created the Howlin’ Ray’s hot chicken concept. Some of the hot chicken restaurants don’t give you a choice on how hot is hot. At Ray’s you have a choice--Country, no heat; Mild, brush of heat; Medium, feel the burn; Hot, burn, baby, burn: X-Hot, you've been warned and Howlin', can't touch this 10++ Now with all the time on our hands you can make your own Nashville “Hot” chicken and you can control the amount of heat yourself. Here’s how to give it a start. So, let’s get started. This recipe will yield a "Medium" hot result... adjust the spices and hot sauce to your liking. Prep time: 20 minutes Marinate time: overnight or up to 24 hours Fry time: 15-20 minutes Rest time: 15 minutes Ingredients 1 whole chicken (3–4-pounds), patted dry and quartered To make the dry rub 2 tablespoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon mustard powder 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon white pepper To make the batter 2 cups whole milk 2 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons kosher salt Peanut oil, for frying (enough so that the pieces are under the oil when frying) Directions To marinate the chicken
ChefSecret: It’s always best to use a food thermometer to check for doneness.
How you doin’? It’s Happy Hour time! Do you know where the term happy hour comes from? The words "happy" and "hour" have appeared together for centuries when describing pleasant times. In Act I, Scene 2 of William Shakespeare's King Henry V, he says, "Therefore, my lords, omit no happy hour/That may give furtherance to our expedition..." The use of the phrase "happy hour," to refer to a scheduled period of entertainment is also of a more recent vintage. One possible contemporary origin of the term "Happy Hour," in the sense of a scheduled period of entertainment, is from the United States Navy. In June 1913, the crew of Arkansas had started referring to their regularly scheduled smokers as "Happy Hours." The "Happy Hours" included a variety of entertainment, including boxing and wrestling matches, music, dancing, and movies. By the end of World War I, the practice of holding "Happy Hours" had spread throughout the entire Navy and was moving closer to the heartland of America. The idea of drinking before dinner had its roots in the Prohibition era. When the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act were passed banning alcohol consumption, people hosted "cocktail hours", also known as "happy hours", at speakeasys before eating at restaurants where alcohol could not be served. Cocktail lounges continued the trend of drinking before dinner into today’s restaurant lexicon. In our restaurants, “happy hours” included 99¢ well drinks and mixed cocktails, free appetizers and light entertainment. One of the house favorites was the Old Fashioned. As cocktail recipes come and go by the season, the Old Fashioned seems to have remained and prospered. It represents everything a well-crafted cocktail should be—perfectly balanced. It’s simply the best, and you can easily make them tonight in the comfort of your own “quarantined” home. Making the perfect Old Fashioned is the essence of simplicity. A good American bourbon whiskey, a little sugar and a dash of bitters, stirred up with quality, clear ice and garnished with an orange peel — that’s all there is to it! So, here’s what you need and how to do it. Prep time: 3 minutes Yield: 1 Old Fashioned cocktail Ingredients 2 ounces bourbon whiskey 1/4-ounce simple syrup 2 dashes Angostura bitters 1 large clear ice cube Orange peel, for garnish Directions
ChefSecret: There is one female bartender who makes a killer Old Fashioned at Eataly in Century City, California… sorry, I didn’t catch her name. When in SoCal, after the “lock-down” is over, try the roof top bar, you won’t be disappointed. I wanted to know how popular an Old Fashioned is around the country. I consulted my special liquor consultant—Google—to see how it still stacks up. Here’s what I found (see list below). How does this stack up to what you and your friends are drinking right now? Let me know, we want to hear your comments. How you doin’? Just think, today is one day closer to getting all this behind us… the coronavirus that is, plenty of other stuff to work on to improve the state of our human condition. I was thinking the other day how could advanced civilizations like the Incas and Aztecs simply disappear from the face of the earth? I’ve watched lots of shows on the Discovery Channel that speculate that it was caused by war, famine, water shortage or the collapse of agriculture—but maybe it was just a pandemic. Who knows? Too much to ponder this early in the morning—let’s talk about cookies. I’ve been working on a project with a Kelly—he’s the COO at Algood Food Company in Louisville, Kentucky. Kelly told me he wanted to make the Oatmeal Cookies from a previous recipe blog, but that his wife has a sensitivity to gluten. He wanted to know what I could suggest. So, we came up with a Flourless Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie that the whole family could enjoy. A couple of years ago we developed a line of baked good for the National Peanut Board to be used by Yale University’s foodservice department. Our research developments discovered that peanut flour and peanut butter can be used to substitute all-purpose flour in some baking recipes. So here you go Kelly and “Mrs. Kelly” and the whole Kelly family—happy baking! No one will ever believe these chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are baked without flour and are gluten-free. Flourless Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Total time: 20 minutes Yield: 20 large cookies Ingredients 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup creamy peanut butter 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 3 cups old-fashioned quick-cooking oats (be sure they are gluten-free oats if you want the cookies to be gluten-free) 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or peanuts 1 cup dark chocolate chips Directions
ChefSecret: You can even add a half cup of raisins, dried cherries or blueberries to make a more complex cookie. By letting the dough rest for a half hour before baking you allow the and oats to re-hydrate and absorb all the liquid. It also allows the cinnamon to blossom in flavor. #OatmealCookies #Dessert #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #Gluten-Free #Baking #PeanutButter How you doin’? This is our 86th day in captivity and I am beginning to know how all the wild animals felt at Tiger King’s Ranch. Okay, I really don’t feel all that trapped as Joan and I are coming to the office every day—an empty office. Things are improving a little bit. Here was some of the good news.
Some of you may not be familiar with Jambalaya. It is a Louisiana meat, seafood, and rice dish. When cooked in an Instant Pot it is quick and easy. I start by browning the ham, sausage and chicken first and then stir it in only at the end. That way you infuse the rice with its flavor yet keep the protein from turning rubbery under pressure. Adding the cooked shrimp at the end also allows it to keep from getting over-cooked! By the way, even the leftovers gently reheated are great. Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 1 hours 20 minutes Yield: 8 1-1/2 cup servings Ingredients 3-pounds bone-in smoked ham hocks, saw cut into 1-inch rounds 6-cups chicken stock 4 tablespoons olive oil 12 ounces Andouille sausage cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (use the really good Andouille) 6 ounces chicken thigh meat 2-inch cubes (you can also use duck meat) 1 medium yellow onion chopped 1 medium green bell pepper seeded and chopped 1 medium stalk celery chopped 3 garlic cloves diced 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (see recipe below) 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme 1-1/2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice (regular NOT instant rice) 2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, undrained 2-1/4 cups chicken stock 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 8 ounces medium-size cooked shrimp (41-60 count) 4 Scallions thinly sliced Instructions
Cajun Seasoning Blend When your recipes call for Cajun seasoning blend and you don’t have it in your pantry, try this scratch recipe for the best results. Prep time: 2 minutes Ingredients 2 tablespoons paprika 1 tablespoon cayenne powder 1 tablespoon granulated onion 1 tablespoon granulated garlic 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon black pepper 1 tablespoon granulated salt Directions:
ChefSecret: Make it your own by adding some additional spices and herbs to your own taste, i.e. cumin, coriander, thyme, white pepper, dried basil, celery seed, dried jalapeño powder, superhot ghost chili powder or smoked chili powder. #Jambalaya #Entrees #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #InstantPot #ComfortFoods #NewOrleans #CajunSpice |
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