…from the California KitchenHow you doin’? One of the things we’ve heard over the last year is that for the first time in nearly 3 generations moms and dads are taking the time to teach their children to cook. So, occasionally, we like to combine a cooking with a craft project that creates a tasty teachable moment. This is one of those recipes. I remember when Pop Tarts first appeared on the grocer’s shelf in 1964… I couldn’t wait to try them—what a disappointment! I expected a morning pastry that tasted as good as the picture on the box. We think you will find this is not only a great tasting treat, but a fun project for mom, dad and kiddos (of any age). The fun part is everyone can make their tarts, their way, with different fillings and toppings with a single recipe of dough. You can buy special fillings and toppings or you can use the ingredients in your own pantry. What a wonderful way to clean out the fridge with those almost empty jars of nut butters, jams and jellies. So, pull together all your sweet odds and ends for this project… anything goes! This Kids-Made Pop-Tart recipe includes all the flavors of the original that were promised but never delivered. The other bonus is that you can actually understand the label—none of those questionable ingredients you can’t pronounce or better living through chemistry. These are oven-tarts, not toaster pastries. They are not tarts to put in your pantry, but they store well in your freezer. Prep time: 20 minutes Bake time: 25 minutes Chill time: 1 hour Yield: Approximately 10-12 pastries Ingredients For the pastry 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/4 cup cold water For the original cinnamon-flavored filling 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon For icing or glaze 1 cup confectioners’ sugar 2 tablespoons milk 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla or almond extract Few drops food coloring as desired Directions
ChefSecret: When adding the water to pastry dough, be sure to go slow and add it just one tablespoon at a time. If it holds together before you use it all, stop. You don’t want the dough to be too wet. Quip of the Day: “I believe my soul mate is out there, in some corner of the earth... unfortunately, the earth is round.” ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Do you want to send a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. We added a new search feature to make it easier to navigate through our blogs. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong and positive, stay well and safe and be kind to others. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading. #Baking #Snack #Dessert #PopTarts #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021
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…from the Happy Hour BarHow you doin’? I’m hooked on American Bourbon. I just keep finding new ways to use it both in cooking and cocktails. My Backyard Barbecue Bourbon-Cherry Fizzy Punch offers sweet, spicy and bourbon flavors. I use a dry ancho chile which delivers assertive spiced dark cherry noteS while bringing together the sweet cherries and the bourbon to give a more 3-dimensional flavor to this wonderful cocktail punch. When I’m looking for a stronger, contrasting citrus note. I use a crushed vitamin-C tablet. Don’t laugh, this is an old bartender trick. You don’t have one? Don’t fret. Just drop a cut lime quarter in each glass before serving. There is some assembly required in making my Backyard Barbecue Bourbon-Cherry Fizzy Punch. It starts with pitting fresh cherries and turning them into a spicy purée. I promise it’s worth the effort. This cocktail is a perfect pitcher cocktail for your backyard summer barbecue. Purée prep time: 20 minutes Cocktail prep time: 5 minutes Yield: 8 servings Ingredients For the cherry purée 1 dried ancho chile 1/2 cup warm water 10 ounces fresh sweet cherries (about 2 cups), stemmed and pitted 1/3 cup freshly-squeezed lime juice 1 500mg unflavored vitamin-C tablet, crushed into powder For the cocktail 2 cups American bourbon 1/2 cup kirsch (cherry liqueur) 2 12-ounce bottles of black cherry soda (I prefer Dr. Brown’s) Garnish: 8 cherries with stems (remove the pit—it can be done) Ice Directions To make the cherry purée
ChefSecret: You can make the cherry purée the day before and store it in an airtight container. You can get a cherry pitter at Amazon for under $10 bucks. I like this one (pictured) because you can do 5 cherries at a time. Quip of the Day: “Pain makes you stronger. Tears make you braver. A broken heart makes you wiser. And alcohol helps you to forget all that crap.” ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. We have added a new search feature to make it easier to navigate through our blogs. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong and positive, stay well and safe and be kind to others. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading. #Cocktail #HappyHour #BBQ #Bourbon #Cherry #Punch #Cheers #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021 …from the California Kitchen How you doin’? One of the most fun projects Perspectives completed was the opening of Margaritaville—Las Vegas. It is an airy, island-influenced venue offering food, cocktails and entertainment. Located at the Flamingo Hotel, it also has a huge outdoor patio with views of the Strip. This was to be the largest of the Margaritaville Restaurants in the collection. It is 3 floors high (27,000 square feet), has kitchens and a humongous Margaritaville bar with a tequila slide in the middle where a beautiful Margaritaville maiden slides down every hour. This had to be the only casino hotel in Las Vegas that pulled gaming apparatus out to make room for a restaurant/bar! The restaurant was designed to do heavy customer counts. We had to make things as kitchen-easy as possible, but still have the quality of the Margaritaville lifestyle experience—the true Parrot Head fun experience. Jimmy Buffet gave us carte blanche to do something special—anything we wanted, except not to mess with his mother’s meatloaf recipe, which was very dear to him. Our Stir-Fried Spicy Thai Chicken Salad was developed by Chef Spencer Kells, Perspectives’ Executive Chef at the time, especially for Margaritaville, Las Vegas. Chef had recently moved to the United States from a posting at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on the riverfront in Bangkok. This recipe is as authentically Thai as you can get, yet it is as easy as it can be and yummy, too. Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Assembly time: 3 minutes Yield: 4 servings Ingredients 1 cup lime juice 1/4 cup granulated sugar 4 tablespoons fish sauce, (I prefer Tiparos brand) 1-1/2 tablespoons Sambal Oelek, hot chili-garlic paste 2 tablespoon peanut oil 1/2 tablespoon peeled and grated ginger 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1-1/2 pounds ground chicken meat (I prefer dark meat, if available) 1 tablespoon kosher salt 4 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion tops cut in circles 1/2 cup shredded carrot 1/4 cup chopped water chestnuts 1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves Directions
To Assemble The Thai Chicken Salad Plates Yield: 1 plated serving Ingredients 6 each butter lettuce cups 1/2 cup green shredded cabbage 6 ounces spicy chicken mixture (see recipe above) 6 blanched green beans, 3-inches in length 6 each mint sprigs 6 each cilantro sprigs Directions
ChefSecret: I prefer to use ground dark chicken meat as it is moist and more flavorful even after refrigeration. With today’s chickens you can hardly tell the difference in the look between dark and white chicken meat. You can make the ground chicken mixture a day or two in advance. Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “60 maybe the new 40, but 9 pm is the new midnight or is that only on Pacific Standard Time?” ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Do you want to send a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. We added a new search feature to make it easier to navigate through our blogs. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong and positive, stay well and safe and be kind to others. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading. #Entrees #Salads #EntreeSalads #ThaiChickenSalad #Stir-Fried #Margaritavilla #FlamingoHotel #LasVegas #JimmyBuffet #OrientalBangkokHotel #Chicken #ChickenThighs #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021 |
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