The Cruising CollectionHow you doin’? Olives are an important part of most martinis, right? Some people like just one olive and many like 3 or 4 olives to garnish the glass. When people talk about a 3 martini lunch, the olives are what give it “meal” status. I have written about martinis on this blog and have written an entire martini menu at DC-3 just off the runway at Santa Monica Airport. Martinis are the most iconic cocktail of all time. I think most cocktail drinkers know about dirty martinis, but do you know what makes them so dirty? My Cruise Ship Dirty Martini recipe is heavy on the Hendricks, light on the vermouth and a bit briny from the bottom of the olive jar—just the way most people love it. Of course, everyone likes their martini differently, so play with the ratios until you land on a drier, wetter or brinier version that goes down nice and easy (and doesn’t make your eye twitch). In the meantime, we’ll be over here celebrating a three-martini lunch. Our first anniversary is just around the corner and we’re celebrating getting through year one on the top deck! A Little Martini History… An unspoken superstition deems an even number of olives is bad luck. Like avoiding a black cat in an alleyway, most seasoned bartenders will only serve Martinis with one or three olives (never two or four). The origins of this superstition remain a mystery but are adamantly followed by all professionals. Ingredients 3 pimento-stuffed pimento stuff olives (I prefer Early California brand) 3-ounces Hendricks Gin (Hendricks is my go-to brand) 1/4 ounce dry vermouth 1/4 ounce olive brine right out of the jar Ingredients
ChefSecret: Change it up and go Caribbean by replacing the vodka with rum. Quip of the Day: I like to have a martini, Two at the very most, After Three I’m under the table, After four I’m under the host! ~ Origin unknown, but attributed to Dorothy Parker Do you have a question or comment? 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. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Cocktail #HappyHour #DirtyDirtyMartini #HendricksGin #EarlyCaliforniaOlives #DryVermouth #PimentoOlives #Cheers #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023
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…from the Perspectives’ KitchenHow you doin’? You can’t have a great fried chicken or roast beef dinner without mashed potatoes and gravy (well you can, but it won’t be as enjoyable). But many don’t want to go through the effort of washing peeling, cubing and boiling potatoes and then mashing and mixing them with butter, milk and seasoning. It’s a little bit of an effort but it’s not like you have to boil them over wood-burning stove. It may have been that way during World War II when making mashed spuds consisted of peeling pounds and pounds of potatoes. People started to look for short cuts in all kinds of cooking process—the dumbing down of American cooking. In the early 1950s, the R.T. French Company—French’s created mashed potato granules. These flash-dried mashed potatoes became the major instant hit product in stores until the early 1960s. Then, a Canadian food scientist, Edward Asselbergs, created a different process for preserving potatoes. That method resulted in potato flakes, which soon dominated store shelves. The potato flakes broke down in liquid more easily, providing a smoother, richer finished product than granules. Potato granules are still made by some companies, but Asselbergs’ invention has so far proven to be the lasting one. Potato flakes were invented in hopes of making foods that could be easily fortified with protein. With this process those potato flakes could be shipped to regions where people were suffering from malnutrition. This invention also could easily be used by soldiers, or even by those who might need quick food in other scenarios, like camping. A low cost military solution that could keep soldiers out of the kitchen and out on the battlefield was a hit on the home front, too. Today, instant potato flakes are a cheap, convenient comfort food. And while they might not be used as much today to stave off famine, they can still round out a filling, delicious meal without breaking the bank. But there is more to instant potatoes than running them out of an instant hot dispenser at KFC. When doing recipe extensions for Basic American Foods, we developed over a hundred recipes in hopes of making their products more easy to use as a popular ingredient for other recipes such as Baked Potato Soup, Potato Chocolate Cake, Crispy Fish Fillets, Cornbread, Crispy Baked Chicken (almost as good as fried), Irish Colcannon, White Bread, Pierogi and Shepherd's Pie. Today there are hundreds of ways to use instant mashed potatoes to improve your favorite recipes. I developed a new crust for Pizza Hut with added instant mashed potatoes in the dough. It created a remarkable texture to the crust, and now instant mashed potatoes are an ingredient in my personal go-to pizza dough. Instant potatoes are also great for thickening soups and gravies, adding as a binding ingredient for meatballs, or making quick homemade gnocchi. Quick & Easy Potato Gnocchi An easier version of an Italian favorite, using instant mashed potato flakes. This recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled. Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 5 minutes Yield: 30 gnocchi Ingredients 1 cup instant dry potato flakes 1 cup boiling water 1 egg, beaten 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour Directions
ChefSecret: Gnocchi can be made in multiple batches; freeze the extras. To freeze, put on cookie sheets until frozen, and then store them into plastic bags. Quip of the Day: Q. How did the Italian chef like to start his jokes? A. “Gnocchi Gnocchi.” ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? 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. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Entree #Dinner #PotatoGnocchi #Gnocchi #ItalianDumpling #2022Recipes #Covid19SurvivalBlog #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 …from the Perspectives’ KitchenHow you doin’? One of the true pleasures of summertime is a tall, frosty glass of just-made lemonade. And right now, with strawberries in full season, lemonade sweetened with fresh, crushed strawberries is the best warm weather drink (okay, it can even be a little better with a shot of vodka). Likewise, we love lemon bars this time of year including the type of lemon curd served in Paris cafés. Great as they are we are never ones to shy away from putting our own twists on classic recipes. At the risk of trying to compete with those French eateries, try my delightful, strawberry-kissed lemon bars with a crumbly shortbread crust laced with lemon zest. For the curd, use a traditional stovetop cooking method, using one whole cup of puréed fresh strawberries, as well as a big splash of lemon juice, sugar, eggs and a bit of cornstarch. After a few minutes of whisking and boiling the mixture, strain it through a sieve to get rid of any little berry bits and seeds. Then then stir in half a stick of butter, for richness, and a tablespoon of lemon zest, for extra zing. It bakes up sweet-tart and creamy, with pink hue reminiscent of beautiful summer sunsets and slices of ripe, red watermelon. You now have a sweet and tangy curd, but the best part is the perfect ratio of curd to crust. The shortbread crust is a little thicker than most so there’s plenty of salty, buttery and slightly citrusy crustiness on the bottom to balance out the puckery sweetness of the strawberry-lemon curd atop. These bars are perfect for summer barbecues and brightening up the dessert table at any special event. Prep time: 30 minutes Bake time: 25-30 minutes, then 15 to 20 minutes for the second bake Cool time: 2 hours Yield: 9 bars Ingredients For the crust 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1/2 cup cold and cubed unsalted butter For the strawberry-lemon curd 1 cup hulled and quartered fresh strawberries 1-1/2 teaspoon cornstarch 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided 1 cup granulated sugar 3 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced 1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, for dusting Directions To make the crust
To make the strawberry-lemon curd
ChefSecret: You can use the same recipe substituting lime, orange or grapefruit instead of the lemon… just follow the same recipe Quip of the Day: Q. Did you hear about the hip New York hotspots for citrus fruits? A. They’re called Lemon bars. ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? 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. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Baking #StrawberryLemonadeBars #Shortbread #Strawberries #LemonCurd #2023Recipes #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 The Cruising Collection …from the Perspectives’ Happy Hour Bar How you doin’? On a Mediterranean cruise I was impressed with the number of sangria choices available. I worked with the bartender to create this recipe for Sparkling Orange & Peach Sangria. It turns out it’s also great for casual backyard gatherings. A pitcher of sangria takes all the pressure off the host. Not to mention, this great tasting golden refresher is super pretty and deeply refreshing. Wine is the heart of any sangria, and here we use a bottle of dry white wine and sparkling Prosecco, which we love for its dry winey notes, then layer in a simple syrup made with Tazo Wild Orange Tea and honey. The results are an earthy concoction that adds some sweet bottom notes to the sangria. It’s lots of fun to watch your passengers/guests bobbing for peaches, red berries and apples while enjoying a thirst-quenching sip of summer. Prep time: 20 minutes Cool time: 30 minutes Chill time: 1 to 4 hours (passive time) Yield: 8 servings Ingredients 1/2 cup water 1 bag Tazo brand Wild Sweet Orange tea 2 tablespoons honey 1/2 thinly sliced lemon 1/2 ripe peach 1/2 navel orange (I prefer Cara Cara sweet oranges) 1/2 sweet-tart apple (I prefer Honeycrisp) 1 cup quartered strawberries 1 cup rinsed whole raspberries 1 bottle white wine (I prefer Sauvignon Blanc) 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice 8 cups ice cubes 1 bottle Prosecco (or other sparkling white wine) 8 whole strawberries 8 mint sprigs Directions
ChefSecret: Most any fruit can be a wonderful substitute—kiwi, pineapple, blue berries, nectarines or pears. Quip of the Day: While sipping his sangria, he noticed a sizzling, scrumptious looking platter being served at the next table. Not only did it look good, the smell was wonderful. He asked the waiter, "What is that you just served?" The waiter replied, " Ah señor, you have excellent taste! Those are bull’s testicles from the bull fight this morning. A delicacy!" The tourist, though momentarily daunted, said, "What the hell, I'm on vacation! Bring me an order!" The waiter replied, "I am so sorry señor. There is only one serving per day because there is only one bull fight each morning. If you come early tomorrow and place your order, we will be sure to save you this delicacy!" The next morning, the tourist returned, placed his order, and then that evening he was served the one and only special delicacy of the day. After a few bites, and inspecting the contents of his platter, he called to the waiter and said, "These are delicious, but they are much, much smaller than the ones I saw you serve yesterday!" The waiter shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Si señor. Sometimes the bull wins." ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? 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. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Cocktail #HappyHour #SparklingOrange&PeachSangria #Prosecco #SauvignonBlanc #Oranges #Peaches #Apples #Lemons #Strawberries #Raspberries #Cheers #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 …from the Perspectives’ KitchenHow you doin’? Shrimp and straight pesto seems like a bit of overkill, given how strong the flavor of pesto is. Personally, I love pesto, but even for me, straight pesto can seem a little too much for the delicate flavor of shrimp. I like to blend my pesto with a creamy base, mixing the basil flavor with an Alfredo-style sauce. My easy Creamy Pesto Shrimp & Linguine recipe is a quick 20 minute meal with a sublime sauce that’s full of flavor. A dish that’s lovely enough for a fancy dinner party, but perfect for a busy weeknight family meal! Prep time: 20 minutes Plus 10 minutes (see pesto recipe below) Cook time: 15 minutes Yield: 4 servings Ingredients 1 pound linguine pasta 1/3 cup unsalted butter 2 cups heavy cream 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 to 1/3 cup pesto, to your taste (see recipe below) 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined Directions
ChefSecret: This recipe is also great when made with roasted chicken or crabmeat instead of shrimp. Classic Pesto A Classic Pesto is made with fresh basil leaves (stems removed), olive oil, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Some people use walnuts or almonds instead of pine nuts because they’re cheaper--don’t do this. Some people use spinach or parsley instead of basil leaves--don’t do this either. When in doubt, just follow the friggin’ recipe. This recipe differs from other preparations with the addition of red pepper flakes for an extra layer of flavor. You can add a little more Parmesan to the Pesto to your taste if you like. Prep time: 10 minutes Ingredients 3 cups packed fresh basil leaves 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup pine nuts 5 cloves garlic, or to taste 2 teaspoons lemon juice, or more to taste (optional) 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) Directions
ChefSecret: To store and keep it green longer, drizzle a little lemon juice over the top of the leftover pesto, cover and refrigerate. It will keep it fresh looking for 3 to 4 days. Quip of the Day: Q. What kind of pasta do they eat in Antarctica? A. Penguine. ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? 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. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Entrees #CreamyPestoShrimpLinguine #Pesto #Basil #PineNuts #OliveOil #Linguine #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 |
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