How you doin’? To many people fall is the most beautiful time of the year. The leaves on the trees begin to turn from green to all colors of the fall rainbow. There is the scent of fireplaces in the air. And then there are the aromas of the foods we eat and the drink. They are something altogether different from summer barbecues and cookouts.
 
An early fall cocktail straddles the seasons and bridges over to the holidays that we love. Great happy hour cocktails must have a jigger of summer—something light, bright, and refreshing—and it must also offer a little warmth of autumn spices and flavors—making you feel all cozy on the inside. 
 
Looking back on the past year, you deserve a little something special. It has been one of the strangest times of my life. Let’s put it all behind us and enjoy a few weeks of cocktails. The drinks in my early fall collection may sound fancy, but they’re not—just a little something special to take you from now to the end of the year and hopefully to the end of the pandemic.
 
                                X-Rated Spicy Cocoa & Mezcal Cocktail
 
This is hot cocoa all “growed-up” and ready for prime time. It has flavor notes of the mezcal, ancho chile, cinnamon and semi-sweet dark chocolate blended to create a flavor reminiscent of your childhood. It’s like a hot cocoa that’s been cooked on an open fire—slightly sweet and a touch smoky heat. It’s made with both cocoa powder and melted chocolate, making it more thick and chocolaty than the ‘Quick” stuff—that’s for kids. Don’t let it fool you it packs a wallop with a shot of mezcal.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Cook time:  12 minutes
Yield:  4 cocktails
 
Ingredients
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt (salt enhance the chocolate flavor)
2 cups whole milk
6 cinnamon sticks, divided
1 whole dried ancho chile pod, split
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (about 64%), chopped
5 ounces mezcal
 
Garnish with whipped cream, chile powder and dark chocolate shavings
 
Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cocoa powder, sugar, salt, milk, 2 of the cinnamon sticks, ancho chile pod and bittersweet chocolate. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is hot.
2. Lower the heat and simmer the cocoa, whisking occasionally, until fragrant, about 10 minutes.
3. Strain and discard the chile pod and the cinnamon sticks.
4. Return the cocoa to the pot, add the mezcal, and whisk the cocktail over medium heat until hot.
5. Divide the drink among four pre-warmed mugs.
6. Garnish with whipped cream, chile powder, chocolate shavings, and cinnamon sticks.
7.  Serve immediately.

 
ChefSecret: The mezcal is added late in the process. If one of your guests is abstaining, it’s easy to leave the alcohol out. The spicy hot cocoa makes a nice sippin’ dessert all by itself.
 
                                            Pear Pomegranate Mule
 
It’s not a Russian conspiracy. A Moscow Mule just kicks you in the butt like, well, a mule. This year I’ve taken this classic cocktail and twisted it all up in fall colors with the addition of pear nectar and unsweetened pomegranate juice. The pomegranate zips up the pucker power, giving it some sweet, tangy depth while balancing out the ginger beer and sweet pear notes.
 
Pear Pomegranate Mules is perfect fall cocktail for any happy hour. This cocktail is stirred, not shaken, so make a small pitcher of them. At our restaurants Mules were always served in a copper or pewter mug, which sets it apart from an ordinary cocktail.
 
Plus, vodka is much less controversial than tequila or bourbon. Pretty much everyone loves a mule, and it’s very slyly boozy — all the business of the day will slide away in no time.
Prep time:  5 minutes
Yield:  1 cocktail
 
Ingredients
3 ripe pears, any variety, peeled, cored and chopped
1-1/2 ounces unsweetened pomegranate juice
1/2 lime, juiced
2 ounces vodka
6 ounces ginger beer
Ice cubes
Garnish: pomegranate seeds and a pear slice (optional)
 
Directions

1. Purée the pears in a blender until smooth.
2. Transfer the purée to a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl and use a rubber spatula to push the purée through to yield pear nectar. Discard the excess pulp.
3. In a copper mug, combine 4 ounces of the pear nectar with the pomegranate juice and lime juice, stir to combine.
4. Add the vodka and fill the mug with ice.
5. Top with the ginger beer and garnish with pear slices and pomegranate seeds.

 
                                       Aperol-Cranberry-Spice Cocktail
 
Here is the perfect cool weather cocktail to carry you through the fall and into the year-end holiday celebrations.
 
Aperol is a semi-dry apéritif from northern Italy that tastes like a combination of bitter grapefruit and a sweet, melted Orange’sicle. We’ve muddled it with light, floral Lillet Blanc, tart cranberries, fresh orange slices and candied ginger. It’s a classic spritz, you’d normally top-off with Champagne, but in this recipe, I used a dry hard cider, which imparts subtle fall apple notes. It’s the perfect light, pre-meal cocktail that you can carry into the dining room for dinner.
 
Prep time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 cocktail
 
Ingredients
1/4 orange wedge, peeled
13 fresh cranberries, divided
2 one-inch pieces crystallized ginger, minced, plus 1 slice for garnish
2 ounces Aperol
1 ounce Lillet Blanc 
4 dashes Angostura bitters
Ice
4 ounces dry hard cider, such as Angry Orchard Crisp Apple
 
Directions

1. In a bottom half of a cocktail shaker, muddle the orange wedge with 10 of the cranberries and the minced crystallized ginger.
2. Add the Aperol, Lillet Blanc, bitters, and ice. Shake well.
3. Double-strain the drink into an ice-filled rocks glass and top off with the hard cider.
4. Garnish with the 3 remaining cranberries and a slice of crystallized ginger skewered on a toothpick.

 
ChefSecret: Aperol is an Italian bitter apéritif made of gentian, rhubarb, and cinchona, among other ingredients. It has a vibrant red-orange hue. Its name comes from the French slang word for aperitif, which is apero.
 
Lillet is made from Bourdeaux grapes along with macerated fruit liqueurs, which gives it a pleasantly fruity, but not overly sweet, character. While Lillet Blanc (the white version) is delicious on ice, with a twist of orange or lemon and a splash of soda, it's also a brilliant cocktail ingredient.
 
                                                Bourbon Apple Fizz
 
What do you do with all those leftover apple peels from making apple pie? The heart of the Bourbon Apple Fizz is a bright pink simple syrup made with thyme, lemon juice and Honeycrisp apple peels. It is as bright and sweet as a perfectly ripe apple. The thyme adds a welcome savory note well played. 
 
I start with apple-thyme syrup laced with bourbon, a little more thyme and lemon juice, and then top it off with ginger beer. The bourbon and apple-thyme syrup with the ginger beer gives this drink a light and fizzy taste. If you like an Old Fashioned, you’ll definitely love this cocktail.
 
What do I do with leftover apple-thyme syrup? Depending on how many fizzes you make, you’ll have leftovers of the syrup. Use it to make other drinks, like Old Fashioneds or even iced tea. It’s also great drizzled over vanilla ice cream.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Yield:  1 cocktail
 
Ingredients
Ice
2 ounces apple-thyme syrup (see recipe below)
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
2 ounces American bourbon
2 fresh sprigs thyme
1-1/2 ounces ginger beer
Garnish with an apple slice and a sprig of thyme
 
Directions

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice.
2. Add the apple-thyme simple syrup, lemon juice, bourbon and thyme.
3. Close the shaker and shake vigorously for 15 seconds.
4. Strain the cocktail over a glass filled with ice.
5. Top with ginger beer and garnish with an apple slice and a sprig of thyme.
6. Here’s looking at you, kid!

 
                                                  Apple-Thyme Syrup
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  about 10 minutes
Yield: 2 cups
 
Ingredients
4 large Honeycrisp apples, peeled (reserve the apples for another use)
1 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 cups water
4 sprigs thyme, divided
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
 
Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine the apple peels, sugar, water, thyme, and lemon juice, and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently until all the sugar has dissolved.
2. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Strain the syrup into a jar with a lid, reserving the liquid and discarding the peels and thyme.
4. Allow the syrup to cool.
5. It will keep for two weeks refrigerated.

 
                                                   Negroni Cocktail
 
As the story is told the Negroni Cocktail was invented by Count Camillo Negroni in 1919. Cocktail historians say that Count Negroni, a gambler and a bit of a rogue, liked to frequent the Caffé Casoni in Florence, Italy, and drink Americanos—apéritifs made with Campari, sweet vermouth, and club soda. Perhaps the drink was too sweet, fizzy and light because the count asked the bartender to fortify the drink by swapping out the club soda for gin—the Negroni was born. The count was so fond of his invention that he would drink up to 40 Negronis a day.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Yield:  1 cocktail
 
Ingredients
1 ounce gin
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 colossal ice cube
Garnish:  orange twist
 
Special equipment: large ice cube tray and funnels available on Amazon for under $10.
 
Directions

1. In a mixing glass filled with ice, stir all the ingredients together.
2. Strain the cocktail into a lowball glass filled with ice.
3. Garnish with an orange twist.

 
Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “There is new information about coronavirus almost every day. It’s so confusing! It’s kind of like the iPhone—as soon as I get COVID-19 they’ll just release COVID-20 and it will start all over again.”
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Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to [email protected].  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind—that’s the American way.  If you have a little extra in your pocket to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading.

#Cocktail #HappyHour #FallCocktails #Mezcal #Cocoa #MuleCocktail #Aperol #Lillet #Bourbon #Negroni #Campari #Vodka #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                               © Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020

How you doin’? Are you a crunchy snack eater? I certainly am. I don’t enjoy granola and milk-soaked breakfast foods. What I do like is munching on granola clumps while watching TV. It’s the combination of a sweet (not too sweet), crunchy (lot of texture), seemingly healthy snack food… the latter being a misnomer—it ain’t necessarily all that healthy.

With good intentions, Granola was invented in Dansville, New York by Dr. James Caleb Jackson at the Jackson Sanitarium in 1863. The Jackson Sanitarium was a prominent health spa that operated into the early 20th century on the hillside overlooking Dansville. And then it kind of disappeared.
 
The food and name “Granola” were revived in the 1960s, and fruits and nuts were added to it to make it a health food that was popular with the health and nature-oriented hippie movement. At the time, several people claim to have revived or re-invented granola. During Woodstock, a soon-to-be hippie icon known as Wavy Gravy, popularized granola as a means of feeding large numbers of people during the festival. Another major promoter was Layton Gentry, profiled in Time magazine as "Johnny Granola-Seed."
 
In 1964, Gentry sold the rights to a granola recipe using oats, which he claimed to have invented himself, to Sovex Natural Foods for $3,000. From there it was sold to a number of different companies. Here’s where it gets interesting.

In 1972, an executive at Pet Incorporated of St. Louis, Missouri, introduced Heartland Natural Cereal, the first major commercial granola. At almost the same time, the Quaker Oats Company introduced Quaker 100% Natural Granola. Quaker was threatened with legal action by Gentry, and they subsequently changed the name of their product to Harvest Crunch. Within a year, Kellogg's had introduced its "Country Morning" granola cereal and General Mills had introduced its "Nature Valley".
 
And then, there are granola bars. Granola bars have become popular as a snack.  Granola bars consist of the same ingredients with just a little more of the sticky stuff, pressed and baked into a bar shape, resulting in the production of a more convenient snack. Granola bars are the perfect individually packaged snack easy to carry in a purse, backpack or other bag for munchin’ later alligator (ode to the hippies). While passed off as a health food, they're basically cookies masquerading as a healthy alternative.
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Bake time:  30 minutes
Cool time: 1 hours
Yield:  About 8 cups (2-1/4-pounds)
 
Ingredients:
2 cups old fashioned oats
1-1/2 cups almonds, roasted or toasted, roughly chopped
1-1/2 cups sunflower seeds, hulled
1 cup unsweetened coconut, wide slice shredded
1/4 cup sesame seeds, white, hulled
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup canola oil
2-1/ tablespoons whole cane sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins or craisins  (optional)
 
Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350⁰F. Gather all the ingredients and have at your side.
2. Combine the oats, chopped almonds, sunflower seeds, unsweetened coconut, sesame seeds and wheat germ in a very large bowl.
3. Combine honey, oil, whole cane sugar and cinnamon in a saucepan bringing it just to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar completely and fully incorporate the oil. Do not burn the sugar!
4. Mix wet ingredients into the oat mixture; coat the dry ingredients well.
5. Spread mixture onto parchment-line sheet pans in a single layer to ensure the greatest exposure to the heat. 
6. Bake in an oven for about 10-15 minutes; check the color and dryness of the mixture. Coconut should be browning but not burning.
7. If ready, use a large spatula (to minimize breaking the clumps apart) and turn the layer over to expose the underside of the mixture and bake for another 10-15 minutes.  NOTE:  the mixture should be toasted brown in color (not burnt) and dry.
8. Let the mixture cool completely before packing or storing. If bagged too soon, the granola will become soggy and lose shelf life.

ChefSecret:  It’s best to divide the mixed dry ingredients into two bowls and coat each one with half the wet mixture; then recombine all ingredients together to ensure thorough coverage.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  An average giant panda eats at least 12 hours a day. A confined human eats like a panda. Hence the name--PANDEMIC.
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Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to [email protected].  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind—that’s the American way.  If you have a little extra in your pocket to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading.

#Snack #Baking #Granola #Almonds #CrunchySnack  #Raisins #Craisins #Cinnamon #Woodstock #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                                © PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020

How you doin’? Even though summer is in the rear-view mirror, you can still find wonderful fresh mangoes in the supermarket. Mangoes are delicious just by themselves, and they are also a very versatile ingredient that can be used in a variety of savory dishes, from curries to salads.
 
As Food & Beverage Consultants we always have an eye out for nutrition. A Thai salad is a great way to nourish both body and soul. Here’s a simple, mango salad in a delicious Thai peanut dressing that you can make all year ‘round. It is a perfect appetizer or side salad and makes an even better entrée salad. This Bangkok Mango Salad is bursting with fresh Thai flavors, bright colors and velvety peanut butter texture.
 
Prep time:  20 minutes
Total time:  20 minutes
Yield:  4 side salads or 2 entrée salads
 
Ingredients
For the mango salad
One head (about 7 ounces) butter leaf lettuce or your greens of choice, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced and then sliced across to make 1″ long pieces
3 ripe champagne mangos, diced
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion (both green and white parts)
1/3 cup chopped roasted peanuts
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 medium jalapeño, seeds and membranes removed, finely chopped
1/2 chopped avocado (optional)
 
For the peanut dressing
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 to 3 limes)
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
Pinch of red pepper flakes (if you like spice)
 
Directions

1. To assemble the salad, simply combine all the salad ingredients in a large serving bowl.
2. To prepare the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a blender jar and mix until well combined.
3. When you’re ready to serve, drizzle the dressing over the salad, and toss to combine.
4.  Serve immediately.

ChefSecret:  Why do we ask to seed and remove the membranes from the jalapeño chiles? The seeds and membranes carry the bulk of the heat. The jalapeño has a great flavor which can be masked by the burning heat. Son shut off the heat and turn on the flavor.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  Remember when “Dr. Happy“ told us it would only take 30-days to flatten out the curve? Well here we are 7 months later and now he is telling us not to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family. So, I’m now shopping for a dwarf-turkey and trying to decide where to celebrate the holidays… in the Living Room or the Bedroom.

Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to [email protected].  All recipes and cooking tips are also being posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind—that’s the American way.  If you have a little extra in your pocket to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading.

#Salad #Entree #SideSalad #Mango #Peanuts #NationalPeanutBoard #MangoBoard #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                            © Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020

How you doin’? Over the weekend Joan made a Hot Milk Cake and brought it into the office. This is a wonderful, old-fashioned, mid-western dairy state cake using ingredients easily found in the average kitchen.
 
Joan’s mother used to make this Hot Milk Cake for her when she was growing up in Brown Deer, Wisconsin. Joan thought the family recipe was lost forever, but it was recently recreated in the Perspectives’ California Kitchens. I came into the kitchen one afternoon and there stood Joan—with flour on her nose (and everywhere else)—holding up the cake of her youth. I thought the cake was extra-yummy, too.

It is just a little heavier than a yellow chiffon cake, but still has the egg and vanilla flavor. It’s easier to make than a chiffon and much less temperamental. It was a lot of cake for very few ingredients and very little time to make it. Look to the end of this post far a bonus Chocolate Hot Milk Cake.
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Bake time:  30 to 35 minutes
Yield:  12 to 16 servings
 
Ingredients
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for the pan)
2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups 2% milk
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
 
Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F.
2. Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch cake pans or a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder; set aside.
4. In a mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat the eggs at high speed until thick and lemony colored for 5 minutes (Set a timer! This step is very important, do not under-beat the eggs or the cake will fail to rise).
5. Gradually beat in sugar and vanilla until mixture is light and fluffy.
6. Gradually fold in flour mixture just until combined.
7. In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter until hot, but not boiling, stirring occasionally.
8. Add hot milk mixture to cake batter, stirring until combined.
9. Pour cake batter into prepared baking pan.
10. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes for rounds and 30 to 35 minutes for the 9x13-inch or until cake tests done when a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.
11. Cool on wire rack. Frost as desired.

ChefSecret: The success of the cake depends on beating the eggs until they are thick and lemon-colored. Under-beating will result in the cake failing to rise.
 
                                        Joan’s Chocolate Hot Milk Cake
 
Leave it to Joan and chocolate. This is a play on the old-fashioned mid-western farm cake that has gone to the “dark side.” Joan and the R&D team took her mom’s recently recreated Hot Milk Cake recipe and added a chocolate touch. As with the original recipe the success of the cake depends on beating the eggs until they are thick and lemon-colored. Under-beating will result in the cake failing to rise.
 
You can frost this cake with a chocolate ganache buttercream frosting or simply sift a little confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder on the top. 
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Bake time:  30 to 35 minutes
Yield:  12 to 16 servings.
 
Ingredients
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for the pan, (I prefer Guittard Rouge)
2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
2-1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups 2% milk
10 tablespoons butter
3 ounces chocolate (64%), coarsely chopped
 
Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F.
2. Grease and dredge with cocoa powder two 8 or 9-inch cake pans or a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; set aside.
4. In a mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat the eggs at high speed until thick and lemony colored for 5 minutes (Set a timer! This step is very important, do not under-beat the eggs or the cake will fail to rise).
5. Gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla until mixture is light and fluffy.
6. Gradually fold in the flour mixture just until combined.
7. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, butter and chocolate until hot, but not boiling, stirring occasionally. Add hot milk mixture to cake batter, stirring until combined.
8. Pour the cake batter into prepared baking pan.
9. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.
10. Cool the cake on a wire rack.
11. Frost as desired.

ChefSecret: When you dredge your baking pans with cocoa powder there won’t be any white flour streaks on your beautiful baked chocolate cakes. The cocoa powder should be unsweetened and lightly alkalized.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “This whole pandemic thing has been like a Las Vegas vacation in my house… we’re losing money by the minute, cocktails are acceptable any hour of the day and no one knows what time it is (or even cares).”
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Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to [email protected].  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind—that’s the American way.  If you have a little extra in your pocket to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading.

#Dessert #Baking #Cake #HotMilkCake #Chocolate #Guittard #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                           ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020

How you doin? We have done a lot of Food Consulting around the world which requires quite a bit of Research & Development. Over the last several decades we have touched every continent on this planet, and I have visited over 137 countries.
 
In the early 1980s I had an opportunity to visit the Philippines and have dinner with President and Madame Marcos. It was an honor to represent the United States in a foreign country as a good will ambassador for President Reagan. I have been back there several times since.
 
The Philippines have a very long and storied culture having been touched by Chinese, Indian, Spanish and, of course, The United States. It is little wonder that the food of the Philippines is so rich in culture and steeped in wonderous flavors.
 
Chances are, if you’ve had Filipino food at one time or another, you’ve probably had adobo: a dish common in the Philippines that usually features some sort of meat, poultry, seafood, fruit, or vegetable cooked in a mixture of vinegar, bay leaves, onion, garlic, black pepper, and a combination of salt and/or soy sauce. Although simple in nature, these home-cooked braises are always complex and robust in flavor yet remain nuanced and very well balanced.
 
A good adobo requires hours of long slow cooking. In a crock pot or Dutch oven slow braising can take up to 5 to 6 hours to develop the flavors and textures. That lengthy cook-time is cut down to 30 minutes when done in an Instant Pot. You can have a slightly exotic, island-style meal in about 45 minutes from start to the table. Here’s how to do it.
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  10 minutes
Instant Pot time:  30 minutes
 
Ingredients
1-1/3 cup apple cider vinegar (the secret ingredient)
1/3 cup dark or black soy sauce
1/3 cup traditional soy sauce
20 to 24 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, plus more as needed
2 pounds skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs or legs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/2 pound of Andouille sausage, cut into rounds
1 pound of bacon ends and pieces (half the price of strips)
Salt to taste (soy sauce is already very salty)
Steamed white rice, for serving
 
Instructions

1. In a medium size bowl prepare the chicken marinade by adding the vinegar, soy sauces, garlic, bay leaves, and black pepper. 
2. Pierce the chicken all over with a skewer so that the pieces can absorb the flavors from the marinade.
3. Let the chicken pieces soak in the marinade until you are ready to put them in the oven. It doesn’t take long to pick-up the flavors from the marinade.
4. Next, set your Instant Pot to SAUTÉ; add the oil until hot and shimmering.
5. Sauté the onions and Andouille sausage while you prepare the next step of the chicken.
6. Place the marinaded chicken pieces, skin-side up on a foil-lined sheet pan; salt and pepper to taste.  Scatter the bacon ends and pieces over the top of the chicken thighs and place under a broiler for about 10 minutes being careful not to burn the bacon. 
7. Using tongs, transfer the chicken skin-side up to the Instant Pot over the cooked onions and sausage.
8. CANCEL the SAUTÉ function.
9. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and lock in place.
10. Set the Instant Pot to HIGH PRESSURE for 30 MINUTES.  It will take about 10 minutes to build up pressure before cooking starts.
11. After the cook time is finished QUICK RELEASE the pressure and when safe remove the and discard the bay leaves.
12. Serve the chicken pieces over steamed white rice and ladle the sauce over the chicken and rice.

ChefSecret:  A quick 10-minute broil of the chicken together with the bacon brings a wonderful, smoky grilled flavor to the chicken pieces. Don’t skip this step.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  I’ve had a lot of things to think about over the last 6 months.  One is, I think the main reason that Santa Claus is always so jolly is because he knows where all the naughty girls live.
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Do you have a question or comment?  Do you want to share a favorite recipe or pictures with our readers?  Send your thoughts to [email protected].  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind—that’s the American way.  If you have a little extra in your pocket to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading.

#Entrees #InstantPot #Chickenf #ChickenAdobo #ComfortFood #Adobo #Manila #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica  #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                               ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020