​How you doin’? Are you a Seinfeld fan? I’ve seen some shows so often I can recite the lines. Do you remember the one where Elaine's former boss steals her million-dollar muffin tops idea, while Kramer promotes a bus tour trying to give away all the leftover bottoms without much success? 
 
Well you can ask anyone and they’ll tell you, the best part of any muffin, arguably, is the top inch or so. Just pop the top where a heaping forkful will get you both the tender cake and the crunchy streusel topping. It’s always tempting to save that part for last giving you time to savor the texture. With this recipe we have some of the top in the middle where the streusel is baked all the way through the muffin, so every bite is the best bite.
 
The batter is made with sour cream or plain yogurt, so it has a nice moist crumb and a natural tanginess that complements the sweet cinnamon-brown sugar crunch of the streusel. The muffins are rich, moist and flavorful… they’re the perfect last-minute brunch treat, coffee companion, afternoon snack, or after dinner treat.

Prep time:  10 minutes
Bake time:  25 minutes
Yield:  12 muffins
 
Ingredients
For the streusel
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 
For the muffins
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch kosher salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream (or substitute plain yogurt)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
 
Directions
Getting started

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F and adjust a rack to the middle position.
2. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners or prep them with non-stick cooking spray.

To make the streusel

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon. Use a fork or your fingers to mash the streusel into a paste that resembles wet sand. Set aside.

To make the muffins

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the butter, oil, and sugar with an electric mixer until all incorporated.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between additions, until the mixture is smooth and all the ingredients are incorporated.
4. Add the sour cream and mix until just incorporated.
5. Gently mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until a thick batter forms.
6. Divide half of the batter among the muffin cups. Place a tablespoon of the streusel in the middle of each cup, leaving the batter exposed around the edges.
7. Cover the streusel with the remaining batter.
8. Finish by topping the muffins with the remaining streusel.
9. Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
10. Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
11. Serve warm.

ChefSecret:  Dress your muffins up a bit… toss in some pecan pieces into the streusel or add some fresh blueberries or chocolate chips to the batter.

Quip of the Day: “Silly you! You thought dogs were hard to train? Just look at all the humans who can’t sit, stay or remember to wear their friggin’ face coverings”
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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 ed@perspectives-la.com. 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 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 #Muffins #Seinfeld #MuffinTops #Streusel #CoffeeCake #ElaineBenes  #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                             ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021

How you doin’?  It’s that wonderful day of the week—Friday. And it’s Happy Hour at the Perspectives’ Bar. Have you ever wondered where Happy Hours originated? Although the exact origin of the happy hour is unknown, it may be traced back to the United States Navy back in the early 20th century—1913 to be exact. It was then that a weekly entertainment and semi-weekly smokers program called “Happy Hours” was created aboard the USS Arkansas to help relieve the boredom of being at sea. There were a variety of activities during this time, including boxing and wrestling matches, music and dancing—but not alcohol-based libation.
 
These programs grew more and more popular and by the end of World War I, “Happy Hours” were being held throughout the entire Navy. Over the next several years, the term became more about drinking than entertaining, according to a 1959 Saturday Evening Post article about bringing Happy Hours landside and detailed the lives and loves of government contractors and military personnel in the Caribbean.
 
Al Capone starting cashing on Happy Hours in the illegal gin mills of Chicago. For those law-breakers who wanted to imbibe rot-gut hooch in secrecy, a kind of a 20th century pre-dinner tradition became popular. Friends would meet at speakeasies or even in someone's home before going out for supper, thus creating the cocktail hour. Eventually, civilians adopted "Happy Hour" as a euphemism for that secret and festive, lawbreaking behavior.
 
Happy Hours became synonyms for a term used in my restaurants for discounted afternoon drinks in our bars—1 buck well drinks, $1.25 call drinks, $1.50 premium drinks and 99¢ draft beers were served every weekday from 4pm to 6pm. We also served free appetizers along with some modest entertainment.
 
Our fancier mixed drinks included cocktails like this Caribbean Pain Killer. Create your own Happy Hour for friends and family with this great tasting, pain-killing beverage.
 
Prep Time:  5 minutes
Yield:  1 cocktail
 
Ingredients
1/2 ounce gold tequila
1/2 ounce vodka
1/2 ounce light rum
1 ounce canned pineapple juice
1/2 ounce orange juice
2 tablespoons cream of coconut, “Coco Lopez”
 
Directions

1. In a blender pour the ingredients over crushed ice.
2. Blend until smooth
3. Pour into a Collins glass
4. Garnish with a small pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry flag.

 
ChefSecret:  You do not need to use top drawer liquors when making this cocktail. Well-quality liquor is certainly in order.
 
Quip of the Day: “Cash, check or charge? the salesclerk asked after folding items the woman wished to purchase. As she fumbled for her wallet, the clerk noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse. She asked, do you always carry your TV remote with you? No, she replied, but my husband refused to come shopping with me, and I figured this was the evilest thing I could do to him legally.”
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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. 
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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 #CaribbeanPainKiller #Rum #Vodka #Tequila #Coconut #Cheers# QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                           ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021

How you doin’? When you are in a “lemony” mood, here is the perfect melt-in-your-mouth Lemon Cookie. If you love the freshness of tart lemons, then you’re going to love these cookies. They’re light and easy to make. With or without a tasty lemon glaze, they are sure to satisfy any lemon lover!
 
This cookie is very close to the original Girl Scout cookie from nearly 80 years ago.
 
In 2020, Savannah Smiles, the powder sugar-dusted lemon cookies that were brought back in 2012, were retired by Girl Scouts of America and replaced by a new lemon cookie—Lemon-Ups. The Girl Scouts organization works closely with its licensed bakers to replace cookies and bring new ones on to the market based on sales, flavor trends, and consumer preferences. Now you can try the lemon cookie that started all the fuss.
 
Prep time:  15 minutes
Bake time:  10 minutes
Added time:  5 minutes
Yield:  24 cookies
 
Ingredients
For the cookies
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
 
For the lemon glaze
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (strained)
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons lemon zest
 
Directions
To make the lemon cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 350⁰ F.
2. Use a Silpat pad on 2 cookie sheets.
3. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
4. Cream the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed.
5. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
6. Beat in the sour cream, lemon zest, vanilla extract and lemon extract.
7. Reduce speed to low; beat in the dry ingredients just until blended.
8. Use a #30 scoop (about 2 tablespoons) and drop the dough on the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart.
9. Bake in the preheated oven until cookies are set and edges are golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheets; then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
10. Dip the top of the slightly-cooled cookies into the glaze, twist and place on the cooling rack. Allow the glaze to set up before storing them. 

To make the lemon glaze

1. In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, powdered sugar and zest until smooth.

Chefs Secret:  For best results, when making the cookie dough, add the granulated sugar after you’ve already creamed the butter.

Quip of the Day: “You know you’re getting old when you go to bed at about the same time you used to get dressed up to go out.”
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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.
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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.

#Desserts #Baking #Cookies #LemonCookies #IcedLemonCookies #GlazedLemonCookies #GirlScouts #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                           ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021

How you doin’? Fasten your seat belt…  this is going to a long blog—but one that will make you a “perfect” pie maker. Did you know that pies are an All-American dessert? Pies are not difficult to make if you start with a well-prepared crust. Of course, you can use a store-bought frozen crust or a refrigerated roll-out crust, but it just isn’t the same. Why bother? Making a pie crust is a cinch. The following is trouble shooting guide to perfect pie crust and my famous Palm Grill Apple Pie. Let’s get going!
 
Do you have overcooked and cracked crusts, soggy bottoms, are they stogy with burnt edges and fruit slush inside the crust? Do your pie crusts poop-out at parties? You’re not the only one. These are the things that drive pie makers crazy, and it happens to even the most experienced pros. If you don’t bake pies on a regular basis, you can easily forget some of the most common solutions. Want the perfect pie that everyone’s talking about?...  then continuing reading.  If not go to the frozen pie section of your local supermarket or skip down to Granny Fanny’s recipe below.
 
Do you have a soggy bottom? Is your undercooked pie crust stuck to the bottom of the pie pan? 
This is horrible and unacceptable. Your top crust is beautiful and golden brown, your filling has achieved that perfect, firm yet a little gooey delicious texture. But when you attempt to serve a slice, your pie server only picks up the filling and top crust.  I hate when that happens! 
 

• Blind bake it:  You probably already know to do this with single crust, filled pies.  You can get a head start baking with a 12-to-15-minute blind bake of the bottom crust.  Use a little bit of brushed butter on the pan, layer in the crust, line with parchment or foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights. 
• Waterproof it:  A leaky hull sunk the Titanic; don’t let excess moisture sink your pie. You can brush the raw bottom crust with egg wash. Long before the filling releases any pie-ruining liquid the egg will set-up the crust, leaving you with a crisp bottom. Another flavorful way to waterproof your bottom crust is to brush on some heated apricot jam. This also prevents soggy bottoms.
• Go lower and slower:  Preheat a sheet pan on the bottom rack of your oven.  Place your pie pan on a heated sheet pan. You’ll be cooking both up and down at the same time giving the bottom crust a bit of a head start. The radiant heat will cook the upper parts of the pie slower, allowing the crust to firm up at an even pace. I use metal pans as opposed to Pyrex pie plates to get a better, firmer bottom. 

 
Are your pies, soupy, sloppy and wet? 
You’ve got all these perfect, fresh ingredients and you’ve been peeling fruit all day. You’ve baked, what appears to be, the perfect apple pie for an hour or so and you come up with apple cider pie—wet, slushy and disgusting. 
 

• Give it a rest:  You’ve added that mysterious (or not) white powder which is some kind of starch—every fruit pie recipe needs starch as an ingredient, which allows the filling to thicken as it cooks and cools. Don’t be tempted to cut in and serve it right away; allow the pie time to rest to allow the juices to set up for about an hour after baking.
• Select the right fruit:  Let’s talk apples to apples. Did you know that there are over 7,500 varieties of apples and they can change in texture depending on the season or the longer they’re held? Soft eating apples don’t beat the heat. When baked in a pie they discharge too much water and get too mushy—applesauce soup. You want to bake pies with firm, tart apples—think Granny Smith, Golden Delicious or Braeburn. These apples will hold up best when baked and properly starched. My deep-dish pies all have between 4 and 5 pounds of fruit in them.
• Use the right starch:  I use a variety of starches depending on the desired result. My Grandma Fanny may have used just 3 or 4 tablespoons of flour or cornstarch for her 9-inch deep-dish apple pies, but there are other starches, such as tapioca starch and rice flour that are easily purchased. As a pie professional I like to use Instant Cleargel or arrowroot (available at King Arthur Flour). The last four starches never make the liquid cloudy after you bring them up to temperature, roughly 185°F to set the starch. 

 
Are your pies suffering from ‘gap-osis’? 
I prefer my fruit pies to be brim high, right up to the top crust—no gaps.
 

• The best crusts are made with a (50/50) combination of butter and lard: Butter gives you that wonderful buttery flavor and the lard can bake longer and still browns nicely. See my basic, never-fail pie crust recipe below.
• Escape, please! Let me go. As the fruit cooks it steams in the crust. It’s just dying to get out. You’ve got to let it go. If it isn’t a lattice crust you will need to cut escape vents to let it all out. Punch out some holes or cut about six 3-inch slits in the top crust. You can also make a decorative lattice top crust.
• Cook your apples first: My best apple pie recipe uses grilled apples—yes grilled. I core and cut apples into rounds or wedges and put them on the barbi. I like the grill marks and the caramelized flavor. You can also sauté them with butter and starch and then add the lightly cooked, but still firm apple filling to the prepared crust.

 
If you’re baking a pie a day you can master pieology in a week. If you are only baking pies once a year, there’s a lot to remember so keep this valuable cheat sheet holiday handy. 
 
                                            Ed’s Perfect Pie Crust
 
Prep Time:  30 minutes
Cool Time:  1 hour
Freeze Time:  30 minutes
Blind Baking Time:  12 to 15 minutes
Yield:  2 9-inch Single-Crust pies or 1 9-Inch Double-Crust Pie
 
Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup cold lard cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons ice-cold water
 
Directions:

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade briefly pulse the flour, sugar, and salt to mix. 
2. Add the butter and lard and pulse for 30 seconds or until coarse crumbs form. 
3. Add the lemon juice and water. Pulse just until the dough just starts to come together.  Do not over mix.
4. Turn the dough onto a work surface and gently shape it into two equal disks about 4 or 5 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic food film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

For a single-crust pie

1. Place one of the dough disks between two large pieces of lightly floured baking parchment and roll into a 14-inch-diameter round that’s 1/8 inch thick.  
2. Remove the top sheet of parchment and gently roll the dough around the pin and position the pin over the pie pan. Unroll, carefully easing the dough into the pan, gently but firmly pressing the dough against the sides and bottom, taking care not to pull or stretch. 
3. Trim the edge of the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch margin from the outer edge of the pan. Tuck this dough under to shape a high edge crust that rests on top of the rim. Pinch, crimp and poke with a fork to allow the steam to escape.

For blind baking

1. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes before baking. 
2. Preheat the oven to 425° F. 
3. Line the frozen crust with a large piece of foil, fill with pie weights (or dried beans or rice), and bake 12 minutes until set. 
4. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking the shell until golden, about 3 to 8 minutes longer, checking for bubbles (push them down gently with the back of a spoon).
5. Let the crust cool and then brush with egg wash or warm apricot jam.
6. Place the filling into the shell. Lightly, brush the edge of the bottom crust with water.  Roll the top crust around the pin and position it over the filled pie. Gently unroll, centering the dough over filling. 
7. Press the edges together and trim the top crust so it’s 1/2 inch larger than the outer edge of the pie pan. Tuck this dough under itself to shape a high crust edge that rests on top of the rim. Pinch and crimp. 
8. With a paring knife, slash 6 vent holes in the top crust.
9. Bake following the pie recipe directions.

 
ChefSecret:  If only making a single crust you can freeze the second dough disk wrapped in food film for up to 3 months.
 
                           Granny Fanny’s Deep-Dish Apple Pie Filling
 
Prep Time:  30 minutes
Inactive Time:  30 minutes
Bake Time:  1 to 1-1/4 hours
Yield:  1 (9-or 10-inch) double-crusted pie
 
Ingredients
4 or 5 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, and cored, soaked in lemon water
1 lemon, zested
1 orange, zested
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon rum
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 teaspoon to sprinkle on top
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (or 3 tablespoons of corn starch or other starch)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
 
Directions

1. Follow the directions for making a perfect pie crust above. 
2. Preheat an oven to 400⁰ F.
3. Cut each apple quarter in half crosswise and combine in a bowl with the zests, juices, vanilla extract, rum, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.
4. Sauté the filling until lightly thickened for about 5 minutes. It will get thicker as it bakes in the oven.
5. Pour the filling onto the blind-baked pie bottom crust.
6. Carefully place the top crust over the filling per the instructions above.
7. Brush the entire top crust with the egg wash, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar, and cut six 3-inch slits.
8. Place the pie on a sheet pan and bake for 1 to 1-1/4 hours, or until the crust is browned and the juices begin to bubble out.  Let the pie cool for at least 1 to 2 hours before serving to set the starches and sugars.

ChefSecret:  I have lots of secrets. Do you need a pie recipe and can’t find that perfect one? Just ask. I have a recipe for any type, flavor and kind of pie—over 500 of them. Just ask by sending me an email at ed@perspectives-la.com.

Quip of the Day: “Some of us are very fearful of Alexa listening in on all our conversations; now Amazon is making a male version which won’t listen to anything.”
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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.
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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.

#Desserts #PerfectPies #ApplePie #PerfectPieCrust #DeepDishPie #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                             ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021

​How you doin’? If you like the spicy red candies known as Red Hots® or Imperials, then this recipe is for you. It is sinfully hot cinnamon. A powerful cinnamon kaboom in an itty-bitty bite. Originally called cinnamon imperials, these hot candies hit you from your nose to your toes. Small, hot and oh-so-good. If your eyes water, it just means you love them. Whether you eat them by the handful, put them on birthday cakes or use them as a decorative touch to your gingerbread house, there are a million fiery ways to spice up your life with Red Hots!
 
In the grammar school we used to go to Marty’s Bike Shop and buy a couple of boxes of Red Hots and compete to see who could get the most on their tongue at one time. What did the winner get? A very red tongue! I don’t hang around the candy aisle much these days but was inspired to write up this hot toddy when I saw them on Amazon. This cocktail recipe takes a few minutes to make but is well worth the effort and brings back lots of memories of Marty’s Red Hots and Hard Candy Cinnamon Apples found at the Los Angeles County Fair.
 
Prep Time:  10 minutes
Yield:  8 cocktails
 
Ingredients
3/4 cup Red Hots candies
1 cup light brown sugar
1 bottle (64 ounces) apple cider
16 ounces Good Old American Whiskey, divided
Freshly Squeezed lime juice
 
Directions
1.    Combine the Red Hots, sugar and cider in a large pot and simmer until the candy is completely dissolved.
2.    In a 10-ounce mug, combine 2 oz of the whiskey with the apple cider mixture. Add a squeeze of lime and serve hot.
3.    You can also make these fun drinks for by leaving out the whisky and adding a bit more cider or make it cold with some sparkling seltzer. 
4.    Any way you make it, it’s a hot blast from the past.
 
ChefSecret:  I use brown sugar a lot. Light brown sugar (made from sugar cane) is a non-GMO pure cane sugar known for its rich aroma, soft and fluffy crystals, light molasses flavor and a hint of moisture. It is ideal for recipes that showcase its warm and nutty flavor profile such as spice cakes or crumbles. It is the secret ingredient in southern family-favorite recipes handed down from one generation to the next. Memories are made when you bake with love and tradition. Always store brown sugars in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Quip of the Day: “Individuals who think their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies and learning from the input of others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe that their talents are derived as innate gifts from God).”
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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. 
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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 #FallAppleCocktails #RedHots #CinnamonCandy #Whiskey #HotToddy #Cheers# QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                            ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021