How you doin’? Over 30 million people are now out of work and many are looking for ways to trim their food budget. Mexican food tends to be less expensive and can be stretched further than other cuisines.

I want to share a very special recipe—my taco seasoning mix. If you love eating Mexican foods even past Cinco de Mayo you’re in for a treat. This is not only the perfect filling for tacos, but also great for meat filled-burritos and taco salads.
 
When I worked at Lawry’s, we developed the first Taco Seasoning Mix—and it was a hit. We found that you can use the seasoned meat on a variety of Mexican specialties. Not into beef?  It’s is also the prefect seasoning for ground chicken, turkey and tofu. So here it is… the perfect hack for Lawry’s Taco Seasoning Mix.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Yield:  1 cup
 
Ingredients
 1/4 cup sweet paprika
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
 
Directions

1. Measure out and whisk all the ingredients into a medium bowl making sure to break up any clumps.
2. If not using the spice mix immediately, transfer to an airtight container for long term storage at cool room temperature.
3. Three (3) tablespoons of taco season will season 1 pound of ground beef, chicken, turkey, or tofu.

                                                La Cocina Patio Tacos
Ingredients
 1 tablespoon olive oil
1-pound ground beef (80/20)
3 tablespoons Ed’s Taco Seasoning Mix
2/3 cup of water
 
Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet.
2. Brown the ground meat in the skillet on medium-high heat. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat.
3. Stir in the 3 tablespoons of taco seasoning mix and add 2/3 cup of water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Spoon the seasoned meat mixture into taco shells.
5. Serve with assorted toppings—shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, shredded cheese, salsa and hot sauce.

 
ChefSecret:  3 tablespoons of this taco seasoning is the equivalent to 1 package of Lawry’s Taco Seasoning. The seasoning mix keeps well in an airtight container at cool room temperature up to 6 months.

#Tacos #CincoDeMayo #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Lawrys #Covid19 #Burritos

How you doin’? It’s almost Cinco de Mayo!!!  We didn’t want to wait until the last minute to get you Cinco de Mayo cocktail recipes, and it is Friday after all, so you can practice, practice, practice right on through to Tuesday.
 
Cinco de Mayo is the annual celebration held on May 5th in commemoration of the Mexican Army's victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. In better times Cinco de Mayo is celebrated with parades, food, music, dancing, battle reenactments and cocktails—lots of cocktails. It’s a time for fun, celebration and merriment. And there’s no better way to celebrate than with an icy cold Margarita. We think Jimmy Buffett had it right with his famous song—Margaritaville. So, what is a Margarita?
 
A basic Margarita is a mixed cocktail consisting of measures tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice most often served with salted rim on the glass. The drink can be shaken with ice (on the rocks), blended with ice (frozen), or without ice (straight up) with a tequila shooter. It has become acceptable to serve a Margarita in a wide variety of glass types, ranging from cocktail and wine glasses to pint glasses and even large schooners or pitchers. You can even dress up a Margarita with premium or top-shelf liquor or make it fresh and fruity by adding your favorite fruit, i.e., strawberry, mango, pineapple, etc.
 
There are many conflicting accounts on how the Margarita was first concocted. One account comes from the 1937 Cafe Royal Cocktail Book that contains a recipe for a Picador using the same concentrations of tequila, triple sec and lime juice as a Margarita. Another early story is of the Margarita being invented in 1938 by Carlos "Danny" Herrera at his restaurant Rancho La Gloria, in Baja California. Danny claimed that it was created for customer and former Ziegfeld dancer Marjorie King, who was allergic to many spirits, but not to tequila. This story was related by Herrera and also by bartender Albert Hernandez, acknowledged for popularizing a Margarita in San Diego after 1947, at the La Plaza restaurant in La Jolla. There are also claims that the Margarita was first mixed in Juárez, Chihuahua at Tommy's Place Bar on July 4, 1942 by Francisco "Poncho" Morales.
 
Others say the inventor was Dallas socialite Margarita Sames, when she mixed up the drink for her guests at her Acapulco, Guerrero vacation home in 1948. Tommy Hilton reportedly attended, bringing the drink back to the Hilton hotel chain. However, The spirts company, Jose Cuervo was already running ad campaigns for the Margarita three years earlier, in 1945, with the slogan, "Margarita: It's more than a girl's name." According to Jose Cuervo, the cocktail was invented in 1938 by a bartender in honor of Mexican showgirl Rita de la Rosa.
 
At our Customs House Restaurants, Margaritas were important mixed cocktails for our bar program. In fact, the CHR wereknown for our Cinco de Mayo celebration and our perfectly concocted Margaritas. Here are a few for you to try. 
 
The Basic Margarita Customs House Margarita
Build in a shaker over ice or in a blender can
Ice to 3/4-full in the shaker can
3/4-ounce tequila
1-ounce Cointreau
1-1/2-ounces lime mix
1/4-ounce fresh lime juice
Squeeze lime juice into 13-ounce salted glass
Shake (or blend) the mixture above and pour into the salted 13-ounce glass
Serve a side car of 3/4-ounce tequila shot; garnish the shot glass with a salted rim and a lime wheel
 
Margarita Grande
Make the basic into a Margarita Grande
Everything above plus a 1/2-ounce Grand Marnier float on top of the drink
 
The Perfect Cadillac Margarita
Fill a cocktail shaker 3/4 way with ice
After measuring out each ingredient below, pour it into the shaker
4-ounces of tequila
2- ounces Cointreau
4-ounces fresh lime juice
2 ounces simple syrup
Shake well and pour into your favorite glass
Pour 1 ounce of Grand Marnier into a shot glass serve as a side car
 
Flat On Your Back Margarita
You will need a large, oversize super bowl-shaped glass.
This is a layered build
2-ounces of grenadine
Fill the glass with crushed iced
Add a layer of club soda
1-1/4-ounces tequila
1-1/4-ounces rum
1-1/4-ounces vodka
4-ounces of fresh orange juice
2-ounces sweet & sour
1-ounce brandy
Float some more club soda
Float 1-ounce of Blue Curacao
Garnish with 2 to 4 straws
 
Upside Down Margarita
Some participation is required.
Go to your favorite Mexican restaurant and make friends with the bartender. Or go into your home bar/kitchen and ask your “roomie” for assistance. Now stand with your back to the bar; lean backward and place your head on the bar—open your mouth. The bartender will pour a 1-ounce shot of tequila, 1/2 shot of sweet & sour, 1/2 shot of triple sec into your mouth, and sprinkles a pinch of salt on your tongue. Then you stand up straight and swallow.
 
Tequila Sunrise
Build over ice cubes in a 13-ounce glass
1/4-ounce grenadine
1-1/2 ounces tequila
4-ounces fresh orange juice
 
Macho Nachos! (You really can’t make a mistake)
 Directions? You don’t need no stinkin’ directions! Just pile all the good stuff on.

1. Have all the prepared ingredients ready to assemble.
2. Preheat an oven to 350⁰ F.
3. In a microwave, heat refried beans until they are loose enough to spoon onto nachos.
4. On a large ovenproof platter or skillet, spread out a layer of tortilla chips and quickly put teaspoons of hot, refried beans over the pile of chips.
5. Next put a layer of prepared taco meat.
6. Then top with chopped tomato and diced green chiles.
7. Next, pile on lots of cheddar cheese and top with fresh or prepared salsa.
8. Place the platter in the oven to melt the cheese.
9. Serve with a side of fresh or prepared salsa.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

#CincoDeMayo #Margaritas #Nachos #HappyHour #Cocktails #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #Tequila

So, how are you doing? It is our 22nd day staying unsociably away from others and I am getting used to it. While I took the weekend off from writing, I was cooking and baking up a storm—more on all that later.

Today I want to talk about meatballs. I love meatballs and I love the convenience of having bags of them in the freezer so I can use them anytime with anything. My Instant Pot meatballs are fast to make—you don’t even need to brown them before simmering.

The secret to making tender meatballs is to mix lightly to just combine the ingredients. Over-mixing activates the naturally occurring myosin that makes meatballs tough and rubbery. Avoid over-mixing once the ground meats have been added to the egg and spice mixture.

After scooping and shaping the meatballs, bring the marinara sauce and water to a simmer using the Instant Pot’s sauté function, then pile the meatballs into the sauce. You’ll need to stack the meatballs on top of one another, but do avoid mashing them together. Depending on the size of your Instant Pot you may have to do this in two cook cycles.

Serve meatballs over pasta, polenta, or on sub rolls, or as an appetizer with Happy Hour. 

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking cycle time: 25 minutes
Yield:  About 90 mini-meatballs
 
Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cups yellow onion, minced
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup cream or whole milk
4 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cups finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
8 ounces uncooked Italian sausage (spicy or mild), casings removed (or ground pork)
1-1/2-pounds ground beef (80/20 or leaner)
1-pound ground veal
2 (24 ounce) jars marinara sauce (Rao’s is best)
2 cups water or red wine
 
Instructions

1. Add the olive oil to a small pan and lightly sauté the yellow onion until just beginning to brown. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs and cream together.
3. Combine the garlic, Parmesan cheese, panko, oregano, thyme, chile flakes, salt and pepper; blend well and then add to the cream/egg mixture.  Add the cooled onions to this mixture.
4. Remove the casings from the Italian sausage, if needed, and add the sausage, ground beef and veal to the bowl.

1. Gently mix with your hands until just combined. Do not overmix.
2. Scoop and shape the mixture into 90 walnut-sized meatballs (about 2 tablespoons each), and place on a plate or baking sheet.
3. Set the Instant Pot to SAUTÉ bringing the marinara sauce and 2 cups water (or wine) to a simmer.
4. Add the meatballs to the simmering sauce, stacking them but avoiding pressing them into each other. Turn off the Sauté function.  Note: Depending on the size of your Instant Pot, you might want to cook them in two cycles; you can use the same sauce.
5. Lock the lid on and make sure the pressure valve is set to seal. Set to HIGH pressure for 10 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes to come up to pressure. When the cook time is up, let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes. QUICK RELEASE the remaining pressure.
6. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meatballs from the cooking sauce and let them cool on a rack, plate or sheet pan. When the meatballs have cooled, place them in plastic bags and freeze. 
7. Transfer the remaining sauce into a container and refrigerate.  Before using remove the congealed fat from the top of the sauce and discard. You can use this sauce for your next pasta and meatball dinner.

ChefSecret:  To make sure you have nice tender meatballs be careful not to over mix once you add the meats to the wet ingredients.
Storage: Meatballs can be frozen for up to 3 months.

#Meatballs #InstantPot #Appetizers #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup