How you doin’? There are 1001 gumbo recipes and I’ve tested and tasted a lot of them. There is no such thing as bad gumbo—just some gumbos are better than others. This recipe is traditional, very simple and a breeze in an Instant Pot. In addition to spicy andouille sausage, it’s full of chicken, shrimp, tomatoes, and other great veggies. It is wonderfully creamy with a pungent sauce. This is the original bowl of Cajun comfort food.
 
The most important ingredient is the roux. It’s not complicated even though it does sound French. It‘s just equal measures of butter and flour. Any home meal provider can learn how to make a brown roux first time out. It comes down to patience: you must keep whisking, continuously and slowly, until the roux is a rich, caramel color and full of brown butter and toasted flour flavor.
 
Gumbo is the perfect one-pot, one-bowl meal. It’s loaded with all the proteins and veggies you could want. And the sauce… that beautiful sauce is for the rice and a nice piece of crusty bread to sop it up.
 
Prep time:  30 minutes
Cook time:  45 minutes (all in including the roux)
Yield: 8 servings
 
Ingredients
2 cups dry white rice
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 bell diced peppers, (any colors—orange, green, red or purple)
3 stalks of diced celery
1 medium diced yellow or red onion
12 ounces andouille sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
5-ounces chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2-1/2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1-1/2 tablespoons Louisiana-style hot sauce (Tabasco work well if you don’t have Crystal)
3-1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
2 bay leaves
12 ounces raw shrimp
2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
3 tablespoons cup green onion, sliced thin
 
Directions

1. To get things started, prepare the rice according to the package directions; set aside to serve with the gumbo.
2. In an Instant Pot set to SAUTÉ, combine the butter and flour over medium heat, whisking continuously until a brown roux has formed. Be patient, it takes 15 to 20 minutes. It should be the color of light caramel. Watch your roux carefully, so it doesn’t burn. If it does start to burn, start over.
3. Add the bell peppers, celery, onion. Lightly sauté the vegetables on medium-low heat until they’re sweet and fragrant, about 5 minutes. STOP THE SAUTÉ function.
4. Add the andouille sausage, chicken and garlic, scraping up any crispy bits from the bottom of the pot.
5. Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning over the gumbo and stir to combine.
6. Add the diced tomatoes with their juice, the hot sauce, chicken stock, white wine and the bay leaves.
7. Put the lid on the Instant Pot and seal. Close the quick release valve and set PRESSURE ON HIGH for 15 MINUTES. It will take about 10 minutes for the pressure to click in.
8. When the pressure cycle is done, QUICK RELEASE the pressure valve.
9. Open the Instant Pot lid and add the shrimp and corn kernels. Stir well and put the lid back on the instant pot for 5 minutes to fully cook the shrimp.
10. Serve the gumbo in a soup bowl over rice.
11. Garnish the gumbo with sliced green onions, and hot, crusty bread.

ChefSecret:  I know you may think this won’t work, but the residual heat in the Instant Pot will cook the shrimp and corn perfectly even though the power is off.

Quip of the Day: “Things have gotten so bad in Washington, D.C. Exxon-Mobil had to lay off 25 Congressmen.”
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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.

#Entrees #InstantPot #Gumbo #Andouille #Chicken #Shrimp #CajunSpice #Tabasco #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                             ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021

How you doin’? It’s summertime on the east coast (west coast, too) and there are a few things one can count on—the local corn in the fields is ready for picking (and for sale alongside the roads), plump fresh berries are ready for picking, and lots of “Port-a-Pit Chicken” trucks are set up in parking lots just about everywhere, every weekend.
 
Port-a-Pit Chicken is cooked in a portable smoker and is just about the most delicious summertime chicken you may have ever tasted… and I loved it at first bite.
 
I created this recipe for a tangy chicken marinade and the first time we tried it, I thought it tasted just like it came from a Port-a-Pit—no kidding! Sure, it’s not perfect unless you cook it on a charcoal grill or it won’t have those same smoky flavor notes, but it’s close enough for what we can grill it up at home and I feel like I’m getting a summer treat.
 
I like to cook the dark meat chicken quarters because they have more flavor, but I am sure this sauce will be just as finger lickin’ good on the chicken wings and breasts as well. And absolutely perfect for a friends and family barbecue.
 
Prep time:  20 minutes
Cook time:  45 to 50 minutes
Yield:  Serves 4 people
 
Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
4 chicken quarters, patted dry
Montreal (or grill) seasoning (I prefer Penzy’s)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pam (or equal) cooking spray
 
Directions

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat and add the Worcestershire sauce, onion powder and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
2. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer the sauce for 10 minutes.
3. Reserve a small dish of sauce for serving.
4. Allow the chicken to come to room temp.
5. Spray the chicken with Pam and season liberally with grill seasoning, salt and pepper on both sides.
6. Sear the chicken over high heat (on the grill or under the broiler) for 3 minutes on each side, then reduce heat to low.
7. Cook chicken for 45 minutes, turning every 7-10 minutes, liberally basting with the sauce with each turn.
8. Cook until internal temp is 175⁰ F and serve with extra sauce if desired.
9. Serves four.

ChefSecret:  The chicken will be fully cooked at 165⁰ F. I like to cook the dark meat a little longer (175⁰ F) until the drumstick and thigh joints move freely.

Quip of the Day: “I will see your sarcasm and raise you a cup of sass.”
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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.

#Entrees #Port-A-PitChicken #Chicken #BBQChicken #GrilledChicken #MontrealSeasoning #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                                 ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021

How you doin’? We hope you had a terrific 4th of July holiday with lots of family, friends, great food and fun!
 
 Chocolate Chicken? Are you kidding? No, it’s a real Mexican dish. An authentic Mexican dish where the chicken is slow cooked in a delectable sauce of chiles with a rich, never overpowering, bitter chocolate background. It is truly wonderful served with warm corn tortillas, rice and beans. It may be a bit messy to make, but well worth the effort.
 
Two states in Mexico claim to be the origin of mole—Puebla and Oaxaca. The best-known moles are native to these two states, but other regions in Mexico also make different types of mole-style sauces. Moles come in various flavors and diverse ingredients, with chile peppers as the common ingredient.
 
The classic mole version is the variety called mole poblano, which is a dark red or brown sauce served over meat. The dish has become a culinary symbol of Mexico's mestizaje, or mixed indigenous and European heritage, both for the types of ingredients it contains and because of the legends surrounding its origin.
 
One common legend of its creation takes place at the Convent of Santa Clara in Puebla early in the colonial period. Upon hearing that the archbishop was going to visit, the convent nuns panicked because they were poor and had almost nothing to prepare. The nuns prayed and brought together the little bits of what they did have, including chile peppers, spices, day-old bread, nuts, and a little chocolate. They killed an old turkey, cooked it and put the sauce on top; the archbishop loved it. When one of the nuns was asked the name of the dish, she replied, "I made a mole." Mole is an archaic word for mix; now this word mostly refers to this dish and is rarely used to signify other kinds of mixes in Spanish.
 
A similar version of the story says that monk Fray Pascual invented the dish, again to serve to the archbishop of Puebla. In this version, spices were knocked over or blown over into pots in which chickens were cooking. What we do know is there is nothing like a good mole.
 
Modern mole is a mixture of ingredients from North America, Europe, Africa and Asia making it one of the first intercontinental dishes created in the Americas. Its base, however, is indigenous. Nahuatl speakers had a preparation they called mōlli, meaning "sauce", or chīlmōlli ([t͡ʃiːlˈmoːlːi]) for chili sauce. In the book General History of the Things of New Spain, Bernardino de Sahagún says that mōllis were used in several dishes, including those for fish, game and vegetables.
 
Prep time:  40 minutes
Cook time:  2 hours 20 minutes
Yield:  8 servings
 
Ingredients
4 dried mulato chiles (dried poblanos)
4 dried ancho chiles
4 dried guajillo chiles
4 dried pasilla chilies
2 teaspoons lard, or more as needed
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (7 inch) flour tortilla
2 (5 inch) corn tortillas
1 plantain, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup peanuts
1/8 cup sesame seeds
1 (14 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
1 tablet of Mexican chocolate, such as Abuelita or Ibarra
1 whole chicken, washed and cleaned
 
Directions

1. Remove the stems, veins and seeds from the chiles (you might want to wear gloves when you do this).
2. Heat the lard in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the chiles, and cook and stir until the chiles are fragrant, about 1 minute, being careful not to burn them. Remove the chiles and place them in a large bowl.
3. Stir in the onion and garlic, and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove and add to the bowl with the chiles.
4. Break the flour and corn tortillas into pieces and add them to the skillet. Toast on both sides, turning often, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove; add to the bowl.
5. If needed, melt a small amount of additional lard in the skillet. Add the plantain pieces to the skillet, and cook and stir until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove plantain; add to the bowl.
6. Stir the almonds and peanuts into the skillet and cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Sprinkle in the sesame seeds and continue cooking until sesame seeds are lightly browned, 15-30 seconds. Remove; add to the bowl.
7. Warm the tomatoes over medium heat in the skillet until heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
8. Break the chocolate into chunks and stir into the tomatoes until melted.
9. Pour the chocolate and tomato mixture into the bowl with the chile mixture; stir to combine.
10. Working in small batches, puree the mixture in a blender until smooth, adding a small amount of water if needed to make a smooth sauce.
11. Place the chicken into a large Dutch oven; pour the sauce over the chicken. Cover and simmer over medium low heat until the chicken falls off the bone, 2-3 hours.

 
ChefSecret:  Always wear gloves and be sure to wash your hands very well before going to the restroom to prevent serious burns to your private parts—no kidding. A chile burn down there can ruin your whole day.

Quip of the Day: “A word to the wise isn’t necessary… it’s the stupid ones that need the advice.”
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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.

#Entrees #ChickenMole #OaxacanChickenMole #ChocolateChicken #Chicken #Chiles #Mexico #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                              ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021

How you doin’? There’s no business like food business or so it plays on Broadway. Maybe they’re referring to show biz, but I’ve done both businesses and food is a lot more fun. One of the things I really love is that when you travel to a foreign and somewhat exotic country you can be immersed into the indigenous  foods of the region, including taking cooking classes. In Thailand, Joan and I took cooking classes at the Bangkok Oriental Hotel to learn new Thai cooking techniques.
 
You may have thought that curry dishes were just found in India, but that’s not so. The first evidence of curry was recently discovered in India, dating back to around 2500 B.C., but curries can be found in many different countries. The word "curry" is actually an Anglicized version of the Tamil word "kari." As settlers and traders came to India from as far away as Japan, China, Portugal, Spain, and France, they disseminated recipes for curry throughout southeast Asia, each with a different national twist.
 
There are many different Thai curry techniques. Thai country curry is boiled with a little water to open the spicy flavors; it is a lighter, soupier curry. The city curry is fried with a little oil to bring out the full flavor of the curry spices and produce a thicker curry, but it’s not that simple.
 
Thai people refer to dishes that are known as "Thai Curries" in the Western world as kaeng. The first Thai dictionary from 1873 CE (2416 in the Thai Buddhist calendar) defines kaeng as a watery dish to be eaten with rice and utilizing shrimp paste, onions or shallots, chilies and garlic as essential ingredients. Coconut milk was not included in this definition and many Thai curries, such as kaeng som and kaeng pa, do not feature it. Curries in Lanna (northern Thai) cuisine, with only a few exceptions, do not use coconut milk because coconut palms do not grow well there, if at all, in the climate of the Thai highlands. The spiciness of Thai curries depends on the amount and kind of chili used in the making of the paste. Even within one type of curry the spiciness can differ widely.
 
Although "kaeng" is defined as being watery, the thickness of the sauce can vary considerably by the preparations from broth-like to that of a thick stew. It can even be a completely dry dish. Dry curries, dishes which are stir-fried with a curry paste, are phat phrik khing and khua khling. Kaeng som and keang pa are the more broth-like curries. Matsaman and kaeng khua resemble stews. Ho mok (a fish curry "soufflé"), kaeng kradang (curry aspic from northern Thailand) and noodle dishes such as khanom chin nam ngiao are also seen as Thai curry dishes as they all use curry pastes in their preparation.
 
Most curries are eaten in combination with long-grained jasmine rice in central and southern Thailand; with sticky rice in northern and northeastern Thailand; and with noodles such as khanom chin (fermented rice noodles). Certain curries can also be eaten with roti, the Thai version of the Indian-style fried flat bread from Malaysia called roti canai. Curries in Thailand mainly differ from the curries in Indian cuisine in their use of ingredients such as herbs and aromatic leaves over a mix of spices.
 
My Instant Pot Thai Red Curry chicken is a quick and delicious version with chicken, onions, and bell peppers. Enjoy it hot over jasmine rice. If you like, add Thai basil leaves for additional brightness.
 
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time:  15 minutes
Natural release time:  10-20 minutes
Yield:  5 servings
 
Ingredients
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 tablespoons red curry paste, or more to taste
1-1/2 pounds thin, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips
1 (14 ounce) can unsweetened light coconut milk
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce, or more to taste
1 tablespoon palm sugar
1 cup sliced yellow onion
1 cup sliced red bell pepper
1 cup sliced yellow bell pepper
1 cup sliced orange bell pepper
jasmine rice for serving
Thai basil for garnish

Directions

1. Turn on the Instant Pot and select SAUTÉ function.
2. Add the oil and red curry paste to the hot pot; SAUTÉ for 30 SECONDS.
3. Add the chicken and mix well with curry paste.
4. Pour in the coconut milk.
5. Close and lock the lid. Select HIGH PRESSURE according to manufacturer's instructions; set timer for 2 MINUTES. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for pressure to build.
6. Release pressure using the NATURAL-RELEASE method according to manufacturer's instructions, 10 to 20 MINUTES.
7. Unlock and remove the lid.
8. Stir in the fish sauce and palm sugar.
9. Stir in the onion and bell peppers until well combined.
10. Select SAUTÉ function. Bring curry to a gentle boil and simmer for only 2 TO 3 MINUTES to keep vegetables crunchy.
11. Serve over jasmine rice and garnish with Thai Basil leaves.

ChefSecrets:  If you prefer a thicker curry, add only a half can of coconut milk. If you are using thicker chicken breasts, thighs or duck legs, increase cooking time to 4 to 6 minutes.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “I’ve been shopping more on the internet than ever before. The hardest part of the transaction is getting my fat butt off the couch to get a credit card to pay for it.”
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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. We have added a new search feature to make it easier to navigate through our blogs. 
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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.

#Entrees #InstantPot #ThaiCurry #Chicken #OrientalBangkok #Red Curry #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                              ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021

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

1. Before getting started measure all ingredients and have at your side.
2. In a bowl whisk together the lime juice, sugar, fish sauce and Sambal Oelek and set aside.
3. In a large sauté pan, heat the oil. 
4. Add ginger and garlic and stir fry until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
5. Add the ground chicken and salt, breaking the chicken up with a wooden spoon and stirring until just cooked through, about 6-8 minutes.
6. Stir in the green onion tops, carrots, water chestnuts and lime mixture.
7. Place into a medium bowl and cool.
8. When cool, add the mint and cilantro leaves, stirring together to infuse flavors.
9. Cover and refrigerate.

 
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

1. Neatly arrange the 6 lettuce cups on the serving plate.
2. Divide the cabbage between the 6 lettuces cups, placing at the bottom.
3. Top with 1 ounce of chicken mixture evenly over the cabbage.
4. Place a green bean standing up between each cup (see photo image above).
5. Garnish each lettuce cup with a sprig of mint and cilantro.
6. Serve immediately.

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?”
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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. 
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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.

#Entrees #Salads #EntreeSalads #ThaiChickenSalad #Stir-Fried #Margaritavilla #FlamingoHotel #LasVegas #JimmyBuffet #OrientalBangkokHotel #Chicken #ChickenThighs #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                              ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021