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 ed@perspectives-la.com.  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? 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 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, 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

How you doing? This recipe came out of my restaurant, Fanny’s Fish Market, in Foster City, California. I had tasted crab cakes all over the place before putting these on the menu and I always go back to this recipe, not so much because it so easy, but that they just taste great—they’re the best. If you don’t have time to pick your own crab meat during the Dungeness season, your local fish monger usually carries the canned product. The cans are full of jumbo lump crab meat.

Fanny’s original recipe has just the right amount of spices and seasonings. No need to bread the cakes before frying. They hold together well without seeming too bready. Fry the crab cakes in a mixture of butter and olive oil which gives them an amazing golden-brown crust.

I made these a couple of weeks ago as a Crab Cake Benedict topped with a quick and Easy Blender Hollandaise sauce (recipe below). They’re also perfect for a crab cake sandwich. Of course, you can serve them on their own as an appetizer or a dinner entrée, with a tartar or red cocktail sauce and lemon wedge.

Prep time:  10 minutes.
Cook time:  10 minutes
Yield:  10 to 12 crab cakes
 
Ingredients
16 ounces lump crab meat, drained
12 saltine crackers, finely crushed
2 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon onion, chopped
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon seafood seasoning
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
 
Directions

1. Place the crab meat in a bowl and add the crushed saltines.
2. Beat the egg yolks, then pour them on top.
3. Add the remaining ingredients (except the egg whites) and gently fold everything together, being careful to not break up the crab pieces too much.
4. Use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites to soft peaks, then gently fold this into the crab mixture.
5. Shape the mixture into 3-1/2-inch rounded cakes.
6. Fry in a heavy bottomed saucepan in a mixture of butter and olive oil over medium-high heat until lightly browned on both sides. Be careful not to overcook.

 
                         Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce
Prep time: 5 minutes
Blender time:  5 minutes
 
If you’ve ever made Hollandaise sauce yourself you probably know that it not only builds character, but muscles as well. In many culinary schools it’s known as the sauce of 1,000-strokes. It is time-consuming to make and doesn’t keep well on a steam table without breaking. When you are preparing brunch for hundreds of guests, you don’t want them to wait for their Eggs Benedict. We invented this method to keep both our guests and co-workers happy.
 
Ingredients
5 large egg yolks
1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh or reconstituted)
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
5 fluid ounces of unsalted clarified butter, boiling hot
 
Directions

1. Place egg yolks, lemon juice, Tabasco and salt in a blender jar—cover and blend for 5 seconds only.
2. Heat the butter in a microwave for 120 seconds or until it is very, very hot.
3. Turn the blender on, remove the port from the lid and slowly pour the hot butter into the egg yolk mixture.  Continue pouring slowly until the sauce has thickened.
4. Pour the sauce into a bowl and hold over warm water until ready to serve.

ChefSecret: This is a reduced quantity recipe.  It works well when doubling or tripling the recipes, too.
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Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  I have developed the new Covid-19 testing protocol. At 5pm open a bottle of wine, smell it, then pour it in a glass. If you can smell it and taste it, you’re good. Celebrate by finishing the bottle. You are welcome!
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Do you have a question or comment, want to share a favorite recipe or pictures? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. You can also find past blog posts at https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.

To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind—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.

#Entree #Appetizer #Brunch #CrabCakes #Crab #Hollandaise #Tabasco #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                              ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020

How you doin’? One of things I miss the most during this pandemic is eating out at restaurants. I like all kinds of restaurants. California Pizza Kitchen has two menu choices that I used to go back for at least once a week—Thai Crunch Salad and Kung Pao Spaghetti.
 
It might seem kind of funny, but I will order either one of these two off the menu before I would order a pizza. The good news is, I think we finally cracked the code on a beloved California Pizza Kitchen dish: Now you can kung pao your spaghetti and eat it too in under an hour.  This recipe had all the essential ingredients that make this the perfect hybrid kung pao dish--tender chunks of stir-fried chicken are tossed with pasta, lots of toasted peanuts and a piquant sweet-and-spicy sauce.
 
Prep time:  30 min
Cook time:  30 min
Yield:  4 servings 
 
Ingredients
1 tablespoon kosher salt
8 ounces spaghetti
1/2 cup peanut oil, for drizzling and frying
1 tablespoon mirin (Japanese sweet rice cooking wine)
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1-pound chicken tenders, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces (you can also use chopped thighs if dark meat is preferred)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon sambal
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts
6 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 dried chiles de arbol, stemmed and seeded
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup mushrooms (optional)
 
Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions—10 to 11 minutes.
2. Drain the spaghetti and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of peanut oil and toss. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, whisk together the mirin and 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce in a large bowl. Add the raw chicken pieces and toss to coat. Set aside. 
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, chili sauce, sambal, vinegar, sesame oil, 2 teaspoons of the cornstarch and remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce. Make sure to whisk in the cornstarch well. 
5. In a heavy bottom skillet, add a couple of tablespoons of peanut oil. Add the peanuts and cook until toasted to a dark brown, about 1 minute. Remove them with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate.
6. Toss the marinated raw chicken with the remaining 1/2 cup cornstarch until coated completely. Discard the marinade.
7. In the same heavy-bottomed skillet, fill halfway with peanut oil and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking (350⁰F). Add the chicken to the hot oil in batches and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 1 minute or so per side. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate; cook the remaining chicken in batches.
8. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the oil and wipe it clean with a paper towel.
9. Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Add the scallions, chiles and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute.
10. Add the chicken broth mixture to the skillet and bring to a boil.
11. Return the cooked chicken to the skillet with the peanuts and pasta to heat; toss until the pasta and chicken are fully coated and hot.
12. Serve warm.

ChefSecret:  

• If I have other extra vegetables in the refrigerator, I will dice carrots and celery and sometimes add sliced mushrooms.
• This recipe is set for a moderate heat/spice level. If you want it hotter add more chiles.
• The sauce on this recipe is also great for any stir-fry dish when you want it hot and spicy.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  Some sage advice—every few days or so try on your jeans just to make sure they still fit. The pajamas you’ve been wearing for the last two weeks will have you believe that all is well in the kingdom—it probably isn’t.
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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, 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.

#Entree #Kung Pao #Spaghetti #CPK #Pasta #HotSpicy #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                             ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020

How you doin’? Let’s try something a little different today--FARRO. Do not say “ick” to farro.  Farro is considered one of those magical ancient grains. Farro is an ingredient composed of the grains of certain wheat species—an ethnobotanical term for three species of hulled wheat: spelt, emmer and einkorn. Hulled wheat is wheat that cannot be threshed. Farro is sold dried and prepared by cooking in water until soft. It is eaten plain or is often used as an ingredient in salads, soups, and other dishes.
 
This Mediterranean Farro Salad is filled with fresh ingredients, lots of chewy delicious farro, and it’s tossed with a light Greek vinaigrette. Perfect as a side dish or main course, and for taking with you to a potluck dinner! Any ingredient that sounds good to you can probably be included in this salad.
 
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes 
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
 
Ingredients
For the farro
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup uncooked farro, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon kosher salt
 
For the salad
1 large cucumber, seeded and finely diced
2/3 cup finely diced roasted red peppers (orange or yellow peppers are also acceptable)
1/2 cup finely diced sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup finely diced red onion
1/4 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts
1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives (back or green olives are also acceptable)
1/4 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
 
For the Greek vinaigrette
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon find grind black pepper
 
Directions
For cooking perfect farro every time use an Instant Pot. If you don’t have an Instant Pot cook the farro according to the directions on the package.

1. Add farro, water and salt to the kettle of an Instant Pot.
2. Manually set to HIGH pressure for 10 MINUTES for al dente (great for salads).
3. QUICK RELEASE after 10 MINUTES before releasing pressure.
4. Fork stir the farro to fluff.
5. Transfer the farro to a large mixing bowl and chill for a minimum of 45 minutes.

To make the Greek vinaigrette

1. Whisk all ingredients together until combined. Use immediately.

To make the salad

1. Fork fluff the farro again and add the remaining ingredients, including the vinaigrette. 
2. Toss until well combined.
3. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

 
ChefSecret: If you have a sensitivity to raw red onion reduce the amount or delete the onions altogether.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “If there is a second part to this quarantine, do we have to stay with the same family or will the US Marshalls relocate us?”
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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, 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 #SideDish #Farro #AncientGrains #MediterraneanSalad #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup

                                               ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020