…from the Perspectives' Candy KitchenHow you doin’? There are just 13 days ‘till Christmas! I found out my good friend Linda is quite a holiday cook. She writes me quite often regarding some of the blog recipes that we send. This time she sent one to me… she told me that No-Cook M&M’s Christmas Casserole is quite popular this time of year. It can be ready in no time—just as long as it takes to open 4 bags of the beloved panned candy. Forrest Mars Sr., son of the Mars Company founder, Frank C. Mars, copied the idea for the candy in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War when he saw soldiers eating British-made Smarties, chocolate pellets with a colored shell of what confectioners call hard panning (essentially hardened sugar syrup) surrounding the outside, preventing the sweets (candies) from melting. Mars received a patent for his own process on March 3, 1941. Production began in 1941 in a factory located at Clinton Hill, Newark, New Jersey. The company's first big customer was the U.S. Army, which saw the invention as a way to allow soldiers to carry chocolate in tropical climates without it melting. During World War II, the candies were exclusively sold to the military. The resulting demand for the candies caused an increase in production and the company moved its factory to bigger quarters. In 1949, the brand introduced the tagline "The milk chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand.” And now you know the rest of the story! Prep time: 5 minutes Yield: 20 servings Ingredients 1 bag plain M&M’s 1 bag peanut M&M’s 1 bag almond M&M’s 1 bag peanut butter M&M’s Directions
ChefSecret: There are all sorts of different flavors these days—regular and holiday. Mix and match as you please. Quip of the Day: Why was the M&M staring at the computer? It wanted to learn how to be a “smartie!” ------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #ChristmasRecipes #M&MsCasserole #Smarties #Holidays2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #RedCross #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023
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…from the Perspectives’ Holiday Kitchen How you doin’? Are you looking for a show-stopping dessert? If you don’t mind spending the time here is my recipe for making mini dessert tarts that are wickedly cute and quite delicious. While the directions are a bit long, these little tarts are deceptively easy to make. The shells taste like buttery almond cookies. The base filling is a deliciously smooth and creamy pastry cream with vanilla and brandy flavor thrills, all topped with beautiful fresh fruit. You can really use any seasonal fruit. In the test kitchen, I aimed for color and shape—red raspberries, yellow mango, green kiwis and blue blueberries. The shine is from apricot jam glaze and of course a bit of whipped cream topping right before serving. These pretty little fruit tarts will be the perfect finish to a Christmas or New Year’s brunch, wedding shower, or really any special occasions. Always remember everyone loves the taste of something sweet at the end of any great meal. Prep time: 1 hour Cook time: 15 minutes Chill time: 2 hours or overnight Bake time: 25 minutes Yield: 15 to 18 mini tarts Ingredients For the tart shells 2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup almond flour 1-1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, divided 1 cup unsalted room temperature butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Kosher salt 1 large egg, plus 2 egg yolks, divided For the pastry cream 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1-2/3 cups whole milk 1/4 cup heavy cream Kosher salt 6 large egg yolks 1/4 cup cornstarch 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon brandy 3 tablespoons unsalted butter For the fruit topping 5 cups mixed fruit, cut into bite-size pieces, if needed 2 tablespoons apricot jam Whipped cream or mint leaf Directions To make the dough
ChefSecret: Pastry cream can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Finished fruit tarts can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Quip of the Day: Why do we have Pop-Tarts and not Mom-Tarts? Because of the Pastry-archy. ------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #ChristmasRecipes #Christmas #HolidayMiniFruitTarts #PastryCream #FruitTopping #Dessert #Holidays2023 #BeThankful #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #RedCross #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 … from the Perspectives Kitchen How you doin’? Are you a bread lover? I am! I know for some people it has been popular to skip the carbs and go right to the meat on the plate, but that breadbasket on the table in restaurants serves an important purpose. One of the symptoms of low blood sugar is hunger—that’s when people go to restaurants, right? Hunger signals to the brain, feed me! When you are hungry you can get a bit grumpy and short-tempered. That’s why so many restaurants like to get some food in their guests while they are having their first drink and looking through the menu. You’ve seen it—chips and salsa at Mexican cantinas, Chinese crispy noodles at Asian restaurants and the proverbial breadbasket at Texas Roadhouse. Today many restaurants skipped the table starters to save a few pennies… that’s so wrong. Well-fed guests are happy guests. If you’ve ever been to Texas Roadhouse you know how addictive their pillowy soft, honey baked rolls are. These guys are smart to let you fill up on bread long before any of the other food arrives to the table. You are fulfilled, relaxed and as contented as a pig in mud. Guests may not remember the steak, but everyone talks about the rolls! Richard, my Long Island bakery client, was approached by Texas Roadhouse to make a frozen knock-off of their tasty little squares—that’s when Sweet Yeasties were invented, and they were so good and a dead-on match. What we found is they were simple to make, and everyone loves them. So, here’s my hack for Sweet Yeasties. As with most of my recipes, you already have a lot of the ingredients on hand in your pantry—water, eggs, flour, butter, sugar, honey and, maybe even a fresh package of active dry yeast. I love this recipe and I bet you will, too. Prep time: 20 minutes Proof time: 2 hours Bake time: 12 to 15 minutes Yield: 24 rolls Ingredients 2 cups whole milk 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and divided 1 package active dry yeast 1/2 cup warm water, not over 105⁰ F 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided 3/4 cup honey 7-1/2 to 8 cups all-purpose flour 2 eggs, lightly whisked 2 teaspoons kosher salt Directions
ChefSecret: In a recent email from Richard he reminded me that we sold the roll at a client’s restaurant FRIED and jelly filled! So, make them either way or both ways for a real restaurant-quality treat right in your own home. Quip of the Day: Q. What is it called when you steal a rich person’s dinner rolls? A. Highfalutin gluten lootin’! ------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #ChristmasRecipes #SweetYeasties #YeastDinnerRolls #TexasRoadhouse #Holidays2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #RedCross #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 …from the Perspectives’ Kitchenow you doin’? I don’t know where 2023 has gone, but I see on the calendar that Christmas and the yearend holidays are just weeks away. Some of us love to bring homemade foods to our friends and relatives at holiday time. Cakes, breads, cookies and cakes are great local gifts for those close to where you live. Candy is a great gift for sending out—it’s always easy to send, well received and very much appreciated. In the past I always sent our Choclatique confections, but I’ve decided to change it up a bit this year. I love Italian-style soft and chewy nougat. Most of the time all I can find is the hard sugar kind made with almonds, hazelnut and honey. I decided to try making soft nougat myself. Italian-Style Soft Nougat starts with whipped egg whites, roasted nuts and dried fruit. There's quite a bit of sugar and honey in the mixture. Feel free to make it your own by adding dried fruits or even citrus peel. The secret to successfully shipping these through USPS is to use edible rice paper on both sides of this sticky treat. Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Set time: 4 hours+ Yield: 10 to 12 servings Equipment: Candy thermometer Ingredients 2 sheets confection rice paper (confection supply or Amazon) 1 cup toasted nuts (almonds, hazelnuts or pistachios) 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup honey 2 tablespoons water 1 large egg white, room temperature 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 cup dried fruit (dried cherries and/or candied, glazed fruit) Directions
ChefSecret: Edible wafer paper sheets are used for making creative edible decorations such as butterfly wings, flowers, feathers or using it to add texture to the sides of cakes, and so much more. Rice paper can be printed or airbrushed on and cut out using different punch cutters. Five 8 x 11-inch sheets cost about $4.00. Quip of the Day: “When you teach a wolf to meditate, he becomes aware wolf.” ------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #ChristmasRecipes #Christmas #ChristmasCandy #Torrone #SoftNougat #ItalianSoftNougat #Dessert #Holidays2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #RedCross #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 From the Perspectives’ Happy Hour BarHow you doin’? Mr. Grinch isn’t fond of much, but he has a few things that will change his attitude. While the Grinch is a bitter old biddy, I think you’ll find my Tipsy Grinch Punch absolutely delightful and refreshing! If you want to make your holiday party stand out this year, consider hosting a How The Grinch Stole Christmas theme, and make sure to whip up big batches of my greenie-meanie punch. Prep time: 10 minutes Yield: 6 servings Ingredients 1 13-ounce packet of Lemon-Lime Kool-Aid (yes, I said Kool-Aid) 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup pineapple juice 8 ounce package frozen lemonade concentrate 1/4 cup Sprite or 7-Up 1 cup vodka (it doesn’t have to be top-shelf vodka) Red sanding sugar Directions
ChefSecret: You can use a bit of corn syrup on your finger, rub it along the rim off the glass then dip the top of the glass into the red sanding sugar. Quip of the Day: Q. Why did the Grinch want to go down the chimney? A. Because it sooted him. ------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Cocktail #HappyHour #TipsyGrinchGreenPunch #Grinch #Vodka #Kool-Aid #Cheers#Holidays2023 #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 |
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