![]() I see some of our fellow citizens are finally going back to work. I think many of the changes we made in our lives over the last several months will stick around including preparing our own meals. Many of our readers have finally figured out what to do with the Instant Pot they got for Christmas a couple of years ago. If you don’t have the time or inclination to cook for the family for a week over a weekend you can conjure things up in minutes with your Instant Pot. I am using mine more than ever. No matter what the weather, I love soup. Even on the hottest summer day, a bowl of soup seems to make me cooler. My recipe for Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup is thick and cheesy with and loaded with broccoli. This recipe is easy to double to insure you have enough for later in the week. Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Yield: 4 to 6 servings Ingredients To make the soup 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 teaspoons olive oil 1/2 cup diced yellow onion 1 cup shredded carrots 1 cup diced potatoes 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 2 tablespoons minced garlic 2 cups chicken broth 1-1/2-pounds chopped broccoli florets, fresh or frozen To thicken the soup 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup butter To finish the soup 6 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups) 4 ounces Monterey jack cheese, shredded (about 1 cup) 2 cups half and half To garnish the soup 4 to 6 whole broccoli florets, microwaved 6 teaspoons shredded Cheddar cheese Directions
Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “And, it’s starting all over again… Due to the recent worsening of an outbreak of Stupidity and Panic-Purchasing by complete idiots, the nation is again experiencing a shortage of toilet paper and common sense. Expect supplies to be replenished once these sheep-minded morons have all starved to death in their homes surrounded by toilet paper, but without anything to eat.” ------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------- 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. #Soup #InstantPot #BroccoliCheddarSoup #CreamOfBroccoliSoup #Broccoli #Cheddar #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020
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The 2020 Holidays Recipe Collection ![]() How you doin’? Roast beef Chili? I can see you scratching your head. Who makes chili out of roast beef? I do! Making a long story short, I used to work for Lawry’s (both the food company and the restaurants). My first couple of months as a food and beverage consultant I was entertaining buyers at Lawry’s the Prime Rib several times a week. Lawry’s was great family business and I loved the story and the Frank family behind it. Even before joining the company, I already had a nostalgic feeling for the restaurant where we held our family milestone events—birthday, anniversaries, graduations—and where I first tasted fine prime rib. Lawry’s was a dining experience. When you dined at Lawry’s your cut of prime rib is served to you by a carver in a spiffy white chef’s outfit with a medallion around his neck. He rolled a hefty, gleaming stainless-steel serving cart to your table (that costs as much as a new Cadillac) filled with cooked prime ribs, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and creamed corn. The carver slices off the appropriate cut—Diamond Jim Cut (over a pound), Lawry’s Cut (over a half pound) and English Cut (thin slice of roast beef). Lawry’s is known for their efficient, spectacular service and you can be seated and served and out the door in under an hour. Prime rib of beef is rich, somewhat fatty and a lot of beef to consume in a short amount of time. I found myself taking home “doggy bags” and making the best damn chili with the leftovers. It doesn’t take much prime rib to make a really great chili. Use the recipe below as a guide—feel free to tailor it to your own tastes and the availability of roast beef. This is a great starter Instant Pot recipe and what I call a dump-and-cook chili—not much to it except the great taste in a little over a half hour. Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 25 minutes, plus 10 minutes (release time) Yield: 8 Servings Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 to 2 cups of diced prime rib 1 cup of diced yellow onion 2 (30-ounce) cans of mild chili beans 1 (10-ounce) can of original Ro·tel chili and tomatoes (mild) 2 cups corn off-the-cob or frozen corn kernels 2 tablespoons chili powder 1 tablespoon dried cumin 2 cans of dark beer (I prefer Guinness) 1 to 1-1/2 cups of Frito® brand corn chips Directions
ChefSecret: Don’t have any leftover prime rib? You can make my chili with a pound of ground beef and a half pound of chorizo sausage. Sauté both together with the onions. No matter how you make chili, it always tastes better the next day. Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “I’ve had a lot of things to think about over the last 8 months. One is, why do they put braille on the drive-through bank machines?”. ------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------- Here is wishing you the very best during the holidays. 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 #RoastBeefChili #Lawrys #Rotel #HolidayRecipes #Holidays2020 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020 The 2020 Holidays Recipe Collection ![]() How you doin’? New Orleans is one the most enticing cities in America. It is a patchwork quilt of many different cultures and nationalities. It is a bustling international port city situated on the banks of the gulf and the Mississippi River. It was once a refuge for pirates and a smuggling capital for the Confederates during the Civil War. It has its own heritage and attractions and once you’ve been there you will want to go back whenever possible. Great food, drink and music are important parts of what brings people to New Orleans. Shrimp Étouffée (pronounced ‘eh-too-fay’) is one of the more popular dishes from Louisiana, along with gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, and shrimp creole. The word ‘étouffée’ is translated from French as “smothered and can be made with crawfish or shrimp. Shrimp Étouffée is one of the most iconic classic New Orleans recipes that people crave. Étouffée is made with Creole spices and plenty of shrimp in a spicy tomato-based sauce. The rich and delicious stew tastes great served over rice. This recipe is perfect for Mardi Gras parties, but is also so easy that you could make a regular weekday meal extra special. I always keep a bag of frozen shrimp—peeled and de-veined—in my freezer so I don’t have to run out to the store at the last minute when I want to make a quick Instant Pot entrée dinner! Instant Pot Shrimp Étouffée is similar to Instant Pot Gumbo, but there are a few differences.
Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 45 minutes Yield: 6 servings Ingredients 2 pounds shrimp, peeled and de-veined 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning, divided (see homemade recipe below) 4 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup diced yellow onions 1 cup diced green bell peppers 1 cup diced celery 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1/4 teaspoon white pepper 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 2 cups seafood stock (I prefer Better Than Boullion Fish Base) 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes 2 tablespoons tomato puree (I always have a tube of tomato paste in the refrigerator) 2 tablespoons dry sherry (for finishing) 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions, green tops only Chopped parsley to garnish 12 crawfish, cooked (optional; 2 per bowl for garnish) Directions
ChefSecret: I like my Louisiana food to finish on a spicy note and use a dash or two of Tabasco sauce to liven up the dish. You can serve Shrimp Étouffée over pasta or even grits instead of rice. Ed’s Cajun Seasoning You probably have all these ingredients on your spice shelf. Use Cajun Seasoning on all types of foods—broiled steaks and chicken, soups, pasta and salads. I also use it in the flour mixture of my fried chicken. Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 2 minutes Yield: About 1/2 cup. Ingredients 4 teaspoons garlic powder 4 teaspoons onion powder 2 tablespoons sweet paprika powder 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1 tablespoon dried thyme 2 teaspoons dried oregano 2 teaspoons dried basil 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (or less if you don't want it as hot) 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Directions
ChefSecret: Cooking the spices releases all the volatile oils and helping the flavors to blossom. Covid-19 Quip of the Day: Arguing with a woman (and many men, too!) during the pandemic is like reading a Software License agreement. In the end you must ignore everything and click, “I agree.” ------------------------------------------- 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. Here is wishing you the very best for the upcoming holidays. To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind welcoming in the holiday season. 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 #ShrimpEtouffee #NewOrleans #Louisiana #HolidayRecipes #Holidays2020 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2020 The 2020 Holidays Recipe Collection ![]() How you doin’? Many people are never sure whether to serve mashed potatoes or yams (sweet potatoes) for their Thanksgiving Day feast. Either works for me. Since your oven and range top are probably going to be tied up with a multitude of other foods you may need to cook your spuds in the Instant Pot. Once your sweet potatoes are ready, you can enjoy them however you'd prefer—mashed, in sweet potato casserole with marshmallows, or simply with a little butter and brown sugar. Any way you decide to cook them they will be a treat for family and friends. Have you ever wondered where sweet potatoes came from? Sweet potatoes originated in Central and South America. But archaeologists have found prehistoric remnants of sweet potatoes in Polynesia from about A.D. 1000 to A.D. 1100, according to radiocarbon dating. Scientists have hypothesized that those ancient samples came from the western coast of South America. Scientists believe that sweet potato was domesticated thousands of years ago in Central America. After his first voyage to the Americas in 1492, Christopher Columbus took sweet potatoes back home to Spain and eventually to all of Europe. So now you know the rest of the story. Prep time: 10 minutes Instant Pot cook time: 35 minutes Yield: 4 cooked sweet potatoes Ingredients 4 medium sweet potatoes Scrub brush Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker Stainless steel trivet 1 cup water Tongs Directions
ChefSecret: Mash the cooked sweet potatoes along with butter, cinnamon and salt Taste them. If you’d like them sweeter, add up to 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Sprinkle with mini-marshmallows and pecan pieces and bake in an oven until hot and the marshmallows are toasty. Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “Nothing like relaxing on the couch after a long day of being tense on the couch.” ------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------- Here is wishing you the very best for the upcoming holidays. To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind welcoming in the holiday season. 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. #ThanksgivingRecipes #Thanksgiving #SweetPotatoes #InstantPot #Yams #SideDish #HolidayRecipes #Holidays2020 #Thankful #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
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. ------------------------------------------- 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. ------------------------------------------- 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 |
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