…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen  How you doin’? When looking for a great steak place in the greater Las Vegas area I tend to lean toward local Henderson restaurants. In fact, if you talk to most locals, the only time they venture down to the strip is when they have guests or clients in town.
Green Valley Ranch’s upscale Hank’s Fine Steaks and Martinis is the perfect go-to place. The restaurant offers fine surf 'n' turf beneath crystal chandeliers with impeccable table side service. Professional table side service these days in many Las Vegas restaurants and Hanks does it well. But don’t think of a stuffy, old fashioned kind of place or service. Hank’s is contemporary in design and the service is all about hospitality, making it a comfortable go-to restaurant for special occasions or just a great night out for dinner. With all the wet and dry-aged beef options you want to start your meal with a light Wedge Salad. You don’t want to spoil your appetite with something like their excellent Lobster Chowder or French Onion Soup Gratinee—a little too rich to go with Chateaubriand. My personal preference is for the house Wedge Salad with homemade Ranch Dressing. This is not just any store-bought, bottled or dry mix ranch—it is house made Ranch Dressing at its finest. There are a couple of things that make my Ranch Dressing special. First, I redefined the mayonnaise, sour cream and buttermilk ratios so the texture is just right. It’s thin enough that you can toss it, and it’s got the perfect amount of stick-to-it-iveness so that it clings to lettuce wedge, salad goodies and is dippable without being globby. No one likes an over-dressed giant glob of dressing on their lettuce wedge. My Ranch Dressing is light, tangy and herby, thanks to a perfect blend of parsley, chives and dill. Now for the greens--Wedge Salads are just about as simple as they come but that’s their appeal as they complement the steak course to the fullest. They are sophisticated, yet simple and special at the same time. This Wedge Salad is what you might expect to order at a country club, fancy restaurant or my house. The wedge of juicy, well chilled iceberg lettuce is the perfect blank canvas for all your favorite toppings like. Seasonally sweet cherry tomatoes, black pepper rimmed bacon, some fresh-cut chives for a pretty pop of green along with options of black olives, pickled sweet red onions, toasted croutons, plenty of crumbled bleu cheese and whatever else you love. This Wedge Salad is perfect for a lunch entrée or for a great starter for a steak or lobster dinner. Remember to keep it simple, just salt and pepper, because you’re going to want to drag that steak through the leftover dressing. Ranch Dressing Prep time: 10 minutes Yield: 2 cups Ingredients 3/4 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup sour cream 3/4 cup buttermilk 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley 2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives 2 teaspoons minced fresh dill 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper Directions
ChefSecret: I like to make a double recipe. Once you have a jar full of the stuff, you’re going to want to dip, dunk and drench everything in it, like blistered shishito chile peppers, air-fried pickles and jalapeño poppers. It’s also amazing on the classics, from wee baby carrots to pepperoni pizza, and of course, this wedge salad. Wedge Salad Prep time: 15 minutes Yield: 4 servings Ingredients 1 firm, fresh head iceberg lettuce, cut in quarters 1 cup ranch dressing 6 strips chopped crispy-cooked peppered bacon 10 cherry tomatoes cut in half 4 teaspoons chopped chives 1/2 cup crumbled bleu cheese Directions
Quip of the Day: Q. Why did the cowboy ride a horse while eating salad? A. Because he loved the ranch dressing. ------------------------------------------- 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, be 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. #Entree #Salad #WedgeSalad #RanchDressing #Lunch #Dinner #2023Recipes #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023
0 Comments
…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen How you doin’? My weekly personal grocery bill has gone up nearly $75/week in the last year. That’s a big hit due to the continual rise in inflation. One of our restaurants opened under similar circumstance many years ago—higher prices are restaurant killers.
The success of Fanny’s Fish Market wasn’t about whole pieces of fish filets, jumbo shrimp and lobster tails. Fanny’s Fish Market was all about seafood infused sauces and meals. Our seafood sauce over a variety of pastas or salads mixed with bits and pieces gave plenty of rich seafood flavor at far lower costs. Seafood enhanced soups and chowders served in extra-large bowls with large slices of hot, cheesy garlic bread offered full meals at bargain prices. Fanny’s opened on the pier at Foster City Estuary. It was an immediate success—profitable the first month it opened. With the restaurants’ healthy variety and reasonable prices you could (and many did) come in 3 or 4 times a week. Here’s my home version of Fanny’s famous Sea Creature House Salad. The secret to our soups, salads and pasta dishes is a great thick piece of cheesy-buttered, toasted, crusty garlic bread. Prep time: 15 minutes Rest time: 5 mins Yield: 4 personal salads / 1/2 cup dressing Ingredients For the dressing 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar 1 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning (see recipe below) 1 tablespoon crushed garlic 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese For the salad 2 (5 ounce) packages American salad mix (lettuce blend with other seasonal ingredients) 3/4 cup sliced pitted black olives 3/4 cup thinly sliced red pickled pepperoncini 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion or pickled red onion 2 plum tomatoes, sliced 1/4 cup sliced and quartered cucumber 1/2 cup warm garlic seasoned croutons 1/3 cup “baby” cooked shrimp—71-count (tiny sea creatures) Directions
ChefSecret: You don’t have to buy a special spice mix to make it Italian. You probably have all the ingredients in your own spice cabinet. Feel free to adjust the ratio of spices and the yield to make whatever size of batch you would like to your taste. You’ll find this spice mix works with hundreds of other recipes from soups to pasta, grilled meat and marinades. Ed’s Special Italian Seasoning Blend 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon dried marjoram 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon dried basil 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary 1/2 teaspoon dried sage Whisk all seasonings together in a bowl until combined. Better yet process through a spice grinder for a few seconds. Use immediately or store in a sealed container. Quip of the Day: My doctor recently asked if anyone in my family suffered from mental illness and I said, "No, we all seem to enjoy it." ------------------------------------------- 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, be 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. #Entree #Salad #ShrimpSalad #FannysFishMarket #SeaCreatureSalad #BayShrimp #BabyShrimp #Lunch #Dinner #2023Recipes #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 …from the Perspectives’ Kitchen How you doin’? Cold soup is a very tricky thing, and it is the rare chef that can carry it off well. More often than not, the dinner guests are left with the impression that had they only arrived a little earlier they could have enjoyed it while it was still hot.
You’ve heard the old saying, “never wear white after Labor Day and never serve soup in the summer (or something like that). Not true! We whirled up fresh, green batches of gazpacho over the years and even included them on my restaurant menus. I make the green one at home when I have more overly ripe avocado than I know what to do with. I’ve been told that my green gazpacho converted many summer cold-soup skeptics into full-blown fanatics of the stuff. So, what do you do when you have more out-of-the-garden tomatoes and summer harvest, garden grown vegetables than you can use? We go to the other side of the color wheel and see red. My Summer’s End Chilled Gazpacho is made with a lightly acidified broth, made with puréed tomatoes and a wheel barrel of fresh harvest diced vegetables—Vidalia onions, punchy garlic, sweet red bell pepper, spicy red jalapeño and crunchy cucumber. If you’ve got some extra summer corn toss it in. All those veggies make this gazpacho a bit heartier than a straight purée, but it’s still wonderfully refreshing. You’ll love the combination of the cool, delicate broth with the fresh, crisp, vegetable textures. Serve with warm crusty sourdough bread and a bottle of Mondavi Fume Blanc. Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 30 seconds Chill time: 2 hours Yield: 6 servings Ingredients 6 to 8 large ripe red tomatoes, cored 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup diced Vidalia onion 2 tablespoon minced cloves 1-1/2 cups diced red or orange bell pepper 1 diced jalapeño pepper, seeds and seams removed 1 diced English cucumber, seeds removed 1/2 cup fresh corn off the cob (optional) 1-1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro leaves with stems Directions 1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. 2. Fill a large bowl of water with half ice and half water to shock the cooked tomatoes. 3. Cut an “x” on the bottom of each cored tomato (this makes it easier to peel) and, using a slotted spoon, gently place them into the boiling water for about 30 seconds. 4. Remove the tomatoes with the slotted spoon and transfer them immediately to the bowl of ice water. 5. Once the tomatoes have cooled, peel off the skin and cut them into quarters. Using a strainer over an empty bowl, squeeze out the seeds and reserve 1 cup of the tomato juice. Discard the seeds. 6. Transfer the squeezed, seeded tomatoes to a blender. Add the reserved 1 cup tomato juice and the extra virgin olive oil, and pulse until the tomatoes are completely puréed. 7. Pour the purée into a large bowl and add the diced Vidalia onions, garlic, bell peppers, jalapeño peppers, English cucumbers, corn (if you’re using it), rice and balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, and black pepper; stir to incorporate all ingredients well. Note: Reserve some of the chopped vegetables to garnish the soup. 8. Refrigerate the soup for at least 2 hours, allowing the flavors to blossom. 9. Serve in chilled bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro and reserved veggies, if applicable. ChefSecret: This soup can be made a day or two in advance and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Planning ahead, makes life a little easier by preparing this gazpacho a day or so in advance. The flavors only get more intense the longer you let the soup’s ingredients blossom in the refrigerator. Quip of the Day: “Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day and awakens and refines the appetite." — Auguste Escoffier ------------------------------------------- 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, be 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. #Entree #Soup #SummerSoup #Gazpacho #ChilledGazpacho #MondaviFumeBlanc #Vegan #Vegetarian #2023Recipes #Covid19 #QuarantineKitchen #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 …from the Perspectives’ Kitchen  How you doin’? Over the years, Perspectives has worked with most of the major fast food chains in creating new products. As you would expect some were more successful than others. You have to be impressed when someone “invents” or reinvents something as long lasting as Pan Pizza for Pizza Hut, Fish Taco for Rubio’s and McRib for McDonalds.
The downside to the rib sandwich for McDonald’s is that they originally formalized McRib with over 60 unique and mysterious ingredients ribs not necessarily being one of them. Easy for them to make; difficult for competitors to copy. With a little reverse engineering and not having to put it through freezing, distribution, and easy-to-make-in-McDonald’s mandate, I developed a home-made-easy recipe that you should try with real ribs. While it takes little active prep time, you do have to allow time for cooking, cooling and cutting—bake, chill, cut, sauce, finish on the grill, and voila, one of the best BBQ sandwiches for your family. McDonald’s sold so many McRib Sandwiches that they had to “bank” the cut of meat so as not to destroy the wholesale pork market. If you knew when they would bring this favorite sandwich back you could make a fortune on pork futures. All of the vendors were sworn to strict secrecy so as not to inflate prices. My recipe only has 10 ingredients and one of them is really baby back ribs instead of shaped ground pork. You’ll love the flavor of my Ed’s MacRib* Sandwich. Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 3 hours Cool time: 8 hours Yield: 8 sandwich halves Ingredients For the Dry Rub 1/3 cup kosher salt 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons chili powder 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper For the Sandwiches 2 racks baby back pork ribs (extra meaty and well-trimmed) 1 cup barbecue sauce, divided (your choice—I prefer Masterpiece Original) 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (I prefer Wrights Liquid Smoke) 4 long French-style long sandwich rolls, split and toasted 1 cup coleslaw (store bought or your favorite recipe) Optional: white onion rings and bread and butter pickles. Directions
ChefSecret: Make sure you don't use the larger St. Louis-style ribs. Use a sweet mayonnaise coleslaw. Use extra-large sesame seed hamburger buns (5-inch) as an option to the French rolls. Quip of the Day: Inflation has gotten so bad in the last year; McDonald’s is selling the 1/4-Ouncer. *Disclaimer: Not wanting to infringe on anyone’s trademark I have named my masterpiece, Ed’s MacRib Sandwich. ------------------------------------------- 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, be 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. #Entrees #MacRibSandwich #PorkRibs #MasterpieceOriginal #WrightsLiquidSmoke #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 …from the Perspectives’ Kitchen credit: ohclary.com How you doin’? Our company develop the Smashed Stacked for Marine World / Africa USA in Redwood City in the early 1980s. The guest had a choice of 1, 2, or 3 1/4-pound grilled and smashed patties. Smashed thin on the grill, they were quick to cook. Since this theme park innovation years ago smashed burgers are now served in a variety of places including the Smash Burger chain.
Many burger restaurants are trying to outdo themselves by delivering 8 to 10-ounce burger patties on eggy, toasted brioche buns with a giant steak knife stuck through the top to prevent it from falling apart. Personally, I don’t like them much. It’s take a real commitment to eat one of these messy giant stacks—once you start you can’t put it down or it will definitely fall apart. Unlike ordinary hamburgers that have thick patties, smash burgers are smashed thin, pressed down on the griddle with a heavy cook’s spatula. The center is neither rare pink nor juicy. Instead, the burgers have a consistent thinness and crust in every bite. They are cooked on the hottest griddle possible so that the thin patties get a fiery sear that takes them almost to the point of burning. However, that crispy, griddled char gives the patty its distinctive flavor and texture. The original Marine World Smashed Stack was inspired from Gaby’s, a diner in LA (my childhood favorite for their burgers and hot fudge sundaes), streamlined for Marine World and later adopted by Freddy’s, Smash Burger and Shake Shack. Now this burger style has an army of supporters. So why not turn the patty into a taco—a Smashed Taco Americano? Smash Burger Tacos are one of hottest burger trends this summer. I’ve seen them pitched on Tic Toc and YouTube—it’s pretty clear this fun and fresh spin on burger patties will be around for a long time. Although ingenious, the Smashed Taco Americano is incredibly simple to make. It is nothing more than a thin burger patty, cooked directly into a tortilla, loaded up with burger toppings, and folded like a taco. It is the ultimate smash-up of summer favorites, with the flavor of a burger and all the convenience of a taco. The tortilla is actually griddled in the burger grease, giving it the crisp, flavorful crust of a fried quesadilla. It’s crispy on the outside, but cheesy and meaty on the inside—kind of feels like a bun-less burger with all the familiar flavors of a burger in an entirely new build. Grab a handful of burger meat (about 4 ounces), season it generously with salt and pepper, and cook it on a flat griddle on high heat. Don’t go for lean burger meat blend—you’ll want the extra grease to cook the tortilla. Place a flour tortilla on top and smash it down until flattened Once the patty is totally browned, flip it over. Top it with a slice of American cheese, then cover with the lid of a pan to let the cheese melt, the burger cook fully, and the tortilla crisp up in the pan. All that's left to do is top your “taco” with your favorite toppings, like shredded lettuce, chopped pickles, diced onions, and a creamy, zesty burger sauce. Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Yield: 4 servings Ingredients 1/4 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons ketchup 1 teaspoon mustard 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce 1 pound fresh ground round (not a lean blend) 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 4 flour tortillas (6-inch) 2 slices American cheese, cut in half lengthwise 1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce 1/4 cup diced lightly grilled red onion Directions 1. Combine mayo, ketchup, mustard, relish and hot sauce in a small bowl; set sauce aside. 2. Heat a griddle over extremely high heat. 3. Scoop beef into 4 loose portions and place them in mounds on the hot griddle and start to cook. 4. Season evenly with salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes 5. Place a tortilla on top of each beef portion and press down to flatten the beef into the shape and size of the tortilla. Don’t be timid or bashful, push it down hard. 6. Cook until tortilla is golden-brown, 2 to 3 more minutes. 7. Flip each patty-tortilla over (patty side up) and top with cheese. 8. When the cheese has melted and the tortilla has lightly browned, top with lettuce and onions. Drizzle with sauce, remove from the griddle and fold in half like a taco. 9. Serve immediately. ChefSecret: Take the Smashed Taco in a different direction with smashed chorizo meat, Tex-Mex toppings like chopped tomato, pico de gallo, guacamole, cilantro and sour cream. Quip of the Day: A balanced diet is a taco in both hands. ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your favorite recipes, pictures or thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. 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. 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. #Entrees #Snacks #SmashMeatTacos #SmashedBugerTacos #2023 #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 |
For over 4 decades collaboration and vision have been the cornerstones of our approach to developing innovative solutions. We fuel innovation, uncover opportunities, discover trends and embrace sustainability, turning imaginative ideas into profitable realities. Categories
All
Archives
September 2023
|
RSS Feed
www.perspectives-la.com
Copyright © 2021 Perspectives/The Consulting Group, LLC | Henderson, NV 89052 | 310-477-8877
Copyright © 2021 Perspectives/The Consulting Group, LLC | Henderson, NV 89052 | 310-477-8877