Caribbean Dinner

Jerk chicken with pineapple salsa
Rice and peas
Fried plantains

And my non carribean banana pudding

Buttermilk Mashed potatoes

4 yukon gold potatoes – boil, mash and mix with the following
¾ cup of warm buttermilk
Salt and black pepper

Additional touch – Add a little (1 tbsp.) ghee in a pan. Add some paprika and cumin seeds to the ghee. When it splutters add to the potatoes.

Buttermilk Roasted Chicken

This was my first attempt at roasting chicken. I looked at this recipe which looked fairly foolproof.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2012/01/buttermilk-roast-chicken/

Marinade

Marinate 6 chicken drumsticks for at least 24 hours in the following marinade. Throw the chicken together with the marinade in a Ziploc bag.
2 cups buttermilk
5 cloves of garlic
2 Tspn salt
Loads of black pepper
1 Tspn cayenne pepper

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Throw the chicken in a baking dish and bake for 30 almost minutes when the chicken starts browning.

Mix some salt and pepper in some olive oil.

Crank up the heat to broiler. Now line a baking sheet with foil and put the chicken pieces on top after basting with oil and salt mixture. Watch the chicken closely. When you get the desired crispiness take it out. I turn it over a few times.

Banana Pudding

I adopted this recipe with almost no changes. This is an easy dessert, which is a great crowd pleaser. This amount should serve four.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/banana-pudding-with-vanilla-wafer-crumble

For crumble

12 Nilla vanilla cookies
2 Tbsps. melted butter
1 ½ Tsps. sugar
Place the cookies in a Ziploc bag and pound them until the cookies crumble. Mix with butter and sugar and bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Let this cool.

For Custard
5 egg yolks
2 cups of milk + 2 Tbsp. milk
1 pinch of salt
¼ cups of corn starch
½ cup sugar
1 Tsps. vanilla essence
1 Tbsps. cold butter
2 bananas
Heat the milk until it is warm in a saucepan.
Mix egg yolks with starch, salt, and sugar. Add the eggs slowly, bit by bit, while continuously whisking the liquid to the mixture so that the eggs do not scramble.
Pour the custard in the saucepan and keep whisking until mixture feels heavy. Should take 3-5 minutes.
Add vanilla essence and butter. Refrigerate overnight.

Assemble
Slice 2 bananas thinly
An hour before serving, layer a dish with bananas. Add the custard on top. And top with the crumble. Give this at least an hour because the pudding acquires a banana flavor and the crumble stays crisp.

Gianduja Mousse

Gianduja (pronounced -zhahn-DOO-yuh) a sweet chocolate containing about 30% hazelnut paste. It takes its name from Gianduja, a Carnival and marionette character who represents the archetypal Piedmontese, a native of the Italian region where hazelnut confectionery is common. Nutella is a form of gianduja, although the hazelnut accounts for only 13% of the composition.

1 cup nutella
½ cup sour cream
1 cup whipped heavy cream
Blend the sour cream and nutella together. Fold in the heavy cream. Serve with a cookie. Add a tablespoon of amaretto if you have any.

Spaghetti and Tomato Sauce

1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 pack of spaghetti
4 cloves of garlic
1 tspn brown sugar
1 tspn red chilly flakes
Salt
Parmesan
1 tspn oregano
1 onion
Olive oil
2 Italian spicy sausages (optional)

1. Simply sauté the onions till translucent.
2. Add the tomatoes and other ingredients.
3. Simmer on slow heat till done while adjusting for water.
4. Add the boiled spaghetti and sausages to the auce.
5. Serve with pecorino or parmesan.


Fairly simple, the quandary is to use the spaghetti after one serving. This dish can get monotonous and the challenge is to reinvent the rest of the spaghetti. Obvious choices include a spaghetti frittata or a spaghetti pie. I am thinking -carrots, french beans, sweet and sour ketchup, bell pepper, and some garam masala.

Mixed Vegetables – Carrots, Kale, Zucchini, Peas Paneer, Bell Pepper, Tomatoes, Spring Onions

Basically emptying the refrigerator but not succumbing to the temptation of panch phoron. With any medley like the above, it is important to get the vegetables in at the right time, so that each vegetable cooks perfectly, and then to tie them all together with a sauce that complements the flavors. I like to get this all ready in one pot, so the sequence of adding vegetables is important. Again, quantity of each vegetable does not matter. Increase or decrease the quantities according to what you have or prefer.

1 bunch of spring onions chopped finely
1 pack of paneer
2 zucchinis cut into semi circles
5 baby carrots cut into fours
¼ cup of peas
1 bell pepper – squared
Kale – chopped finely, should be around 1 cup
1 tomato – cut in eights
Fresh coriander
3 cloves of garlic
1 piece of ginger
1 tbspn coriander powder
Turmeric
Cayenne Pepper
Crushed Tomatoes- 1/2cup

• Heat some oil in a pan. Add the paneer and sauté till golden.
• Scoop the paneer to the side and add the zeera and wait till it splutters.
• Add the chopped spring onion and the carrots. Sauté for at least 2 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste. When it reduces , add the spices and roast while coating the vegetables.
• Add the kale.
• Cover and cook for a few minutes. Add the zucchini and tomatoes.
• After two minutes add the peas.
• When the vegetables are nearly done add the bell pepper.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.