#exploremyworld

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Curry Dip Inspired by the Bahamas

I created this dip on our cruise of the Bahamas for a potluck at Compass Cay.  I think it was a hit, especially when the owners son said he could sit down and eat the whole bowl.

Curry Dip for Vegetables or Crackers

1 cup of mayonnaise

1 cup of Greek yogurt

4 ounces of cream cheese

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon grated shallot

1 tablespoon Curry Garlic Blend 

1 tablespoon Garlic Galore (by Wildtree)

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

10 dashes of hot sauce (to taste)

Blend ingredients together and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight to allow flavors to combine.

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Breakfast Aboard: Buttermilk Pancakes

While in the lower part of the Berry Islands in the Bahamas, we planned a day of exploring on tender to Destiny.  We call her Destiny's Child. This necessitated a hearty boaters breakfast. My husband loves pancakes and bacon so I have provisioned accordingly for just this occasion. 

I brought a quart of buttermilk with us for the first part of the journey.  I used part of it to marinate chicken breast for chicken parmesan the night before.  (It results in very tender chicken so I recommend trying buttermilk as a marinade.) I also had secured applewood smoked bacon from the local butcher before we left Vero Beach.  They carefully wrapped half pound packages for me before we departed.  The perfect amount for two.

For the buttermilk pancake recipe, I reach into my archives and pull out a recipe from my childhood.  Vukku Church was the small country church outside of Foxhome, Minnesota.  This is the church I grew up attending and was baptized and confirmed at.

Each year when I was growing up we had two fundraising events that are etched in my memory.  The pancake and chicken suppers.  At the pancake supper, the kitchen would whip up what seemed like pitchers and pitchers of this recipe for buttermilk pancakes.  There is no telling how old this recipe is and I don't know the original source but it was one that my mother wrote down for me and included in my first recipe box. These pancakes are still some of my favorites.

For all you cruisers out there, buttermilk is a great staple to have on hand.  It keeps for a relatively long time and can be used to make pancakes as a tenderizer like with the chicken breast or to make a pound cake for dessert.

It makes a large batch but don't let that deter you. You can make all the pancakes, cool them and then freeze them stacked between sheets of waxed or freezer paper.  They make great toaster pancakes.

I hope you enjoy this recipe for buttermilk pancakes as much I do!

Vukku Church Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

4 eggs

1/4 cup combination of butter and lard (1 tablespoon each)

4 cups buttermilk

3 cups flour (enough that it flows easily from a pitcher)

Stir all ingredients together until just combined.  Pour onto a hot griddle, cook until bubbles have formed all over of the pancake.  Flip and cook for 1-2 minutes more or until the pancake is cooked through. 

Kitchen Tips: 

If you have a thicker buttermilk, you may need to thin the batter to get the right consistency.

If you don't have lard, you can use 100% butter.

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Holidays Aboard

This is an article that I recently wrote for the Virginia Beach Sail and Power Squadron newsletter. Since we are approaching the holiday season I thought I would repost and share it again.  I hope you enjoy it!

The weather is turning colder now and the holiday season is fast approaching.  Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner!  For some, the boating season has all but ended and you are busy getting ready for the holidays and all fun and festivities they bring.

For those of you that keep your boat in the water year round, I would like to encourage you to consider spending some time on your boat over the holidays. It can be unique and special way to celebrate the season.  You don't need to have huge oven and a gourmet kitchen to enjoy a holiday feast on your boat either.  You just need to be a bit creativity in your choice of menu. 

Consider this, it is just you and your spouse for Christmas eve dinner this year.  After decorating the boat with a small tree and a few decorations in preparation for the Grand Illumination Event, you decide that to have a quiet, romantic Christmas eve dinner on the boat.  Hot mulled cider has been simmering on the stove and now perfumes the salon with aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg.  The menu has been set. It is one that works wonderfully even in a small galley: Cornish Game Hen, potatoes, sautéed green beans, romaine salad with pomegranate seed, feta and candied pecans and balsamic dressing and, for dessert, pecan pie that you baked prior and toted along with you that morning. 

While the Cornish game hens are roasting, you and your spouse relax on the aft deck listening to holiday music and sipping on your hot cider while you reflect on the reason for the season.  Quiet. Peaceful. Relaxing.  A wonderful way to spend the holiday with the one you love!

Cornish game hens work great on a boat. Since they are small in size, you can even bake them in a toaster oven. The recipe below is one of my favorite Cornish game hen recipes that I have made for holidays past.

Cornish Game Hens

2 Cornish game hens, thawed

1/2 of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon fresh parley

1 teaspoon each of     minced oregano, minced sage and minced marjoram

2 tablespoon unsalted butter

8-10 cloves of garlic, peeled

4-6 shallots, peeled

salt and pepper

dry white wine

chicken stock

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Rub hens inside and out with the lemon half. Season the outside of the hens with salt and pepper. Fill the inside of the hens with 2-3 cloves of garlic and 1-2 shallots. Add about 1/2 teaspoon or so of the herbs to the inside of each hen.

Place the hens in a roasting pan or other baking dish. Season the outside of the hens with the remaining herbs. Dot each hen with butter. Arrange remaining garlic cloves and shallot around the hens. Add enough white wine and chicken broth in equal proportions to the pan to be about 1/2 inch deep in the pan.

Bake hens, basting every 15 minutes, until golden brown and an instant read thermometer inserted into the breast reads about 165 degrees F. The juices should also run clear. Transfer to a platter and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.

I hope you enjoy the recipe and will consider a new tradition and spend a relaxing day on your boat this holiday season! 

Wishing you and yours peace and joy this holiday season!!

Chef Jen

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Memories of Tuscany

For my 40th birthday, my husband treated be to an extra special birthday present: a two week trip to Italy.  The memories of that trip are many but one of the extra special highlights was an opportunity to spend an afternoon cooking with a local chef in his restaurant kitchen and then come back later that evening to indulge in what we prepared while the hostess paired it with local wines.

It all started when we stopped for dinner at the local restaurant in our village of Petrognano with a population of 50.  We had a wonderful meal and as we enjoyed a bit of vin santo with biscotti, I mustered up the courage to ask the hostess if the chef would be willing to do a "class" for us and the two friends that we were traveling with.  I was fairly shocked when she said he would and told us to stop back the next day in the afternoon to arrange a time.  My foodie friend Beth was equally surprised when I shared the news with her that night upon returning to the villa.  We were so excited the next day after talking with the chef and scheduling our cook date for our last day of vacation. Later that week when we returned for our cooking season, we were welcomed into the small kitchen with a spread of local produce and meats.  After discussing the options with Michaele, the chef, the menu was set. Chicken liver pate and mushroom toasts to start, a fall Tuscan soup, lamb Milanese and Tuscan bread with strawberry grapes (raisin berry bread) for dessert.

After we finished preparing the soup, we began to press Tuscan bread dough that we had started earlier on the sheet pan topping it strawberry grapes before baking it.   After we completed our assignment we turned around and found a platter of peppers stuffed with tuna, a traditional appetizer that the chef had whipped up while we were working the bread.  They were delicious!   The recipe below is one that I created following the trip to replicate this yummy appetizer. If you'd like tuna and are looking for something different for an appetizer, you might want to give this one a try.

Tuna Stuffed Peppers 2 jars of small red cherry peppers - either hot or mild 1 can (or jar) albacore tuna, packed in oil 2-4 anchovy fillets 1 tablespoon capers 2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 1 tablespoon lemon juice extra virgin olive oil, as needed Salt & pepper to taste Place the tuna, capers, parsley, lemon juice and anchovies in a blender or food processer. Do not drain the tuna.  Pulse on a low speed to combine.  Do not over blend. You are looking for a consistency that can be spooned or piped until the peppers. Add olive oil as necessary if the mixture is too dry. Season with salt and pepper. If the peppers still have seeds, scoop those out and discard them.  Pipe or stuff the peppers with the tuna mixture. Serve immediately or refrigerate in a covered container. You can also drizzle with balsamic vinegar before serving if desired. 

__________________________

Dinner that night was divine.   Each course was paired with a local wine. It was a great way to end a fabulous vacation with a traditional Tuscan meal served family-style with great friends!  It was a memory that I am pretty sure will last a lifetime!

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St. Kitts: Spicing Things Up

We spent a lot of just time relaxing and recharging our batteries on our St. Kitts vacation but we did take a full day catamaran cruise while we were there. We stopped to snorkel at small reef near a sunken ship on our way to the island of Nevis.

After snorkeling,  the crew feed us a Caribbean-style local lunch featuring chicken with rice and peas, pasta salad with peppers and olives and rum cake for dessert.  It got me thinking about the spices of the Caribbean and how I really don't know a lot about them.  I was definitely going to attempt to change that while on vacation. I was hoping to get to talk with one of the crew members who we discovered was also a local chef on the side.  It would have been so fun to learn from him more about the local cuisine.  But, alas, he was too busy serving up beverages and being the first mate on board the catamaran.  

I did partake in one of his favorite drinks to "cook up".  Coconut rum, dark rum and pineapple juice.  It was quite yummy (and deadly I am sure).  After quickly sucking down the first one, I decided I better stick with Caribe the local beer on the rest of the voyage. I had to laugh as the Minnesotans on the catamaran were the wildest bunch on-board.  Oh yes, they made up for what I didn't drink...  However, I appreciated the fact that it has been a long winter up in the north country this year and they just needed to let loose a bit. The cuisine in St. Kitts is heavily influenced by the nearby islands of Trinidad and Puerto Rico.  Seasonings of mint, curry, chilies, parsley impart exotic flavors into their dishes which are usually light but spicy.  They use sofrito in the Puerto Rican style which is a mix of onions, green bell peppers, red peppers, cilantro and garlic generally and season their meat with adobo seasoning. Adobo seasoning was even available in the tiny market near the resort.   I later discovered that the rice and peas we had on the catamaran is actually national dish of Puerto Rico.  The dish is simple but delish.  Typically made with pigeon peas, rice, sofrito and a bit of tomato paste.  Bacon or ham is also often included in peas and rice and it may include olives or capers. The influence of Trinidad was apparent in the abundance of curried dishes available on local menus.  I was reading in the book The Spice Necklace by Ann Vanderhoof while on vacation. In the book she notes that one of the differences between West Indian and East Indian is that West Indian curries are not as hot as East Indian curries because peppers are so easily available in the islands that they can always be added later. I find this to be incredibly beneficial as a chef since every pallet can handle differing amounts of heat. So what is in a traditional Caribbean curry? There is not one right answer to that question as each island will have their own versions but the two most common come from Trinidad or from Jamaica.  In Ann Vanderhoof book she recommends looking for curry blends that are from the Caribbean islands when you look for curry at the grocery as they do not have as much dried chilies in them and are not has hot as East Indian curry blends. I prefer to blend my own so I can sample the blend and adjust to my likings as well as control the heat level so I set out to find a Caribbean curry powder blend that I could recreate at home.

Searching online, I didn't have much luck finding a curry blends from Trinidad.  However, I did find Jamaican blend that I thought had many of the flavors that I found in the curry (and jerk) dishes that I tried during my vacation at St. Kitts: cinnamon and cumin with the heat from cayenne. It is from Traveling Jamaica With Knife, Fork & Spoon by Robb Walsh and Jay McCarthy. ____________________ Jamaican Curry Powder

5 parts ground turmeric 4 parts coriander seeds 3 parts cayenne 1 part  ground ginger 1 part  grated nutmeg 1 part  whole allspice 3 parts fenugreek seeds 2 parts cumin seeds 2 parts whole black pepper 2 parts star anise or aniseed 2 parts yellow mustard seeds 1 part  whole cloves

Combine all the ingredients. Store the curry powder in a tightly sealed jar away from light and heat.

Source: http://paleofood.com/recipes/spices-jamaicancurrypowder.htm ____________________

I recommend adding the cayenne at the end so that you can add a little at a time and taste the blend along way to get to perfect heat level for your pallet. This gives you the ability to control the heat in your curry blend.  

Two other options to control the heat in your curry blend is to leave the cayenne out (which some say is the proper way to blend a Caribbean curry) or use chili powder instead of cayenne which is a blend of paprika and cayenne along with other herbs and spices.

So you like it spicy?  That is not problem in St. Kitts. You will find hot pepper sauces on just about every table in every restaurant so you it is easy to adjust the heat of any dish you are served!  I loved the sauce they had at the resort.  It tasted almost like buffalo sauce with a spicy finish.  It was hot but it was not brutal.  However, I was not brave enough to try the scotch bonnet version.... Brimstone Flavors Pepper Sauce:  http://brimstoneflavors.com/?go=caribbeanred I also sampled a few jerk dishes during our stay at the Marriott.  The jerk cobb salad was delightful!  Gorgonzola cheese, smoky bacon, avocados along with the jerk chicken were just a few of the tasty elements on the salad. The jerk blend that was used to season the chicken was not screaming hot but it was full of flavor. Jamaica is probably best known for its jerk and with international hotel chain such as the Marriott it is hard to say where the jerk blend originates from.  However, once you have your favorite curry blend ready, I have found that you can very easily make it into a jerk marinade by added a few key ingredients in a food processor with your curry blend:  green onions, garlic, ginger, fresh thyme, lime or lemon juice and oil.  Let your chicken marinate over night.  If you like it hot, a traditional jerk wet marinade would also include a scotch bonnet pepper.  

I recommend this route as I found purchasing jerk seasoning blends from the region often add dried chilies to the seasoning to make it "complete".   I discovered this when I purchased a Chief brand jerk seasoning package from the local market before we left.  Chief is a Trinidad brand of seasonings, one of the two major players in Trinidad.   Very excited to have "scored" some jerk seasoning from the area, I set out to make jerk chicken when we returned home.  One taste of the powder blend and I knew that there was a reason that chilies was listed first on the ingredient list!   I had to come up with a  Plan B, so I made jerk barbeque sauce for my grilled chicken.  A bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce, one cup of mayonnaise and a package of the Chief Jerk Seasoning blend (40 grams). Stir to combine.  It turned out delicious.  The BBQ sauce and the mayo tamed the heat of the jerk seasoning but the flavors and the spice still came through. You could also use a dip or a spread for a cheese burger or chicken sandwich. So I am off to the kitchen, armed with the knowledge I gained on Caribbean spices.  I am excited to bring their warm flavors into my kitchen.  Now all I have to do is figure out how to recreate the spice cake from the catamaran trip. Wish me luck!

Chef Jen

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St. Kitts: Discovering Conch

In 2013, we spent our spring break getaway week in St. Kitts in the Caribbean. Having been to most of the major Mexican vacation spots over the years, it was time to switch things up a bit and explore the Caribbean, our future cruising grounds for our Hatteras.  Neither of us has been to St. Kitts so it seemed like a great choice for this year’s getaway.

St Kitts and Nevis are two sister islands that neighbor Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago. The islands gained their independence from Britain fairly recently, in 1983. From a culinary point of view, the islands are influences by both Britain and West Indian cuisines, especial Trinidad. As volcanic islands, they have a rich soil that the islanders treasure to provide them a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.  Fish and seafood also make a regular appearance on plates of the local establishments with spiny lobster and conch playing a predominant role.

Our first full day in St. Kitts was spent just relaxing on the gorgeous beach at the resort and decompressing a bit from day to day life.  That night we had walked to a local beach bar for dinner and I tried the local classic dish conch fritters.  It was like a cornmeal pancake with onions and conch. It was served with lettuce and tomatoes on the side with a creamy cucumber sauce. It was quite delicious. Not heavy at all.  Later in the week I had the fritters at the restaurant on the resort (see picture below) and they were prepared hushpuppy-style.  I preferred the lighter, pancake style fritter myself.

So your saying, wait a minute, what the heck is conch anyway?  Conch (pronounced “konk”) is a snail that is common in the warm waters of the Atlantic and Caribbean from Florida south and throughout the Caribbean islands.   You may be more familiar with it large pink shell that can be up to 1 foot in length.  Its meat is mild and sweet and tastes similar to clam.  However, as the meat comes from the snail’s foot muscle, it is quite tough.  It must be tenderized by either pounded and/or marinating in lime juice before cooking.  It is often cut into very small pieces prior to using in recipes.

I haven’t been able to track down a recipe that mirrors what I had on the beach that day but I think one from the Nevis website (http://nevis1.com/conch-fritters-recipe.html) comes pretty close with its ingredients.  However, I plan to experiment with making this in the pancake-style pictured above. ________________ Conch Fritters Ingredients:   1 pound conch meat ½ large onion 2 stalks celery ½ red pepper ½ green pepper Salt to taste 1 egg 1/3 cup self-rising cornmeal 1/3 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ¼ cup buttermilk ¼ teaspoon hot sauce Cooking Method: Put conch through food grinder or food processor.  Process with onion, celery, red and green pepper and mix with conch, adding salt and egg.  Mix well.  Mix together cornmeal, flour and baking powder.  Add conch mixture.  Mixture should be thick.  Add buttermilk and hot sauce.  Drop by heaping tablespoon into deep oil until light brown. Drain.  Serve with mayonnaise and lime juice. ______________ Now, conch can be a little bit hard to find at the Beach.  However, I think the concept would work well with minced shrimp, clams, other local crustacean or mollusk.  I am always looking for new and different appetizers and this one is definitely on my list to experiment with. Fritters are not the only use for conch.  It is frequently used in salads and chowders in the Keys and the Caribbean.  It can also be used in entrée like the conch curry I had on the last night of our vacation in St. Kitts.  We went to Mr. X’s Shiggidy Shack (http://www.mrxshiggidyshack.com) which is located on “The Strip” in St. Kitts. (The Strip is just a short walk or cab ride from the Marriott in Frigate Bay and is also where you can find the local nightlife on the island.   However, the nightlife on the island is pretty calm in comparison to other islands and places like Cancun, Mexico.)

It was a beautiful night to sit outside at this casual beach bar and enjoy the sunset over the water and listen to local music.  As I perused the menu, I debated between the spiny lobster and the conch curry.  I concluded that spiny lobster I can likely have another time but sampling another local conch dish such as the curry may not happen for some time.     The conch curry was served with a side of local vegetables. I will be the first to admit that cabbage does not often grace my table in a cooked form.  However the cabbage was not bitter or flavorless but sweet and tender and the squash melted in your mouth with sweet and nutty flavor.  Fresh and local.  It is a way of life more out of necessity on the islands than out of intention but the result is the same: delicious.  My chef instructor in one of my culinary foundation courses said more than once than vegetable sides are overlooked and deserve more attention on the plate.  The Shiggidy Shack got my attention, for sure.  

The conch curry was simple but complex.  The conch was sliced thin and was swimming in the curry. Hints of cinnamon and cumin added depth while chilies added a spicy undertone.  Green peppers that were sauté with the conch complemented the curry blend.  It was a perfect ending to an island adventure for a foodie!! Earlier in the week, I had purchased my souvenir local cookbook, the St. Kitts International Women’s Association Cookbook.  As I was “reading” it on the plane ride back to the States, I was excited to find a recipe for Creole Conch Stew which looked very similar to the Conch Curry I had the night before. It was simply conch, peppers, onions, olive oil, curry powder, garlic, hot pepper, tomato paste, thyme and parsley.  The trick is now to figure out what type of curry blend they use locally!! Not necessarily and easy task with all the different types of curries out there, but I am up to the challenge… Stay tuned for the next edition of my St. Kitts blog series on Caribbean spices….

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