"Caribbean Feast" @ Jill's

BBC's - Baileys' Banana Colada  -  Brennan

Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:

• 3 oz. Coco Lopez, well stirred
• 6 oz. Baileys
• 6 oz. Pineapple juice
• 1 small banana, sliced
• 6 oz. Red rum (Mount Gay, Cruzan, Vat 19, ...)
• Garnish: nutmeg, maraschino cherry & sprig of mint

Method:
Fill blender with ice. Combine ingredients & blend until ice is crushed & mixture is smooth.
Serve immediately in cocktail glasses, topped with grated nutmeg & garnished with a maraschino cherry & sprig of mint..

Notes:  You can make it at my house if you want, I have 2 blenders here.  Also, you’ll probably have to double or triple this recipe since it only serves 4 (not sure what the serving size is, though).

Goombay Fruit Salad   -  Marcie

Yield: 6 - 8 servings

Ingredients: 1 cantaloupe 3 bananas freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime 2 tangerines 1 papaya 2 mangoes 1½ oz. sugar 1 Tbsp. Ole Nassau Pineapple Rum 12 oz. strawberries 8 pitted cherries

Method:
Slash the cantaloupe down the section lines, but do not cut as far as the base. Carefully open like a flower and scoop out the seeds and some of the flesh. Drain off the juice and preserve in a small bowl. Chill the cantaloupe and juice for 1-hour.
Peel the bananas, slice and dip into the lime juice. Peel the tangerines, cut into segments and remove the seeds. Cut the papaya in half, remove the seeds and dice the flesh. Peel the mangoes; cut the flesh off the seeds and slice, preserving the juice.
Strain the melon juice; mix with the sugar, adding the rum and blending well. Set a few strawberries aside for decoration. Mix all of the fruits together with the juices and chill.
Just before serving, fill the cantaloupe with some of the fruit salad, place onto a serving platter and arrange the remaining fruit around the base decorating with the strawberries.
Variation:
Serve salad in half pineapple after removing pulp.

Caribbean Sausage Cheese Triangles Appetizer Recipe  -  Janet

Note:  Janet, this makes a lot according to the recipe.  You may want to reduce the recipe so you’re not making endless phyllo triangles!

Allspice, thyme, and scotch bonnet chile are important flavors in Jamaican jerk seasoning. They give a Caribbean flair to the sausage and cheese filling of these tasty appetizer triangles. You may omit the chile or use a milder variety if you wish.

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

·                        1 pound ground pork sausage

·                        1 cup minced sweet onion

·                        3 large garlic cloves, pressed or finely minced

·                        1/2 pound (8 ounces) mushrooms, chopped into 1/2-inch dice

·                        1 scotch bonnet chile pepper, finely minced (optional)

·                        1 tsp dried thyme

·                        1 tsp ground allspice

·                        1 tsp kosher salt

·                        Freshly ground pepper, to taste

·                        8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

·                        8 ounces phyllo (fillo) sheets (half of a 1-pound package - see Note)

·                        1 stick (about) butter, melted

Preparation:

In a large, deep skillet, saute pork sausage¹, sweet onion², garlic³, mushrooms⁴, and chile, if using. Stir often to break up sausage⁵. Cook until no pink remains in the sausage. Add thyme⁶, allspice⁷, salt⁸, and pepper⁹ to sausage¹⁰ mixture. Turn off heat and stir in cream cheese¹¹ until combined. Cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove phyllo sheets from package and unroll so they are flat. Cut stack in half lengthwise. Cover with plastic wrap so dough does not dry out and become brittle.

Remove two strips of phyllo from the stack (remembering to re-cover remaining strips each time) and place on a flat surface. Brush each strip with melted butter. Place a heaping tablespoon of sausage-cheese mixture on one end. Fold strip up to form a triangle. Continue folding back and forth until you reach the end of the strip, forming a filled triangle packet. Continue until all of sausage filling is used up.

Place phyllo sausage triangles on an ungreased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until pastry is golden.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Caribbean Sausage Cheese Triangles may be prepared in advance and frozen for later baking.

Yield: 3 to 4 dozen triangle appetizers

Shrimp, Mango, and Jícama Salad with Pineapple Vinaigrette  -  Megan

Yield: Makes 6 servings 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 2 tablespoons frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 6 cups water 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 2 bay leaves 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns 1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined, halved lengthwise 2 large mangoes, peeled, pitted, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups) 2 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled jicama 1/2 cup chopped red onion 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 6 large Boston lettuce leaves Whisk lime juice and pineapple juice concentrate in small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper. Bring 6 cups water and next 4 ingredients to boil in heavy large saucepan. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add shrimp, and simmer until opaque in center, about 2 minutes. Drain. Transfer shrimp to large bowl; refrigerate until cool. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover; keep chilled.) Mix mangoes and next 3 ingredients into shrimp. Pour vinaigrette over; toss to coat. Place 1 lettuce leaf on each of 6 plates. Spoon salad over lettuce, dividing equally.

FRIED PLANTAINS   - Denise


Ingredients:
3 ripe plantains (the skin should be blackened)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Peel the plantains and cut them into 1/4 inch slices on the diagonal. In a large, heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Saute the plantains until golden brown and soft, about 2 minutes per side.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Notes:  You may have to double this one since it only serves 4 - 6

Grilled Jerk Chicken with Mango Cilantro Salsa  - Jill

Serves:

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 scallion, coarsely chopped
• 1 large Scotch bonnet pepper, stem and seeds removed
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• Pinch ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 4 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
• 4 drumsticks, skin on

To prepare the jerk chicken:

Directions

Puree all the ingredients, except the chicken, in a food processor until almost smooth. Piece the chicken with a fork to make tiny holes. Place the chicken in a large shallow baking dish and rub the marinade into the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours, depending on how intense you want the flavor to be. Preheat grill. Grill chicken on each side for 5 to 6 minutes or until cooked through.

• MANGO-CILANTRO RELISH
• (recipe courtesy of Bobby Flay)
• 2 mangoes, peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine the mangoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice, and orange juice in a bowl and gently mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Notes:  I’m thinking of doing some chicken breasts as well for those that don’t care for dark meat chicken.

 Caribbean Rice and Peas  -  Jamie

Prep Time:

40 min

Cook Time:

1 hr 15 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

4 servings

Ingredients:

• 10 ounces frozen black-eyed peas, thawed
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 ounces turkey kielbasa (or other smoked sausage), thinly sliced
• 1 large bunch scallions, sliced, white and green parts separated
• 2 small ribs celery, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons jerk seasoning
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain brown rice
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cups stemmed and chopped collard greens

Directions:

Combine the black-eyed peas, 3 cups water and a pinch of salt in a small pot. Cover and bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the kielbasa and cook until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the scallion whites, celery, garlic, jalapeno, jerk seasoning and a generous pinch of salt. Cook until the vegetables brown, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato paste turns brick red, about 2 more minutes. Add the rice, bay leaves and the black-eyed peas with their liquid to the skillet and bring to a boil; do not stir.
Add the collards; cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer undisturbed until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 50 minutes; set aside for 10 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
Just before serving, add the scallion greens and fluff with a fork.

Banana-Coconut Bread   -  Danielle
This easy-to-make, versatile bread can be served as soon as it is cool enough to slice for sandwiches, as a sweet with coffee, or even as a dessert. It is good just plain, or it can be embellished with cream cheese or butter. It freezes well.
Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• ¼ cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the sugar, shortening, and eggs together and then beat the mixture until light and fluffy. Add the mashed bananas and coconut and stir.
Sift the flour with the baking powder, salt, and soda. Stir this into the other mixture, string until smooth. Add the nuts if desired and stir again.
Pour the batter into a greased 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 60 to 70 minutes or until the loaf tests done. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Use 2 spatulas to remove the loaf from the loaf pan, and let it finish cooling on a wire rack.

Coconut Rum Cake   -  Meredith

Though the presentation of this cake— all white-glazed and topped with undulating ribbons of toasted coconut—will take everyone's breath away, we promise that it will only get better from there. (And the cake's rich, coconutty, rum-nipped flavor will never hint that it was a one-bowl effort.) Yield: Makes 8 servings Active Time: 45 min Total Time: 2 1/2 hr For cake: 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 4 large eggs plus 3 large yolks 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled 3/4 cup well-stirred sweetened cream of coconut such as Coco López For coconut slivers: 1 medium coconut 2 teaspoons confectioners sugar For icing: 3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened 3 tablespoons well-stirred sweetened cream of coconut 1 tablespoon dark rum 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream 1/2 cup confectioners sugar Equipment: a 9-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep); an adjustable-blade slicer Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Lightly butter cake pan and line bottom with a round of parchment paper. Lightly butter parchment, then flour pan. Whisk together flour (1 1/4 cups), baking powder, and salt. Whisk together whole eggs and yolks, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in flour mixture until combined, then whisk in butter until just combined. Pour into cake pan and rap pan on counter to expel air bubbles. Bake until golden brown and cake starts to pull away from side of pan, about 45 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. (Leave oven on.) Invert cake onto rack (discard parchment) and cool 10 minutes more. Generously brush top and side of warm cake with cream of coconut, allowing it to soak in before brushing on more. Cool completely. Make coconut slivers as cake cools: Pierce softest eye of coconut with a small screwdriver, then drain and discard liquid. Bake coconut in a shallow baking pan 15 minutes. (Leave oven on.) Break shell with a hammer, then pry flesh from shell with screwdriver. Thinly shave enough coconut with slicer to measure 2 cups and toss with confectioners sugar, then spread in 1 layer on a baking sheet. Bake until just dry but not golden (some tips may color), 5 to 10 minutes. (Shave and bake remaining coconut with more confectioners sugar to serve on the side, or freeze for another use.) Cool coconut completely. (It will crisp as it cools.) Make icing: Beat together cream cheese, cream of coconut, rum, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons cream with an electric mixer until smooth, then beat in confectioners sugar. Icing should be smooth and slightly runny; stir in remaining tablespoon cream if necessary. Smooth icing over top of cooled cake, allowing some to drip over side, then top with coconut slivers. Cooks' notes: Cake can be baked 1 day ahead and soaked with cream of coconut, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature. Cake can be iced 2 hours ahead. Coconut slivers can be made 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.