Let’s cook!

Jerk Chicken Skewers with Lime Cream Sauce

Jerk:

1 habanero pepper

1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro

1/2 cup olive oil

3 scallions, white and light green parts, chopped

4 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon ground all spice

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Lime Cream Sauce

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoonn black pepper

In a food processor combine all the jerk seasoning.

Process until smooth.

Trim the chicken of any fat and cut the chicken into thick strips. Place the chicken in a plastic bag.

Add the jerk paste and work to ensure all the chicken is coated.

Place in the refrigerator and let marinate for 2 hours.

In a small bowl whisk the sauce ingredients.

Cover with plastic and refrigerate. Let the sauce stand at room tempature for 30 minutes before serving. Preheat your grill on high heat.

WEAR RUBBER GLOVES for this next part or your hands will be on fire for a few hours! Thread the chicken onto the skewers.

Grill the skewers for 8 - 10 minutes turning only once.

Remove from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes.

Here is a close-up:

Happy Cooking!

Let’s cook!

Sausage Rigatoni in Spicy Vodka Sauce

1 pound hot turkey sausage, casings removed

1/2 onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1 jalapeno, finely chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 – 28oz can diced tomatoes with basil

1/3 cup vodka

1 cup heavy cream

1 pound rigatoni

1 cup grated Asiago cheese

2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves

Cook the rigatoni per the package instructions. In a large saute pan over medium heat add olive oil and sausage.

Cook until brown and be sure to break up large chunks with  a wooden spoon. Add onions, jalapeno and garlic and saute for 5 minutes.

Add green pepper, paprika, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, to taste and cook for 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes to the sauce and simmer for 8 – 10 minutes.

Add the heavy cream.

Add the vodka.

Toss in the chopped parsley and mix well.

Time to get the dish assembled. Once you drain the pasta, place back in the pot and pour the sauce over the rigatoni and mix well.

Time to plate and top the dish with grated Asiago.

Here is the close-up.

Happy Cooking!

Let’s cook!

Asian Spice Shrimp

1 lb peeled and deveined jumbo shrimp

1/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

4 tablespoons canola oil

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons ginger, minced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced

2 tablespoons mirin

Salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, add sugar, five-spice powder, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

Mix well. Heat a large frying pan over high heat until very hot and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Spread the cornstarch on a plate.

Place shrimp on the plate and coat as well as possible.

Add shrimp to the pan and cook until opaque, which for me was 5 minutes. While the shrimp are cooking, dice up the jalapeno, garlic, and ginger.

 Using a spoon, transfer the shrimp to a bowl. Return the pan to high heat and add the remaining oil. Add the garlic, ginger, and jalapeno and cook for 1 minute.

Add the Mirin.

Add shrimp back to the pan.

Add the spice mixture.

Coat the shimp will with spice and cook for 1 minute.

Time to plate!

Here is the close-up:

This is a meal that will keep you warm from the cold weather and is perfect for the winter! I hope you enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

Let’s cook!

Grilled Cornish Hens with Chunky Jerk Sauce

1 bunch scallions, roughly chopped

1 red bell pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lime juice

4 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons fresh thyme

1 tablespoon ground allspice

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 poblano pepper

2 cornish game hens

salt and pepper

Steam the poblano and red pepper.

The cabin didn’t have a steamer, so I had to make my own.

Combine the scallions, bell pepper, olive oil, lime juice, garlic, thyme, allspice, ginger, brown sugar, pepper and 1 tablespoon salt.

Combine well. If you want to make a paste put mixture in a food processor which will make a thick paste.

Cut hens in half and coat the outside with the jerk sauce and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat the grill on medium. Heat only one side and place the hens skin side up on the cooler side of the grill. Position the legs closer to the fire.

Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Turn them over to the direct heat side of the grill, and cook covered for 10 more minutes.

Set the hens aside for 5 minutes before you serve. Here is how I did the plating.  We had rice and sauteed vegetables as our sides.

Here is a close up of the hen:

Jen and I really enjoyed changing up the typical Cornish Hen with this chunky jerk sauce. Like Jen tells me sometimes, this recipe made her mouth do a tap-dance.

Happy Cooking!

Jerk Chicken:

2 Chicken Breast and I use bone in for this recipe

5 tablespoons of Jerk Season

1 tablespoon Cumin

1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon of Jamaican Allspice ground

3 tablespoons of Olive Oil

Take the chicken breasts and put them into a zip lock bag. Pour the jerk seasoning, cumin, red pepper flakes, and allspice into the bag and mix well. Let the chicken rest at room temperature while you turn on the oven to 350 degrees.

Take a non-stick pan and put just enough olive oil in to provide a thin coat on the bottom. Heat up the oil and when you start to see a little smoke from the pan, take the chicken from the bag and sear each side of the chicken. I typically let the chicken sit 4 minutes on each side.

Now that the chicken is seared, I turn off the stove top and put foil around a baking sheet and add the chicken. I do the foil to help with the clean up since it is a lot easier to just wad up the foil and throw it away. Put the chicken in the oven and set your timer for 40 minutes.

Spicy Rice:

1 cup of Texmati rice

1 3/4 cups of water

1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper (if you don’t like too spicy just add a pinch)

1 teaspoon of butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine water, rice, red pepper flakes, and butter to a sauce pan. Bring to a boil , stir, and then reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 15 minutes and let it sit off the heat for 5-10 minutes before serving. Now that this is done lets make a salad.

Spinach Salad:

2 cups of fresh spinach

1 tomato- diced

mushrooms (to your taste) - diced

4 green onions/scallions – diced

1/4 to 1/2 small containter of crumbled feta cheese (to your taste)

French Vinegrette (not to be confused with the red french dressing–I use Brianna’s)

In a large bowl mix spinach, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, and green onion. Add dressing to your liking and sprinkle feta cheese on the salad.

Ok rice should be done, so remove lid and stir. I let the rice sit while I make the jalapeno and onion topping (You don’t have to do this it just adds one more kick of heat to the rice). I dice up one whole jalapeno and a quarter of an onion and add it to the pan with the oil that I seared the chicken in. I saute the pepper and onion until they get soft.

The chicken should be done and I always check the tempature to make sure it is at 180 degrees and now I get to start putting the meal together. VERY IMPORTANT TOOL ALERT–All men need a meat thermometer.  The last thing you want to do is make your girl sick by undercooking the meat, especially with chicken.  I have included the way I set this up which Jen enjoyed.

I can tell Jen and I have been married for a while now, when instead of talking the whole time during our meal, we are both sitting at the dinner table, digging into the food, and letting our noses do the sound effects since they are running from the heat of the chicken, rice and jalapenos.

I hope you all enjoy!

Jerk Chicken
Spicy Rice
Spinach Salad

Check back tonight for the recipe and pictures.