Serves 2-4 Found both in the Caribbean and parts of Africa, coconut rice is rich and fragrant. The strong flavor goes particularly well with grilled meats and spicy sauces. We even used some leftovers in an asian-style salad with spicy peanut dressing. NOTE: Wondering how to make plain rice? The technique is the same, just substitute water for coconut milk. Ingredients: 1 cup coconut milk 1 cup water 1 cup white rice salt & pepper Method: 1. Heat coconut milk and water and bring to boil over medium heat. 2. Add rice and seasoning. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for about 16 minutes. 3. Uncover and let rest 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Serve immediately. Coconut Rice Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe Found both in the Caribbean and parts of Africa, coconut rice is rich and fragrant. The strong flavor goes particularly well with grilled meats and spicy sauces. We even used some leftovers in an Asian-style salad with spicy peanut dressing. Lifestyle5-ingredients or less, Vegan, Vegetarian Food TypeRice …
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One plantain serves 1-2 Fried plantains can be on the table in less than 5 minutes. This easy, delicious side dish goes well with any Caribbean or African food. In particular, the slightly sweet flavor helps contrast with both region’s spicy dishes. Ingredients: 1 plantain vegetable oil salt or brown sugar Method: 1. Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a frying pan. Meanwhile, cut plantains into long, oblong slices. NOTE: Choose plantains that are yellow to black in color, not green. The green plantain in the photo was still under ripe and inedible. Green plantains behave like green bananas, after a few days the bland astringency gives way to a mildly sweet flavor. 2. Fry in the oil on both sides until browned. NOTE: How browned you like them is a matter of taste. I like my fried plantains pretty dark 🙂 3. Sprinkle immediately with salt or brown sugar. Serve hot. The first time I made plantains – oops crispy. Although they are a bit charred, they are still uber tasty. When I …
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Serves 2 Umm, let me explain the small amount of fries. We couldn’t keep our fingers off of them long enough to get a picture! I don’t need to tell you – French fries are tasty with just about anything. Try these homemade French fries for the fun and satisfaction of making them yourself! 🙂 NOTE: Please read my Technique post all about French Fries. Ingredients: 2 extra large baking potatoes (about 2.5 pounds total) quart of vegetable oil salt Method: 1. Cut all edges of potatoes to make a rectangle. Slice into 1/2″ slabs. Cut each slab into several sticks. 2. Immerse in cold water for at least 30 minutes (you can also store them in the fridge overnight this way). Alternatively, rinse potatoes under cold water until water runs clear. You are trying to get rid of all the loose starch that will make the fries stick to each other. 3. Carefully dry off potatoes with towels right before frying. 4. Preheat oil to 320F. Cook fries in small batches (about a handful …
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This recipe works great for nights that require something a little fancy, but you don’t have a lot of time to cook. Almost impossible to mess up, my version uses shredded cheese. You can get fancy if you want and serve this with a cheese sauce instead. Serves 4 Ingredients: 2 Endive 4 slices ham 1/2 cup shredded Gruyère dash nutmeg Method: 1. Preheat oven to 4ooF. Cut endives in half. Cook in boiling water for about five minutes. Drain well. 2. Wrap endives in ham and place in a casserole dish. Cover endives with grated cheese and sprinkle with a bit of nutmeg. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly. Serve hot. Baked Belgian Endive with ham and cheese Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe This recipe works great for nights that require something a little fancy, but you don’t have a lot of time to cook. Almost impossible to mess up, my version uses shredded cheese. You can get fancy if you want and serve this with a cheese …
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Makes 1 drink Although I came up with this name, the drink idea came to me from Jimmy Buffett. He recommends this refreshing blend for the slightly tropical, headache free, sipping pleasure it provides. He probably doesn’t use coconut rum, but I like my drinks sweeter than stout, so I went for the Parrot’s Bay. Go with your instincts when making yours. Ingredients: 1 shot chilled coconut rum or plain, Caribbean rum 2 shots chilled coconut water (available at whole foods) 1/2 a lime, juiced crushed ice lime wedge for garnish Method: 1. Pour all ingredients in a short glass. Add crushed ice to the top. 2. Garnish with lime wedge. Stir and sip! We made two… 🙂 Spiked Coconut Water Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe Although I came up with this name, the drink idea came to me from Jimmy Buffett. He recommends this refreshing blend for the slightly tropical, headache free, sipping pleasure it provides. He probably doesn’t use coconut rum, but I like my drinks sweeter than …
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Makes about 8 strips Feel free to play around with this recipe to make flavors and combinations that you like. Be sure to check out the tips in Technique Thursday. Time may vary on when this is done, depending on your oven. Please check multiple times so as not to overcook this! Ingredients: 12 ounces dried apricots, quartered 1 cup water 2 Tbsp honey 4 cardamom pods Method: 1. In a small pot, simmer dried apricots with water, honey, and cardamom pods. Simmer about 20 minutes. 2. Carefully remove cardamom pods. Using an immersion blender, puree mixture. The mixture should be a bit thicker than applesauce. 3. Line a baking sheet with silpat (or microwave safe saran wrap). Pour apricot mixture over silpat about 3/8″ thick. Spread evenly. 4. Place baking sheet in a warm oven for 6-8 hours, or until apricot leather is just tacky to the touch. Store, covered in a cool, dry place, refrigerate or freeze. Apricot Fruit Leather | Quamar-el-Deen Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe …
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Makes just over a gallon Cooking a meal for every country in the world makes this mama thirsty! The Bahamas have the perfect solution – a traditional, tropical Bahama Mama. Serve Bahama Mamas chilled, under the hot summer sun. Play around and adjust this recipe to your preferences. NOTE: Some prefer to add unflavored rum for all or part of the rum flavor. You decide for you, below is what I like 🙂 Ingredients: 1 quart chilled orange juice 1 quart chilled pineapple juice 1/4 cup grenadine 2 cups chilled coconut rum, or to taste Method: 1. In a large pitcher, combine all ingredients. Stir well. Return to refrigerator until needed. 2. Serve over crushed ice. Garnish with orange slices if desired (I completely forgot to do this, but I know you’ll forgive me as soon as you taste this drink 🙂 ) Bahama Mama Votes: 3 Rating: 4.33 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe “Cooking a meal for every country in the world makes this mama thirsty! The Bahamas have the perfect solution – …
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Serves 6 I almost didn’t make this pilaf because there were so many steps. I went out on a limb because I figured Azeri’s must know how to cook basmati rice better than me. I was right. This is a great rice dish, buttery and delicately perfumed with saffron. Ingredients: 2 Potatoes 2 cups basmati rice 2 tsp salt 1/4 cup water 2 sticks butter 1 tsp saffron threads, soaked in a Tbsp of hot water. optional garnish: fresh mint leaves Method: For the potato crust: 1. Slice 2 potatoes thinly. Mix water with 4 Tbsp melted butter. Pour into the bottom of a large skillet or pan that has a tight-fitting lid. 2. Line the bottom of the pan with potato slices, fitting them close together without overlapping. Mine overlap a little because the sloped sides of my pan caused them to slide down – the crust still turned out fine, so don’t worry too much about this. 3. Cook over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, or until the potatoes soften and begin to turn …
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Serves 2-4 Speck, technically called Schinkenspeck, is a dry aged prosciutto product. Bacon or ham can be substituted if your grocer does not carry this Austrian favorite. Enjoy Green Beans with Speck with chicken, fish, or pork Ingredients: 1 lb of green beans 2 ounces schinkenspeck, minced Method: 1. Simmer green beans in a large pot of salted water until just cooked. Drain and set aside. 2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add speck and cook until the fat renders (much like bacon). 3. Add green beans and toss with speck. Serve hot. Green Beans with Speck | Schinkenspeck Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe Speck, technically called Schinkenspeck, is a dry aged prosciutto product. Bacon or ham can be substituted if your grocer does not carry this Austrian favorite. Enjoy Green Beans with Speck with chicken, fish, or pork CourseSides & Salads Lifestyle5-ingredients or less, Potluck Friendly Food TypeCasseroles, Miss Ava’s Favorite Recipes, Vegetables Servings Prep Time 2-4 people 10 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Servings Prep …
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Serves 8-10 This dense frontier bread is traditionally cooked in hot campfire embers. Enjoy plain, with jam and butter, or dunked in chicken noodle soup. This recipe can safely be halved. Ingredients: 8 cups flour 1 Tbsp salt 1/4 cup baking powder 1/4 cup sugar 2.5 cups milk, plus more as needed Method: 1. Preheat oven to 425F. Grease a lasagna pan with butter or vegetable oil. 2. Add salt, baking powder, and sugar to a small bowl. Whisk to combine. In a large bowl, whisk together flour with the other dry ingredients until evenly distributed. Add milk and stir with a wooden spoon to form a stiff dough. Some extra milk may be needed, but take care not to make it too wet. 3. Press evenly into pan. Cut lines 1/4″ into the dough with a sharp knife. 4. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Serve hot or room temperature. Australian Damper Bread Votes: 2 Rating: 3 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe This dense frontier bread is traditionally cooked in hot campfire …
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Serves: 4 Baked bananas are delicious in brown sugar and butter. Serve hot over ice cream, making sure everyone gets a little of the sauce. NOTE: not all rum will light. I had coconut rum on hand and it does not flambe (however, it did add great flavor to the bananas). You will need to buy Bacardi 151 for this. Also try Benin’s Baby Bananas in Orange Sauce. Ingredients: 6 ripe bananas peeled 1/2 cup brown sugar 4 Tbsp melted butter 2 ounces coconut rum 1 ounce bacardi 151 (to light it on fire) Vanilla ice cream Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 350F. 2. Lay bananas in a casserole dish. In a small bowl combine brown sugar with butter. Spoon mixture over bananas. 3. Bake for 20 minutes (longer if bananas are firmer). 4. Transfer bananas to a serving dish. Pour rum over the bananas and carefully light on fire. CAUTION: You can burn yourself. Don’t do that! 5. Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream. Baked Brown Sugar Bananas Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: …
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