Tilapia Court Bouillon

Growing up in the islands, fish was always in abundance. So much so that I hated fish! I used to cry when I would come home from school and see that it was fish for lunch... AGAIN! Fast forward to my early twenties when I moved to the US, fresh fish was not as easy to come by. I began craving  fish dishes, especially the court bouillon that my grandmother used to make with red fish. So here's my take on a Court Bouillon with Tilapia!

Ingredients
3 tilapia fillets
1 satchet goya sazon
1 small red onion,
1 small red bell pepper
1 small tomato, diced
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tbsp lime juice
Adobo Season
Black pepper
1 tsp flour
1 tbsp vegetable oil

*preheat oven to 350F

Preparation

• Season fish with adobo, black pepper, lime juice and sazon
• Heat oil in a pan and sear tilapia; 1 minute on each side.

• Remove from heat and place is a baking dish

• In the same pan, saute onions, peppers, garlic and tomatoes
• Pour remainder of lime juice sazon marinade to pan and bring to a boil.
• Add flour to mixture and combine well
• Pour 1/2 cup water and let simmer for 6 minutes.

• Pour mixture over fish bake for 15 minutes.

Serve hot with your choice of rice, steamed vegetables or Cajun potatoes.

Pistachio Muffins

I've had a love affair with Pistachio Muffins for a few years now. Every time I go home to visit my mom, I have get the pistachio muffins from Shoprite. Usually when I like something, I get the recipe and learn to make it myself. I'm not sure what took me so long this time but here it is. I love that green stuff!

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup pistachios, 1/2 finely chopped and 1/2 coarsely chopped
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup pistachios, coarsely choppedPreheat the oven to 425 degrees and grease muffin pan.

Preparation

• Combine the dry ingredients including the zest and finely chopped pistachios in a large bowl.
• Cream the butter and sugar together on lowest setting on your mixer and beat eggs in one at a time until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and rum extracts.
• Starting with about 1/3 of the dry mixture, alternately add part of the dry ingredients and the milk, briefly mixing after each addition. 

• Scoop the batter into the prepared tin using an ice cream scoop. Sprinkle the tops with the coarsely chopped pistachios.
• Place the muffins in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375 degrees. Bake for 18 minutes or until the muffins test done.

• After the muffins have cooled, remove them from the tins to cool on a wire rack.

Rice and Peas

Rice and Peas is a staple Caribbean dish and an accompaniment to many meals. It goes well very well with brown stewed chicken and I like it with Fish Court-bouillon.

Ingredients
1/2 lb dry red kidney beans
2 cups white rice
8oz Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk (regular, organic or lite)
1 tbsp Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
1 tsp crushed garlic
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 bay leaves


Preparation

1. Pour beans in a container and let it soak in cold water overnight. The next day you will see that your beans would have plumped significantly
2. Pour out the soaking water and rinse beans under cold running water
3. Bring to a boil 5 cups of water in a dutch oven then pour in your beans
4. Add the crushed garlic and 2 bay leaves
5. Cover and cook on medium heat for 1 hour or until soft enough that you can smash then between your fingers
6. At this time season with creole seasoning, salt, black pepper and pour in the coconut milk
7. Add the rice cook for about 25 more minutes. 

Keep in mind that cooking time may vary depending on the rice you use. Jasmine rice tends to cook very quickly so that's what I usually use when making this dish.

Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients
2 lbs Gold potatoes
2 lbs Ground lamb
1 Small red onion, grated
1 Large carrot, grated
1/2 Cup White mushrooms, chopped
Rosemary
Thyme
2 tsp Garlic, crushed
Tony Cachere's Creole Seasoning
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
4 oz tomato paste
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 tbs butter
Parmesan Cheese
Salt
Pepper

Preparations

1. Peel and dice potatoes and place in pot of boiling salted water until fork tender.
2. Mash potatoes and mix in butter, heavy cream, salt, pepper and Parmesan. Keep warm
3. Heat olive oil in pan then add meat and brown
4. Add salt, pepper, creole seasoning, onions, mushrooms and carrots to meat and saute 
5. Stir in tomato paste then pour in red wine and allow to reduce.
6. Pour in chicken stock and let simmer for about 5minutes more.
7. Scoop meat and place in a casserole dish. 
8. Spoon the mash potatoes over the meat and smooth with the bottom of a spoon.
9. Use a fork to give potatoes peaks then place in the oven for 25 minutes.

Serve this up with a delicious fall salad!

Jerk Chicken

I was in the mood for something spicy for dinner today so I decided Jerk Chicken would hit the spot. I like making my own jerk sauce because it is fresh and I control exactly what goes in. I like to think mine is way more authentic then the majority of watered down jerk marinades found in grocery stores ;)

Ingredients


2 lbs skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 habanero peppers
1 red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 large limes, juiced
4 green onions
2 tbsp bourbon whiskey
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp thyme leaves
4 dashes ground cinnamon
4 dashes allspice
2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
2 tsp garlic
2 tsp molasses
Salt and pepper to taste

CAUTION!!!
Please Please PLEASE DO NOT use your naked hands on habanero peppers!! Use gloves and probably some glasses to protect your eyes. I cut the tops of both habaneros and chopped them in a food chopper so my hands, nose and eyes were protected the whole time. If you have a food chopper, USE IT!

Preparation for sauce
In a blender, pour in vinegar, lime juice, bourbon whiskey, extra virgin olive oil, molasses, red onion, green onion, red bell pepper, habanero peppers, thyme, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper. Pulse until mixture is thoroughly blended and smooth.

Homemade Jerk Sauce

Preparation for chicken

1. Clean chicken with cool water and lime juice. 
2. Pat dry with single use paper towel and place in a deep container. 
3. Using a knife, poke holes into each thigh
4. Pour ample amounts of jerk sauce over chicken making sure each thigh is well coated
5. Cover container and marinate in refrigerator overnight

You should have jerk sauce left over so you should refrigerate the remainder as well.

When you're ready to cook, preheat your oven to 350F

    6.  Place the chicken thighs on a baking sheet  lined with foil (makes for easy clean up)

    7.  Pour excess sauce from container over the chicken thighs and roast in the oven for about 1 hour 

         or until chicken is fall off the bone tender. 

    8. Bring to a boil the remainder of your jerk sauce to serve with chicken.

         

The juices should run clear when you insert a knife into the meat. Cut each thigh into two pieces and serve with rice and peas or with white rice.

Side note:

You may follow this recipe and grill your chicken instead of baking. This is great on an outdoor grill!