Month: May 2014

Jerk Chicken Skewers

, Valentina Rice

 

This dish is an easy crowd pleaser. The jerk sauce is a wonderful alternative to a rub and the hot sauce gives a burst of heat and flavor (not for the faint of heart). You can serve as a main course by adding a side of rice or as an easy bbq appetizer!

 

Jerk Chicken Skewers

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 cup Baron’s International Kitchen’s Jerk Sauce

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 orange bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 large yellow onion, chopped into 1 inch pieces

10 wooden skewers

1 bottle Caribbean Hot Sauce, for dipping (optional, if you don’t like spicy food skip it)

 

Method:

1) Heat the grill. If gas, heat to high and if using coals, until they glow orange and begin to ash.
2) In a large bowl, marinate chicken and and vegetables. Cover and set in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
3) Meanwhile soak skewers in water.
4) Drain the chicken and vegetables, discarding the excess marinade.
5) Start threading the skewers, alternating between chicken, onion and bell peppers.
6) Arrange skewers on the grill. Grill about 3 minutes per side until chicken is fully cooked.
7) Serve immediately with a bowl of Caribbean Hot Sauce as a dipping sauce.

Building Your Perfect Burger

, Valentina Rice

 

Burgers, like eggs, are highly personal – everyone likes them in a different way. The key to the perfect burger is having all the right building blocks.

 

Aurora and I had such a fun day grilling in her backyard – it felt like a party for two on one of those perfect sunny New York days when it’s hard to believe that work now includes a bbq! We had just taken on Victoria Amory and her amazing condiments and what better way to try them all out but on the perfect burger?

 

Aurora likes her burger medium and with all the trimmings: cheese, mustard with mustard seeds, a generous helping of ketchup, pickles for crunch and the smallest bit of mayonnaise. I like mine rare with cheese, ketchup and a little mayo on the bun. I still remember the best burgers that I ever had were made by Mrs. Bean in Cape Cod. I discovered years later that the reason that I would run to the beach club on burger days was that she seared the buns in butter before topping the burgers.

 

However you like them, make sure you have the best meat you can find and keep the burger itself simple – I like to use 80% lean ground chuck and just a little salt and pepper.

 

All American Cheeseburger 

Serves 4 people

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (100% lean ground chuck)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 slices of cheddar cheese

4 burger buns

Toppings: Lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, pickles

 

Method:

1) Heat the grill. If gas, heat to high and if using coals, until they glow orange and begin to ash.

2) Divide the meat into 4 plump patties and season with salt and pepper.

3) Grill burgers for 3 minutes on one side or until nicely charred.

4) Flip the burgers and grill for a further 3 minutes.

5) Add a slice of cheese to each burger, close the lid and cook for a further 1 minute for medium rare.

6) Remove burgers to a platter and add buns to the grill flat side down until slightly browned.

7) Go forth and create your burger adding all of your favorite toppings!

 

Italian Meatballs

, Valentina Rice

 

I’m a self confessed hypocrite when it comes to culinary authenticity. I can be silently appalled that an entire nation believes Italians eat Spaghetti with meatballs while I happily chow down on General Tso’s chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala or Fajitas. The lines of authenticity have recently got so blurry for me that I will add cream and even Brussels sprouts to my sauce and still call it Carbonara – an abomination to purists.

 

So when I found myself yesterday with only a few leftover meatballs, I thought “why not?” and added a handful of pasta to my sauce to make the meal more substantial. Had I just stumbled on the origins of Spaghetti and meatballs? A similar decision made long ago by an Italian American with too many mouths to feed and not enough meatballs to feed them? Clearly authenticity stifles creativity in the kitchen and if we were all purists, some of the great dishes of the new world would never have been created.

 

Having said that, when researching recipes for meatballs from Swedish to Turkish, and everywhere in between, I unsurprisingly found myself returning to the pages of my ever favorite The Classic Italian Cook Book. I used a mixture of beef, pork and veal but feel free to substitute.

 

Italian Meatballs “Polpettine”

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/3 cup of milk

1 slice of good white bread with the crusts cut off (I use Italian Round Bread)

1/3 lb ground pork

1/3 lb ground beef

1/3 lb ground veal

1 tablespoon finely minced onion

1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley

1 pinch of nutmeg

3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan

1 tablespoon Olive oil

1 jar of tomato sauce (We use Jar Goods Classic Red)

 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F.

2. Soak the bread in the milk for a few minutes and then mash together with a fork until it’s all blended.

3. In a mixing bowl, add the meat, onion, parsley, nutmeg, Parmesan and the bread mixture.

4. Add in 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

5. Mix everything together well with your hands and begin to roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter.

6. Line them up on a baking sheet and then bake them for about 15 minutes or until nicely browned.

7. In a large frying pan, heat the Classic Red and when the sauce starts to bubble, add the meatballs.

8. Serve however you like them: with spaghetti, on a baguette, as mini meatball sliders or with toothpicks as an appetizer!