COOKING FOR MOM AND DAD -- JERK CHICKEN WITH MANGO CILANTRO SALSA AND KIWI RUM COOLERS

This past weekend I was honored with a visit from my parents. They took a long weekend vacation to visit me and Grace in Puerto Rico. Because this is not a travel blog, I won't go into all that we did this weekend but everyone had a great time and no one got too sunburned--and that's all that matters.

My parents asked for us to cook for them one night. We both agreed to take up the challenge. This might be the first time I prepared a meal like this for my mom and dad so I was a but nervous and how things would come out, especially since I never made this dish before. I was looking for a dish that had some island flavors in it and we found this recipe that became one of our favorites.

Jerk Chicken with Mango-Cilantro Salsa

Ingredients
(recipe courtesy of Bobby Flay)
* 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.
You may also grill the chicken to get a nice sear and finish the cooking in the oven.

* 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.



This chicken was a hit! The marinade was terrifically flavorful. The star of this dish, however, was the mango-cilantro salsa. With the leftover of the salsa I had, I used it as a spread/dip on some bread.

Along with the Jerk chicken we served sides of one of our favorite salads-Carrot-Ginger. This salad can't be easier to make and it has some bold flavors to it. I thought this salad would not only give the dish some more color but also balance the sweetness of the Mango-cilantro salsa with the citrusey, floraly, spiciness of the ginger.

Carrot-Ginger Salad

Ingredients
(recipe courtesy of Food Network Magazine)
* 3 cloves garlic, crushed
* 2 teaspoons finely chopped peeled ginger
* Grated zest and juice of 3 limes
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1/4 lb. carrots
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
* Salt

Directions

Mix the crushed garlic with the 2 teaspoons of ginger, the zest of 1 lime and juice of 2 limes. Whisk in the vegetable oil. Shave the carrots into ribbons with a vegetable peeler and toss with the dressing. Add the cilantro and 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss.
(If you like, I also added some fresh spinach leaves to this salad and topped it with sprouts).

*****

While I was preparing the main course, I whipped together a quick, easy and refreshing drink for us to enjoy while everyone waits. (This recipe is once again, courtesy of our favorite, Bobby Flay.)

Kiwi Rum Coolers

Ingredients

* 8 kiwis, peeled and chopped
* 4 cups Sprite
* Juice of 2 oranges
* Ice cubes

Directions

Pulse the kiwis in a blender until smooth. Place the kiwi puree, Sprite and orange juice in a pitcher and stir to combine. Fill each glass with ice and divide the mixture among the glasses. Garnish with a kiwi slice and peel of an orange. Oh yeah, don't forget the rum!!!

POTATO PANCAKES

Potato pancakes are a easy, cheap, and tasty snack and always a guest pleaser. You'll be surprised on how easy this dish is (aside from peeling and shredding potatoes!)

Ingredients
-2 medium potatoes (Russet) or 5 or 6 small potatoes
-1/2 medium onion
-Salt, pepper
-2 tbsp. Butter
-1/4 cup oil
-Parsely
-Thyme
-Apple sauce and sour cream for garnish

Directions
1. Start by peeling the potatoes and shredding to shoe string size (large hole on grater).
2. Grate onion.
2. Place shredded potatoes in a bowl and toss with salt and pepper.
3. Melt butter in a pan at medium heat. Add oil to butter.
4. *Important step* Squeeze out the extra liquid from the potato and onion mixture. Remove all excess liquid.
5. Add parsley and thyme and mix well.
6. Grab a good handful of potatoes (depending on the size desired) and place in the pan. Flatten out potatoes with a spatula.
7. Cook for about 5 minutes on each side until crispy and golden brown.
8. Serve with applesauce and sour cream and sprinkle with parsley.




*Recipe compiled from both Melissa d'Arabian and Emeril Lagasse

SUSHI

MARINATED VEGETABLES

Here in Puerto Rico, we are limited with the selection and quality of produce at the local Supermarket. It is also very expensive due to most of being imported. Sadly, we aren't always able to incorporate as much fresh produce in our recipes as we would like. Today, was an exception. I just bought a nice serving bowl and I thought it would look terrific with some rice and vegetables. So came the idea of this marinated vegetable dish served over yellow rice.



Ingredients:
-2 cups red wine vinegar
-2 tablespoons salt
-2 teaspoons dry oregano
-2 bay leaves
-2 gloves garlic, peeled
-1 cup extra virgin olive oil
-1 cup rice (yellow coloring optional)
-1 head broccoli
-1 eggplant sliced 1/2 inch thick
-2 medium carrots sliced 1/2 thick
-1 onion, cut into eights
-Fresh ground pepper, salt, parsley

*Again, our produce is limited but feel free to add celery, squash, zucchini, bell peppers, cauliflower, etc.

Directions
1. Add the vinegar, salt, oregano, bay leaves, garlic, olive oil and 4 cups of water in a large pot and bring to a boil.
*Begin to cook the rice.
2. Once water is boiling, add the broccoli and cook for a minute.
3. Add the rest of the vegetables.
4. Cover and turn off the heat.
5. Let cool around room temperature.
6. Drizzle vegetable with some olive oil.
7. Serve over yellow rice.
8. Add some the liquid from the pot, fresh ground pepper, salt and fresh chopped parsley.

The red wine vinegar really makes the dish. Make the plate colorful. You can substitute the rice for pasta if you would like. Serve it both hot and cold. This dish will produce multiple leftover meals!

*Recipe from Mark Bittman's, "How to Cook Everything"

SHISH-KABOBS

This is our first time making shish-kabobs. It was quite easy and cheap too! It was our version of one of favorite flavorful recipes, beef roll-ups--deconstructed onto a bamboo stick.



Ingredients:
-Beef Cubes
-1/2 Vidalia onion, cut into 9 cubes
-Mushrooms, kept whole
-Pimentos
-6 cloves garlic, kept whole
-Peppers of any color, seeded
-Pineapple chunks

Marinade
-1/4 low-sodium soy sauce
-1/3 cup olive oil
-1 tbsp. Paprika
-1 tbsp. Onion Powder
-1 tbsp. Garlic Powder
-1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
-Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Add ingredients of marinade in a sealed plastic bag. Fill the bag with the vegetables and meat chunks and mix around well.
2. Marinate for at least 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
3. Take the skewers and add the ingredients in a similar pattern finishing off with a pineapple chunk.
4. Place skewers on a baking sheet with aluminum foil and drizzle shish-kabobs with the marinade from the bag. Place in an oven at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
5. Serve with fresh-cut cilantro.

We made 6 shish-kabobs altogether, enough to completely fill us up. We marinated our leftovers in a bag overnight, so we had a second meal the next day! We threw the whole contents of the bag into a pan and cook the meat until medium-rare. We added a little bit of all-purpose flour in order to thicken the marinade. While the meat was cooking with all the vegetables, we cooked some white rice. We put everything together, topped it with culantro and voila!, we made rice-bowls.