Jamaican Pork Chops with Snow Pea Succotash

I decided to make this recipe because of one tiny, little pepper. I was experiencing a craving for something Caribbean-flavored, and I just so happened to have a beautiful habanero pepper that needed using. Suddenly, inspiration struck and I knew I was destined to make Jamaican Pork Chops. It's been a while since I've used those flavors, and we love them so much. Plus, these pork chops were hanging around in my freezer and could stand to be cooked already.



I gathered the ingredients for my marinade based on several different recipes, ones that I can't even quite remember just now. The flavors were fantastic, I thought. There was some great sweet/tangy/fiery marriage going on there. Unfortunately, I kinda overcooked my meat. I took it out of the oven just as it was nearly done, but then I threw it back in for another minute or two, and sort of forgot about it. Five or six minutes later, I took the meat out again, only to find that it was a bit crispy around the edges. Oh, well. It was still good! It was just a bit dry, but as I said, the flavors were enough to salvage the whole thing.

To serve with the chops, I made a simple pot of Israeli couscous, along with a quick Snow Pea Succotash that I found in one of my Rachael Ray cookbooks. I took a couple of liberties with her master recipe, and I really liked it. It is also a clever way to use up the other half of the lime you use for the pork chops! Waste not, want not!




Boneless Jamaican Pork Chops
adapted from various recipes
makes 4 chops

Ingredients
4 (6-7 ounce) boneless pork chops, trimmed of excess fat
1 medium habanero pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1/2 lime, zest and juice
2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder

Directions
1. In a large, resealable Ziploc bag, place the pork chops. In a medium bowl, stir together all the remaining ingredients, then pour the marinade into the bag. Close the bag and shake it up so the marinade coats the chops. Stick the bag in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before broiling.

2. Once you are done marinading, preheat the broiler. On a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil, place a cooling rack. Using tongs, extract each pork chop from the marinade bag, allowing the liquid to drip off. Place the chops on the cooling rack-covered baking sheet.

3. Broil the pork chops for 5 minutes per side, then allow them to cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the juices run clear. Rest the meat for 5 minutes before serving.


Snow Pea Succotash
adapted from Rachael Ray
makes 4 servings

Ingredients
8 oz. (about 2 1/2 cups) snow peas, trimmed and chopped into bite-size pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 ears corn on the cob, kernels removed (you can also use thawed frozen corn)
1/2 yellow onion, sliced thinly
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1/2 lime, juice and zest
2 tsp. hot sauce, such as Sriracha
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions
1. In a medium skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the snow peas and cook for about 2 minutes, tossing frequently. Add the bell pepper, corn, and onion, and cook for another 7 minutes or so, until the veggies are crisp-tender. Remove from the heat.

2. Transfer the veggies to a serving dish. Sprinkle in the lime zest and juice, the hot sauce, and salt and pepper. Toss well before serving.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Usually, when I am blogging about a meal or a baked good, it's something I've made last week, or at least a few days prior. I like to keep my meals in order, and so I have a queue of sorts. The pictures are uploaded onto the computer, and they wait patiently until I get around to them.

So when I say that I made this barbecue sauce yesterday, and that I couldn't wait any longer to blog about it, that's truly saying something special about this sauce!



I've been a huge fan of barbecue sauce for pretty much my whole life. It is, hands down, my favorite condiment. I can't get enough of it. I'll put it on pretty much anything you can think of. I was dared, as a teenager, to try it on the likes of pancakes, Reese's peanut butter cups, even cinnamon rolls! Ok, let me tell you, none of those were brilliant ideas; they were all pretty gross. But I still tried them, because I was just that devoted to my love of barbecue sauce.

However, I had never made it from scratch....until yesterday. I'd always wanted to, for sure. I knew that I would enjoy playing around with components and spicing it the way I wanted to, and I finally found a reason to whip up a batch; leftover habanero peppers. That's right; we had some extra peppers we'd bought, and suddenly my brain was overtaken with visions of a habanero-flavored barbecue sauce that would knock your socks off. I took to my trusty Recipezaar to see what I could find.



Finally, I found the perfect recipe. It did not have habanero listed in its title; the pepper is almost like a stealth ingredient, listed all the way at the end of the recipe. But, boy, does it make its presence known! I tasted this sauce first before I added the pepper, and then again after I had incorporated it, and the difference was astounding. Of course, that's to be expected when you're dealing with such a hot pepper, but still! It just adds so much to the overall flavor and heat level of the sauce.

Of course, I did tinker with the original recipe a bit, because that's just what I do. I decided to use up some more of my pomegranate molasses in this, since it did call for some molasses. I had to add more sweetness after that, since the pomegranate is very tart and regular molasses is not. So I threw in some honey to increase the sweet. I found out that I was out of chili sauce, so I improvised and used some more of my new best friend, Frank's RedHot Sweet Chili Sauce, along with a bit of extra ketchup. The recipe called for chili powder; instead of regular, I used some ancho chili powder. Oh, and I cut the recipe down to 1/3 the full amount, since that would have yielded about 3 pints of sauce. A bit too much for my little family!

The end result of my playing and experimenting was a dark, thick, sweet sauce that had a sharp tang and a swift kick from the habanero. I have to admit, I just couldn't stop taste-testing this stuff while it was simmering on the stove! It filled the house with an incredibly smoky aroma; it just smelled like summer to me. (It also smelled like dinner to me, so it was very hard to wait around until we could eat!)

I served this alongside a relatively simple turkey burger that was seasoned to taste like Caribbean jerk, a barley and veggie salad, and sweet potato oven fries. The barbecue sauce was fantastic for dipping the burgers in, and I thought it paired especially well with the sweet potato fries. A winner, if I do say so myself!

I said it before, but I'll say it again. If you do try this sauce, be warned: it is spicy! However, it would be just as delicious if you were to omit the habanero, or substitute a slightly less spicy pepper (a jalapeno would be great in this, as well). There's plenty of other flavors in there to make up for the heat.

The original barbecue sauce recipe can be found right here. The recipe I used for the turkey burgers can be found here. It originally came from Rachael Ray, and then somebody posted it to Recipezaar. The sweet potato fries I used were just Ore-Ida frozen fries, and they were good! Finally, the barley and veggie salad recipe is half Cooking Light, half my own creation. I won't post a step-by-step description of what I did, but here is a link to the Cooking Light recipe. I used barley in place of the orzo, kept the dressing the same, and omitted the chicken and goat cheese. It was delicious!

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

adapted from Recipezaar

makes about 2-3 cups

Ingredients

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. ground dry mustard

1 tsp. ancho chili powder

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup sweet chili sauce

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. liquid smoke

1/4 cup pomegranate molasses

2 Tbsp. blackstrap molasses

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 habanero pepper, minced (remove seeds before using, and don't forget to use protective gloves while handling your pepper!)

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic and saute until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add dry mustard and chili powder, and stir to incorporate.

2. Lower the heat to a simmer, and add all the remaining ingredients. Stir well, then simmer on low, covered, for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Let cool, then use either a regular blender or an immersion blender to puree the sauce. Sauce can be stored in an airtight container for about 2 weeks in the fridge, or stored in mason jars in the fridge for longer.

Caribbean Chicken Drumsticks with Asparagus and Radish Salad

I can hardly believe this, but I made this over a month ago and then forgot to write a post about it! This is actually a pretty unforgettable dish, but I got caught up in blogging more recent things I had made and somehow this one just slipped through the cracks. I found this all the way back in January, in Food Network Magazine. I had bought that particular issue of the magazine because they had done a feature on cupcakes, and I'm a sucker for those. However, I ended up using this issue for all sorts of tasty dishes, and this one may have been the very best one.

These chicken drumsticks are the creation of Food Network personality Sunny Anderson. This is the first recipe of hers I've made, and it really makes me want to make more of her meals. This was so simple and unbelievably flavorful. The best part about these drumsticks is that they are baked in the oven, making this cooking method way healthier than other cooking methods listed in the magazine (a bunch of Food Network chefs had contributed to this feature on chicken wings, each providing a unique recipe for chicken).

The drumsticks are marinated in a jamaican jerk-style blend of herbs, spices, and juices. Then they're placed on a baking sheet to bake. After boiling the leftover marinade on the stove, you remove the drummies from the oven, baste them with all of that leftover goodness, and bake them a bit longer at a higher temperature. The glaze becomes caramelized and sticky and just absolutely delicious and messy. The meat is insanely tender, and the flavors are perfectly combined.

I decided to serve these drumsticks with a simple buttered Israeli couscous, and a quickly thrown-together asparagus and radish salad. If I recall correctly, the salad was dressed with a mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, and olive oil, along with salt, pepper, and dried cilantro. It was great; the crunch of the radish contrasted well with the quick-steamed asparagus, and the flavors in the dressing were present in the chicken drumstick marinade as well. A wonderful meal, and do-able on a weeknight!

The original recipe for Sunny's wings can be found here.

Sunny Anderson's Caribbean Chicken Wings (or, in my case, drumsticks!)

from Food Network Magazine

makes 3 lbs. wings or drumsticks

Ingredients

1/2 habanero pepper, seeded and chopped

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. packed light brown sugar

1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 tsp. fennel seeds

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 scallions, chopped

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice

3 lbs. chicken wings (I used drumsticks)

Directions

1. Combine the first 12 ingredients (through scallions) in a blender. Add the vinegar, lime juice, and orange juice and blend until smooth. Place the wings in a large, resealable bag and pour the marinade over them. Seal and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil. Remove the wings from the bag, place on the lined sheets, and bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, bring the marinade to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until reduced by one-third, about 10 minutes.

3. Remove the wings from the oven and brush with the glaze. Raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue to bake until the wings are cooked through, 20 more minutes.

A Week of Coconut: Chicken Kelaguen

This meal came about when I asked Andy what he would like for his birthday dinner this year. Now, he usually responds with something like, "I don't care; I'm not picky," or "whatever you think." So imagine my surprise when he actually came up with this great idea!

Andy was born on the island of Guam, but he didn't live there very long. He certainly did not live there long enough to remember any of it, let alone remember the cuisine of the island. But he thought, with it being his birthday and all, that it would be kinda neat to research the foods of Guam, the basic staples and common dishes and whatnot, and make some of them this year. I agreed; I thought it was brilliant! We're always open to trying new and different things and food combinations, and I couldn't wait to look it up and see what was out there.

I discovered that some of the common Guamanian staples were things we would really like. The first Google search I did produced the name of a dish: chicken kelaguen. Chicken? Count us in! I also discovered that they make a red rice, using the annatto seed to color the grains. Another side dish they make is marinated cucumbers. Finally, I discovered that one of their primary staples is....you guessed it, coconut! (This is a coconut-themed post, after all!) After a visit to my favorite recipe website in all the land, Recipezaar, I had acquired the appropriate recipes and was ready to start cooking!

Since there were going to be so many components to these dishes, we got to work on them the day before we were going to eat them. We started with a chicken. I had Andy grill a whole chicken. That's right, he actually grilled an entire chicken. He had to butcher it, too, since I had bought it intact. He was very critical of his work, saying he had done a terrible job, but I kept telling him to give himself a break. It was his first time taking apart a chicken, and no matter what, it was still going to taste good!



Once he had finished grilling the whole chicken, and allowing it to cool a bit, he set to work on shredding the meat. We stored it in the refrigerator overnight; it was pretty much ready to eat the next day. More on that in a little bit.

Next, I had to assemble the marinated cucumbers. They were going to need time to sit in the fridge and let all the flavors mingle; I was reading online that they were better the longer they sat. The marinade was pretty simple and fast, so I threw it together, sliced the cukes, tossed everything into a large Ziploc bag, and it was ready for the fridge.



So how does it all come together? I'm glad you asked! Picture, if you will, a nice, big pile of whole wheat pita breads and corn tortillas. Oh, wait, you don't have to picture it; I pictured it for you!



You pile your pita bread, or your corn tortilla, with the shredded chicken (which I had gently reheated in a low-ish oven, wrapped in foil). Top the chicken with finadene sauce, and then freshly grated coconut. First off, I have to say that I was surprised and intrigued by the addition of the fresh coconut. I wasn't sure what effect it would have on the overall flavor of the dish. I definitely thought it sounded too interesting not to try it, though. As for the finadene sauce, well, what a find this turned out to be! It is basically an extremely spicy soy sauce, but it is oh, so much more than that. There's 6 very hot peppers in this sauce (we used 3 habaneros and 3 small green thai chilies), chopped very fine, as well as some scallions and lemon juice. I love all these ingredients, but I have to admit that I was worried about this combination as a whole. I thought it may turn out to be an inedible, too-spicy, too-acidic mess. Boy, was I wrong!

Now, you can't go overboard on this sauce, mind you. It is very spicy. However, the way this stuff complements the rest of the ingredients of the pita is amazing. It flavors the chicken meat, and it balances out the mellowness of the coconut. Furthermore, it is superb on the red rice. I found the rice, on its own, to taste slightly bitter, but when you spoon some of the finadene on top, it changes the taste. The way it evened out was perfect. I did not take a picture of the red rice by itself, but it does make an appearance in the opening picture of this post. If I had to choose a least favorite part of the meal, the rice would probably be it, but I'm still glad we tried it; it made the whole thing that much more authentic. (The zucchini rolls from my last post appear on the finished plate picture, too, but obviously they were not really meant to be eaten with this Guamanian meal!)

All in all, we were very happy with our first foray into the food of Guam. I think we're going to be venturing even further into this cuisine in the future. I've already found more recipes to try! As for the fresh coconut, I was so psyched to buy my first real coconut to use for this dish. We had another use for the coconut, but you'll have to wait until my next post to find out what that other use was. It's a doozy, if I do say so myself!



The recipe for the marinated cucumbers can be found here.
The recipe for the finadene sauce can be found here.
For the Chamorro Red Rice, I used this recipe as a guide, but what I did was slightly different.

Chamorro Red Rice
adapted from Recipezaar
serves 4-6

Ingredients
2 cups short-grain rice
4 cups water
2-3 tsp. annatto seed, ground into a powder
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Combine water and annatto powder in a medium-sized saucepan and bring water to a boil. Add rice, salt, and pepper, stir briefly, and turn the heat down to a simmer. Cover the rice, and cook for 18-20 minutes, until water is absorbed and the rice has taken on an orange-reddish tint. Fluff with a fork, take the saucepan off the heat, and let stand with the lid on for about 5 minutes. Serve with chicken kelaguen.

Chicken Kelaguen

Ingredients
1 whole (3-4 lb.) chicken
3/4-1 cup freshly grated coconut (not the sweet shredded stuff you get in a bag in the baking aisle of the grocery store)
6-8 whole-wheat pita breads, slightly warmed
6-8 corn tortillas, slightly warmed
finadene sauce, to taste

Directions
1. Prepare the chicken by grilling (or poaching, or baking, or whatever method you find easiest) until cooked through. Shred all the meat and reserve.
2. Assembly: choose either a pita or a tortilla as your base. Sprinkle shredded chicken on your bread of choice, add some grated coconut, and top with finadene sauce. Serve with red rice on the side.