I’ve been catching some flak lately for the drastic increase in frequency of my restaurant posts and the impact it has had on my recipe posting. Trust, the skills still exist, I just don’t showcase them as often. I’ve made a lot of repeat dishes lately so not as much to post about. The past week has been filled with adventures in the kitchen though, because my latest kitchen toy arrived. My cast iron grill!! The thing about living in a wonderful apartment building in NY is that even though we have outdoor space, we are not allowed to grill out there. It’s summer though and I feel like breaking the rules. Rather than doing that though, I bought a grill I could use in my apartment. So far so good! I started by throwing anything I could on the grill.
The shrimp took a while but that’s because I didn’t let the grill heat up. The corn was oh so sweet and tasted incredible. I then decided it was time to actually make some food so I started playing with my Epicurious app and found a recipe for Grilled Chicken and Plantains, Jamaican Style. I decided that if I could get some grill lines on my chicken I would be a happy camper.
I missed a few ingredients in the recipe so I think mine came out a little different. I was happy with the taste, but I’d recommend following it as written.
Ingredients:
Olive Oil
1/4 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 large garlic clove, peeled
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
4 boneless chicken breast halves with skin
2 semi-ripe plantains, peeled, cut on diagonal into 1/3- to 1/2-inch-thick slices
I prepared this indoors, but the recipe was created with an outdoor grill in mind. If you’re using an indoor grill, make sure to turn it on while mixing your ingredients so it’ll be nice and hot by the time you’re ready to cook. Puree molasses and next 7 ingredients in blender until smooth. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Spoon 1/4 cup sauce into pie dish. Add chicken; turn to coat.
Marinate 15 minutes. Grill chicken, skin side down.
The cook time will depend on whether you’re using an outdoor or indoor grill and also how hot your grill gets. You should turn it after about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it but make sure it’s cooked thoroughly before serving. No one wants to find that their food isn’t cooked all the way. The flavor in the chicken is incredible - I don't know if it's necessarily "jamaican" but I know it's delicious! I couldn’t stop there though so I also made sure to cook some Rice & Peas.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
1 medium onion coarsely chopped
1 large jalapeno seeded and minced
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice (10 ounces)
1 14-oz can unsweetened coconut milk
2/3 cup Water
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 15-oz can kidney beans
Hot sauce
In a large saucepan, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and jalapeno and cook over moderate heat until barely softened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the rice.
Add the coconut milk, water and salt and bring to a boil. Stir in the beans, cover and simmer over low heat until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and fluff the rice with a fork. The rice is pretty spicy, especially if you leave the seeds in the jalapenos. YUM!
Still doubting my skills? Didn’t think so!
Hungry yet?
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