JERK!

One of my colleagues has a weekly cooking show. I enjoy editing his recipes for the website (and by editing, I just mean for grammar, style and consistency. I’m not a professional recipe tester — yet). But the best part about his show is I get to taste nearly everything he makes. When I tasted his Jerk Chicken, I immediately knew it was one of his best. (The Seafood Pot Pie and Brunswick Stew are neck-and-neck, too).

A few weeks later, I had three habanero peppers on hand, and they were the inspiration for making Ken’s jerk marinade at home. Most of the other ingredients are pantry staples around my house — allspice, cloves, cinnamon. I put the jerk marinade on chicken *and* baby back ribs … because what’s better than pork?

Jerk ribs with applesauce, German slaw and fries.

Chunky marinade.

Smokin’!

Tasty jerk ‘gravy.’

The ribs marinated for two days before they took a trip to the oven and then the smoker. What was left of the marinade was boiled down, then pureed. It made a nice dipping sauce in contrast to its caramelized counterpart on the ribs.

I highly recommend serving the ribs with applesauce (if you read my last entry, you know where that came from). It may not be island authentic, but the applesauce really cools down the heat from the jerk. And the combination of pork + apples never gets old.

‘It tastes like a really good Toaster Strudel …’

The apples were multiplying in the fridge. Despite taking one for lunch nearly every day, I just couldn’t use them up.

So how do two people use up 10 apples in one day? The answer was in The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook, a frequent source of inspiration. I made an Apple Pizette. The recipe calls for ‘good quality’ applesauce. What better quality can one get than homemade? So, on Sunday morning, I set to work on Ina Garten’s Homemade Applesauce, halving the recipe and using six various types of red apples.

The 'applesauce,' before baking.

Cook's sample. It definitely passed the test!

Later that day, I rolled out the puff pastry, spread it with the applesauce, and topped it with 4 sliced green apples.
Here’s where I found out why bakery treats are so yummy: They seriously overdo it on the good stuff. Let’s just say even *I* had a hard time drenching the pastry in more than 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and a half-cup of strained apricot jam. But when I bit into the pizette I knew — more really is, well, more!

The finished pizette -- I mean, product.

I knew the husband liked it before he even went back for seconds; it was when he said “It tastes like a really good Toaster Strudel …” Good, then it’s a perfectly suitable breakfast, right?

Apple Pizette

Adapted from The Sono Baking Company Cookbook

1/2 pound frozen puff pastry, thawed

1/2 cup good-quality applesauce

4 green apples, cored and sliced (my green apples were locally grown and smallish. If you buy Granny Smith in the store, you could use about 2)

2.5 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1/2 cup apricot jam

On floured surface, gently unfold and run rolling pin over puff pastry, to get rid of creases. Transfer to a baking sheet and prick all over with a fork. Chill for 30 minutes.

Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 425. While dough is chilling, slice apples and melt butter.

Pour the applesauce onto the center of the dough and spread over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Arrange the apple slices in overlapping rows across the dough. Brush (or drizzle) with melted butter, then dust heavily with confectioners’ sugar.

Bake 25-30 minutes, rotating sheet after about 15 minutes. While the pastry is baking, heat the apricot jam. Strain through a fine strainer.

Remove pizette from oven, and while it is still warm, brush apricot liquid over the top. Using a pizza wheel, cut into squares and serve warm.

Chili

Give me a bowl of chili and some tortilla chips, and I can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This chili went quite far, giving us a couple lunches, a couple dinners and many random snacks.

Chili with baked corn tortillas, pickled jalapenos and shredded cheddar.

I don’t want to get into all the chili arguments, such as beans vs. no beans, veggies vs. no veggies, etc. This is how *I* like it — take this recipe and adjust it to your liking.

The basics.

Chili

Extra virgin olive oil

1 pound ground beef

1 onion, diced

Assortment of peppers (I used jalapenos, green bell and dried cayenne), chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt, pepper

1 can beer

Packet chili seasoning

1 tablespoon crushed coriander seeds

3 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans tomato soup

Heat drizzle of olive oil in heavy-bottom pot over medium-high heat. Add beef, onions, peppers, garlic, salt and pepper. Saute 2-3 minutes. While meat is still pink, add can of beer. Let liquid finish cooking meat. Add seasoning, coriander, kidney beans and tomato soup. Fill empty tomato soup cans with water, and add it to the pot. Mix everything together well. Bring chili to boil, then reduce heat. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Simmer at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve hot.

Baked corn tortilla chips

6-10 corn tortillas

Canola oil

Salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Brush corn tortillas lightly with oil. Cut tortillas into quarters. Space chips 1/4 inch apart on baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with salt and pepper while chips are still warm.

Chicken noodle soup

You might’ve heard Wilmington got a wee bit of rain the last week of September.  22 inches in five days, to be exact. This soup was extremely comforting during the sogginess.

Most of the ingredients were leftovers stored in the freezer/fridge: chicken stock, noodles, shredded chicken. Add in some chopped vegetables and dried herbs, and you’re good to go.

Chicken noodle soup
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced
2 teaspoons dried herbs, such as parsley, oregano, rosemary and thyme
1/2 teaspoon of poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
Salt, pepper
1 mason jar (12 ounces) chicken stock
4 mason jars water
About 1 pound shredded chicken
1/2 pound fresh or frozen egg pasta (I used bucatini)

Over medium heat, saute vegetables in butter until soft, about 15 minutes. Add spices, and cook another two minutes.
Add stock, water and chicken. Simmer 15-20 minutes. When ready to serve, bring soup to a boil, drop in pasta and boil until al dente. Serve hot.

1/2 teaspoon of poultry seasoning

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Lemon cake

Give me all your zest! And your juice!

Ah, lemon cake.

It holds a special place in my heart because it was the first from-scratch cake I ever made on my own. It was also, in my fashion, heavily modified from the original yellow cake recipe I started with.

I couldn’t remember what I did with that recipe from five years ago, so this time I went with Ina Garten’s.

The texture is like a pound cake.

Plenty of people who reviewed this recipe raved about its moistness; for me, it was still a bit dry. The only moist part was the top, where the lemon syrup went. I even stabbed the cake many times with a fork, hoping the syrup would seep in.

I skipped the lemon glaze, because, well, I was tired of dealing with lemons on a work night at 10 p.m. Instead, I served it with slightly sweetened whipped cream.

The recipe makes two cakes, and I froze one for later. I think once I bust out the second one, I’ll try the lemon glaze, just to see if it boosts the lemon flavor even more.