Rebecca's Jerk Marinade

(enough to marinate 2 lbs meat, poultry or seafood)

Some of the best recipes I have come across are those that get passed along. Several months ago a friend in Toronto, emailed this terrific recipe to me. She had received it from her friend, Rebecca.

I tried this with chicken and it turned out great!

Although I have a 12 cup food processor, I wasn't able to fit everything in at once. But, I didn't have to do it in batches either. I just rearranged the order of the ingredients. I also added the zest from the lime.

1 small onion, cut up
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 - 2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into several pieces
3 tsp salt
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
zest from one lime
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and cut up
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch parsley
1/4 cup chopped green onion


Place the onion, garlic, ginger, salt, thyme, allspice, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, lime juice, lime zest, soy sauce, olive oil and brown sugar into the bowl of a 12 cup food processor. If you are using something smaller, you might have to do this in batches. Pulse several times until the mixture is fine.

Add the jalapeno peppers, cilantro, parsley and green onion. Pulse until you have a coarse paste.

This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two months if placed in a non reactive container and lid.

Pan Fried Cod with Aïoli

(4 servings)

Pan fried fish is always pretty easy to prepare and I make it frequently. This week I made some aïoli to go with it. This intensely flavored garlic mayonnaise was delicious with the cod. I made a small amount; about 1 tablespoon per serving. If you end up with a bit more or have any leftover, it should keep refrigerated up to about two weeks. Try adding a spoon or two aïoli to potato salad or mix some into a ranch type salad dressing or use it in place of regular mayo in a sandwich.

aïoli
1 *egg yolk, at room temperature
1/4 tsp prepared mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup pure or extra light olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, to taste
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
a few grinds pepper, (optional)

You can prepare the aïoli a day or more ahead of time, if you like.

Place the egg yolk into a small bowl which should also be at room temperature. This is important because the aïoli might not emulsify if the temperatures of your ingredients/tools differ. * If you can't get fresh eggs from a reliable source, then look for "pasteurized" eggs.

Using an egg beater, beat the yolk until it begins to thicken and lighten in color; about 2 minutes. Add the mustard and salt and beat for another minute.

Very slowly beat in the oil, a drop at a time at the beginning. If it looks like the oil is emulsifying with the yolk, then you can increase the the amount of oil to a tiny drizzle. Continue beating until all of the oil has been used up. The aïoli at this point should be quite thick; like mayonnaise in a jar.

Beat in the garlic and lemon juice. Add the pepper, if using. Refrigerate until you are ready to use it.

If your aïoli curdles or fails to emulsify, don't throw it out. You can rescue it if you have another (room temperature) egg yolk handy. Start again with a fresh bowl and clean beaters. Some people add a teaspoon of (room temperature) water to the egg yolk (I don't, but that might be worth trying). Beat the egg yolk (and water, if using) until it begins to thicken and lighten in color. Slowly beat in a few drops of oil. When the oil and egg yolk have emulsified, then beat in a teaspoon at a time of the curdled or separated mixture until you have used it all up. Beat in up to an additional 1/3 cup olive oil if you like, just add it very slowly.

cod
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
a pinch or 2 cayenne

1 1/2 lbs cod fillets, cut into 6oz portions
1 tbsp olive oil

Combine the flour, smoked paprika, salt, lemon pepper and cayenne. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over a small plate.

Lightly dredge the cod with the flour mixture and tap off the excess.

Heat the olive oil in a non stick skillet over medium heat. Fry the cod for about 3-5 minutes on each side. You might have to lower the heat a touch if your cod fillets are thick, so they can cook through and not burn. Mine were about 3/4 inch thick and took about 7 minutes total time to cook through. They are done when the cod flakes easily.

Serve immediately with a spoon of aïoli for each portion.

Duxelles

(about 2 cups)

Duxelles, an intensely flavored mushroom paste is one of the components of Beef Wellington, however it has many other uses. It can be used to flavor eggs, soups, sauces or gravies. It can fill the cavities of meat, fish or poultry. It can be combined with stuffings or fillings for pastries or pasta, or simply spread onto little toasts.  It freezes really well.

1/2 oz dried porcini
2 lbs white or crimini mushrooms
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp butter
2-3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup dry port, Madeira or red wine

Using a small coffee grinder or mini food processor, grind the porcini into a fine powder. Empty into a medium sized bowl.

Clean the mushrooms, finely chop them and add them to the porcini. Stir in the salt and pepper. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a non stick skillet or saucepan (with a lid) over medium low heat. Stir in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds or so then stir in the shallots. Cook the mixture until the shallots are translucent and soft.

Add the porcini mushroom mixture to the garlic and shallots, then stir in the port, or whatever you are using. Reduce the heat to low, cover the skillet or saucepan and leave for about 30-40 minutes. The mushrooms will sweat a great deal. About halfway through the cooking time, give everything a good stir.

Remove the lid and increase the heat to medium. Cook the mushrooms, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the Duxelles are on the dry side. Check and adjust for seasoning, if needed. Remove from heat.

Polish Salad with Homemade Mayonnaise

(6-8 servings)

This salad is similar to Russian salad, sans the ham. I love the bits of apple in it, but you can leave that out if you prefer.

I made my own lemon flavored mayonnaise using olive oil which was much better tasting than store bought. I followed the instructions (link below) and used an immersion blender as suggested. The next time I will try a food processor to see how that turns out.

30 second lemon mayonnaise, adapted from here
1 cup olive oil at room temperature
1 pasteurized whole egg at room temperature
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste
1/2 tsp very fine lemon zest
salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Place everything into a 1 pint mason jar (with a lid for storage). Place an immersion blender into the jar, allowing it to rest on the bottom. Turn on the blender and and when you see the olive oil and egg begin to thicken, slowly lift the blender up (while it's on).

When everything in the jar looks like it's emulsified, turn the blender off. Taste and add more salt and pepper (or lemon juice) if needed.

The leftover mayonnaise will keep for about a week, refrigerated.

salad
4-5 medium potatoes, scrubbed
1 medium turnip, peeled
3-4 carrots, scrubbed clean
1/3 - 1/2 cup homemade mayonnaise
3-4 tbsp plain yogurt
1-2 tbsp mustard
1 apple, cored and diced
3-4 dill pickles, diced
2 green onions, sliced
2 hard boiled eggs, diced
1 cup peas, frozen are fine
salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Bring the potatoes and turnip to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, then add the carrots. Cook another 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Drain and cool.

In a large salad bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream and mustard.

Dice the cooled potatoes, turnip and carrots and add to the bowl. Add the apple, dill pickles, green onions, eggs and peas. Toss until everything is evenly combined. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.

Allow the salad to sit for about 30 minutes before serving to give the flavors a chance to meld a bit.

Spicy Mango Chutney

(2 pints)

I rarely make anything the same way twice. In my case it depends on mood, what I happen to have on hand and time.

Mangoes were on sale this week and this morning I made this delicious spicy mango chutney. It has a bit more kick to it than my usual chutney. In all likelihood that's because I left the seeds in the jalapeno pepper. I have been getting braver and doing this more frequently recently.

The chutney will keep refrigerated for about a month. Just make sure to sterilize your jars and lids first.

1 tbsp coconut oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh ginger. chopped
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced (seeds and all if you are feeling brave)
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup sucanat or brown sugar
4 yellow slightly under-ripe mangoes, cut into 1/2 inch dice (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup currants
up to 1/2 cup water, if needed 

Heat the oil in a heavy pot with a tight fitting lid over a medium flame. Add the garlic and ginger. Saute for a minute or two. Add the mustard seeds and when they begin to make a popping sound stir in the turmeric, cumin, coriander, curry powder, cardamom and salt.

Lower the flame and stir in the onion. Saute the mixture, stirring from time to time until the onion is translucent, taking care nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. Stir in the jalapeno slices.

Add the vinegar, sucanat, diced mango, and currants. Cover the pot with a lid and cook over a low flame for about 50 minutes. Check the chutney about every 10-15 minutes and give it a good stir. Despite the lid, the chutney might become too thick; stir in a small amount of water, if needed.

Ladle the hot chutney into sterilized jars, cover with lids, screw on the bands and cool. Will keep refrigerated for about one month.

If you plan on keeping the chutney longer than 4 weeks then ladle into hot sterilized jars, leaving about a 1/2" head space. Cover with metal lids, and screw on the bands. Process in boiling water bath 8 minutes (extend this time to 15 minutes if your jars weren't hot and sterilized beforehand). Remove from the water and leave to cool. The lids should make a popping sound as the jars cool.

Spiced & Baked Sweet Potato Fries

(4 servings)

Sweet potatoes are in season in Texas at the moment so a grabbed a few to make these delicious baked fries. It took me less than 10 minutes to wash, peel, cut and season these tasty tubers. The difficult part was waiting for them while they were in the oven, the aroma they gave off set off hunger pangs something fierce!

You can keep this tasty side dish simple by seasoning them with just salt and pepper, or you can try any combination of spices you like. I have made a few different versions of these fries, and they have been "oh, so good!", every single time.

sweet potato fries
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large clove garlic, pressed or minced
2-3 sweet potatoes, about 1 1/2 lbs
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
a few pinches cayenne

quick ketchup 
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp water
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp mustard

Combine the olive oil and garlic, then set aside while you prepare the potatoes.

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Wash, peel and cut the sweet potatoes into sticks that are about 1/3 of an inch thick. You may cut them larger or smaller if you prefer, but you might have to adjust the baking time.

Place the potatoes into a bowl. Pour the oil and garlic mixture over the sweet potatoes and toss until evenly coated.

Stir together the paprika, cumin, pepper, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cayenne. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the sweet potatoes, and toss again until the spice mixture is evenly distributed among the fries.

Place the potatoes onto a lightly oiled baking sheet in a single layer, trying not too crowd them too much.

Bake them for about 20 minutes, remove them from the oven and quickly flip them over. Bake them further for another 10-15 minutes or until they are crispy on the outside.

Combine all the ingredients for the ketchup and serve with the sweet potato fries.

Pico de Gallo

(about 2 cups)

Whenever I go out for Mexican food, pico de gallo will appear in some form on the table. Sometimes it's tossed over a salad, a filling for a taco, or garnish on a plate. It always contains three ingredients; tomatoes, onion and green chili pepper. It might also contain green onion, cilantro or cucumber. Sometimes it's simply diced and on it's own, other times it might be seasoned with salt and pepper and a splash or two of fresh lime juice or vinegar. Essentially it's salsa, although what's considered salsa here (in Dallas) is usually a thin pureed sauce accompanied by tortilla chips. I love having pico de gallo with corn chips.

3 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 an English cucumber, diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
1/2 - 2 jalapeno or serrano chili peppers (to taste), seeded and diced
small handful cilantro, chopped
juice from 1 small lime
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine everything in a bowl and toss. Check and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

Serve within an hour or two of combining (it will still be quite good later than that, but it will gather more liquid as time goes on).

Homemade Mayonnaise & Chicken Salad

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On occasion I'll make my own mayonnaise. It's not difficult and it's much tastier and a lot cheaper than anything you can pick up in a jar. I think what holds many people back from giving it a try is the concern about raw eggs. It's sad this seems to have become more of an issue in recent years.

My mum told me my grandmother used to leave her eggs out on the counter, unrefrigerated for weeks. My grandmother's eggs were fine and no one ever got sick.

Nowadays, when it comes to perishable foods, I often toss "brand loyalty" out the window and shop by the best expiration date. The eggs I brought home this week happened to be "pasteurized"; perfect for making mayonnaise. If you can't find any pasteurized eggs, then you can do this yourself.

This basic recipe can be doubled or tripled, but I prefer making a smaller amount and using it up within a week.

All ingredients need to be at room temperature.

Basic Mayonnaise
1 large pasteurized egg yolk
1/2-3/4 cup flavourless vegetable oil
a pinch or two of fine sea salt
1-2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice 

Options
lime juice, vinegar or flavoured vinegar in place of the lemon juice.
1/2-1 tsp plain or hot mustard
1-2 tsp ketchup, (makes a nice pink mayo)
replace part of the oil with sesame or olive oil

I like making my mayonnaise with a hand-held electric beater and a two cup glass measure. You can use a blender, a food processor, an immersion hand blender or even a whisk if you are brave enough, and up to a good workout.

Beat the egg yolk until it lightens in colour. Add one or two drops of oil and continue to beat. Keep beating in one or two drops of oil at a time (very slowly) until you have used up about a tablespoon of oil. The slower you do this, the greater rate of success you will have at creating a smooth emulsion. The yolk mixture will look creamy and *smooth. At this point you can add a small amount of salt and lemon juice or one or two of the options.

Once you have added about a tablespoon or so of the oil successfully, you can add it a bit more quickly; several drops at a time or in a very thin stream until you have used the desired amount of oil. I rarely add more than 1/2 a cup of oil per yolk, but you can add as much as about 3/4 cup of oil, if you prefer. Taste the mayonnaise and beat in more salt and lemon juice as needed.

*If the yolk begins to separate from the oil, then either the oil was added too quickly or the egg and oil were not the same temperature. Put this mixture aside (don't throw it out) and begin again with another yolk. Beat this yolk until it begins to lighten, then beat in a 1/4 tsp of the separated yolk mixture at a time until you have used all of it. At this point, you will need to double the recipe and add twice the amount of the ingredients above to finish your mayonnaise.

This will keep for about 1 week or so, refrigerated. It might keep longer, but I always finish mine before that amount of time passes.

Chicken Salad
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1-2 tsp cider vinegar, to taste
1/2 tsp hot mustard
1/4 tsp honey
1 tsp poppy seeds

2/3 cup leftover cooked chicken, chopped
5-6 grapes, quartered
1 tbsp chopped celery
2 tsp dried cranberries
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, honey and poppy seeds. Mix that in with the chicken, grapes, celery and cranberries.

Check and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed.

Mango Chutney

(about 1 pint)

This past year in particular, I have been shocked by some of the prices at the grocery store. A small jar of mango chutney this week, $6. The main ingredient was sugar and the stuff wasn't even organic.

I spent about five minutes looking at the ingredients of several different brands and decided to make my own.  How hard could it be?

Mangoes were on sale, 79 cents each, so I grabbed two of them. I also picked up some crystallized ginger in the bulk food section thinking that would make a nice addition.

I wasn't sure about the sugar/vinegar ratio, so in a separate bowl I kept adding sugar and vinegar until it seemed balanced to me. I ended up with 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup vinegar. When I added this to the onion, chile and mango mixture, it was still working for me.

This chutney is delicious. More flavourful and less sweet than the commercial brands I've been buying. I ended up with slightly more than a pint (I thought it would make more); next time I will double this recipe.

I served this chutney with some butter chicken I made this week..

Tamarind Paste

(about 2 1/2 -3 cups)

I love tamarind which I first encountered while living in an East Indian community in Toronto. I've tried various pastes and concentrated forms of it, but eventually I realised I preferred the taste of  "wet tamarind" the best. It involves a bit of work, but I process the entire package at once and freeze the remainder in ice cube trays for later use.

Wet tamarind is sold in small blocks and I look for packages which feel soft, avoiding the hard ones.