The BBQ story

On a rare Sunday of work, I was doing a cookie Bake Mitzvah class with 28 teens and two parents. Twenty minutes into the class a young lady was browsing in our general store. I asked, if she needed help and was praying for a "No thank you." It so happens, she was looking at the jars of BBQ sauces and couldn't decide which to get her Trini fiancee, yikes!

I was honest and told her we don't use those. In class we do things from scratch. She was taken aback I guess, but it was the truth. Then I saw a parent (Dad) looking our way and written all over his face was, "You better get back here or there is going to be lots of over beaten doughs." I recommended a honey plum sauce to my BBQ seeker and explained how to apply the BBQ sauce.

By then we were talking about black cake, which I told her my Mom and sisters would start making in August by soaking the fruits in brandy/rum. The sale ended with a pledge to mail her a quickie black cake recipe. The teen group's cookies turned out all excellent. The place was like a battle zone by the time they left. Yet, it was for a good cause. Three large trays went to the Ronald McDonald House and the Bat Mitzvah girl achieved her community service requirement.

BBQ Sauce

2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup black strap molasses
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. Tabasco
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1/2 tbsp. ancho chili powder
1 tbsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. liquid smoke

In a medium sauce pan set over low heat, combine first 6 ingredients. Stir frequently, until the sugar is dissolved. Add rest of ingredients and cook on heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a heatproof, air-tight jar.

A dry rub for BBQ meat:
Sprinkle on ribs, refrigerate overnight and oven roast the next day with above sauce.

1 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup each of kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt and chili powder
2 tbsp. lemon pepper
1 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. sage
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. curry powder

Put all ingredients into air-tight jar and blend. Will last 6 months.

A Fish Tale

To the rest, Merry Christmas and a healthy New Year. I heard from my favorite cousin in Trinidad on Christmas Day. She recently had fish with a white sauce at the Hilton: our upside-down hotel. Now, she wants to replicate it at home and learn the ways of cooking seafood. Sounds like this chef is on the job!

The white sauce would have been a bechamel, a basic French sauce made by by stirring milk into a butter-flour roux. The thickness depends on the proportion of flour and butter to milk.
Method :

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and white pepper to taste

Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat.
Add butter and flour to pan stirring to incorporate. Keep stirring till flour is smooth and cooked about 2 minutes. Don't let ingredients brown or change color; lower fire if needed.
Add milk and keep stirring till it thickens. Should coat a wooden spoon, or about 3 minutes. Add nutmeg, cayenne, salt and white pepper to taste. Add milk as needed to thin out.

Once you have completed the basic sauce, variations are plentiful; for instance, when you see a dish made "a la king," that calls for a white sauce. First, make the white sauce and set aside. Then, in a separate pan, saute 3 ozs. diced green peppers, 3 ozs. sliced mushrooms and add 4 ozs. chopped pimiento. Add to white sauce. This could be served over cubed, cooked chicken; meats, seafood, vegetables or eggs.

For a cheese sauce, add a cup of shredded, sharp Cheddar cheese, 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce and a dash of cayenne pepper.

For a mushroom sauce, saute 4 ozs. of mushrooms and 2 Tbsp. minced onions in in 2 Tbsp. butter; add to white sauce.

You can also add chopped herbs or spices to the white sauce: dill, parsley, tarragon, curry, saffron and ginger come to mind.

As for fish, my employer, Marci thinks it is the most overcooked menu item. So, for Trinis who are new to sushi, take it from me, fish is not cooked well done. As a matter of fact, tuna should be served medium rare.

When selecting fish to cook, the flesh must be firm, with no slime on skin, should have bright red gills and eyes must be bulging.

Fish is a delicate product and is often enhanced by the addition of herbs and a sprinkle of lemon juice. When cooking fish, most methods (grilling, baking or steaming) allow for marinating the fish first. A marinade mixture should be olive-oil based, with the addition of wine or citrus juice and herbs for flavor. You can marinade for up to 4 hours. If you see the flesh turning white, the fish is cooking and should be removed from the marinade. The marinade can be boiled and used for basting the fish while cooking.

As a guide, cook fish for 8 minutes per inch, give or take a minute (3 to 4 minutes per side.) Check fish at the thickest part. If it flakes, it is done. Always remove fish from cooking utensil to stop cooking.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

These turnovers are part of the everyday tortilla, meat-filled snack that are found in most latin cultures. I was out of dough at my subdivision's last party, I used Asian wonton wrappers as a substitute. Wapaaa!!!

I call them Asapanadas:

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced finely
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
2 tbsp. sofrito
1 pack sazon
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 chili pepper diced, add to taste
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
2 dozen 2x2 wonton wappers
1 egg beaten
oil for frying


1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, sofrito, tomato sauce and sazon and cook two minutes. Add beef and saute stirring frequently, until cook and lightly brown. Add diced tomato, chili pepper, cilantro and cinnamon. Cook three minutes, take off the heat and cool.

2. On a flat, lightly floured surface, lay out wrappers in a 6x4 pattern one inch apart. Spoon 1 tbsp. meat mixture in middle of each wrap. brush outer 1/4 inch edge with egg wash. Fold to align edges and press to seal. Place on baking sheet. Don't stack or marry. Can be refrigerated or frozen at this point until ready to use.

3. Heat deep fryer to 375 degrees. Fry wonton eight at a time until lightly brown. Place on paper towel to remove any excess oil. Can also be baked in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Shop and Stock

Hold the presses! Aldi has come to town. Aldi is a German discount grocery chain that operates in 28 states. They carry a select inventory, mostly private label brands of everyday items, which in turn results in low prices.

For me, the competition is on, as I have a choice between the big store giants Costco, Walmart and now Aldi. But let's not jump ahead.

Smart shoppers like me (ahem! ahem!) do our homework before we enter a store. You have to have a list. This comes as a habit. A shopping list saves you money, since you buy things you plan to use. (I saved $27 by using coupons on my last Costco trip.) It cuts down on impulsive buying and it is a good menu planner.

Any store you shop at has tons of hidden cost savings. Aldi, the new kid on our block, has introduced a bunch of services that end up eliminating lots of extra costs: no baggers, bring or pay for bags to carry food items (this is like the Ikea model), no checks accepted, a 25-cent cart deposit and, most of all, low prices for high-quality products.

I am a fan of warehouse food shopping: Costco, B J'S and Sam' s. When you buy big, you have to buy smart. If you buy in bulk and use what you buy, your savings will be great. When you shop at a warehouse as your primary food store, you can buy in quantities and you save time.

Once you buy in bulk, the next thing is to store your treasures. Example, the six-pound package of ground beef will have to be vac or ziplocked, portioned into one-pound and half-pound packages, then frozen. Same for the two-pound block cheese. I divide it into four and freeze three, then thaw as needed.

The next step is to use your bulk items to make storable sauces and condiments to consume later. These include meat and pasta sauces, meat rubs, base stocks, herb butters, infused oils and dressings.

Now we have shopped and are ready to cook. What do we have? An eight-pound family size pack of chicken breast, an eight-pound fillet mignon.

Divide the chicken in four, double wrap in plastic, put in freezer bags, date and label. You can refrigerate for three days or freeze for three months.

For the tenderloin, trim and remove the silver skin. Cut into into two-inch portions, double wrap each individually, place in freezer bags, date, label and freeze for 4 to 6 months. Use as needed in the future. Try this recipe with leftover mignon.

Ole' Beef Strips

4 tbsp. olive oil, divided

1 small onion sliced

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 tsbp recaito

1 package sazon

4 ozs. beef tenderloin, trimed and cut into 1/2 inch strips

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

1/4 tsp. oregano

1/2 cup beef stock or broth

12 corn tortillas as needed



1. In a medium skillet, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium high heat. Saute onions until wilted; add garlic, recaitio, sazon and cook for 4 minutes.

2. Remove onion mixture from skillet. In same skillet add balance of olive oil, over medium high heat. Add tenderloin strips and sautee 3 minutes. Add onion mixture, jalapeno, tomato sauce, oregano and tomato sauce to meat and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Heat tortillas in a damp towel in microwave for 25 seconds. Serve a tablespoon of meat in tortilla.

Cooking Techniques 1

My mother was a no-recipe, standard cook. She just did what came naturally in the kitchen. Today the culinary arts is beckoning us to break all barriers. People are renovating kitchens, buying expensive pots and pans and expensive kitchen tools in the hope they can turn into better cooks.

And while better cooks don't get born overnight, the right tools and setting make cooking a lot easier.


When it comes to tools, keep it simple and stick to a few basic rules of the thumb. Buy the best quality you can afford and learn to take care of it.

Knifes: look for high quality forged brands that offer balance and have a good feel in your hand. You need four knives: a 8- to 10-inch chef, a serrated or bread knife, a paring knife, a boning knife, plus a high-quality diamond steel knife. Before using, sharpen the knife with a steel. Keep the knives sharp and never put in the sink or dishwasher.

Saute pans: a couple of good commercial-grade pan are all you need. Make sure they don't have plastic handles.

Sauce pans: A small 1-1/2 quart and a 3-quart will do. They should be oven proof. Also consider a 8- to 12-quart Dutch-oven for pasta, stock or soups.

Cutting boards: At least 3 plastic cutting boards -- not wood -- because of sanitary concerns. Use them separately as follows: (1) for pork and beef, (2) for chicken and fish, (3) for veggies.


Blenders: The must have includes a Kitchen Aid, which I don't own . . . hint, hint Christmas is almost here. I have an immersion blender: also called a stick blender it blends/mix soups, vinaigrettes, or drinks in the container you prepared them in.

The final aspect of a successful chef is the storing of leftovers. Storage presents a health issue at a public establishment as well as at home. How long you keep food safely under refrigeration or in the freezer differs from item to item. It is easy to tell when salad greens are gross and should be replenished. But meat, eggs and fish aren't as apparent unless they smell.

Properly storing foods weather in ziplock bags or in plastic containers is the first step. The trick is to know the food life's expectancy. Consume the food item before that period expires. When in doubt, throw it out.

Let's Start Cooking

In the beginning, there are tools, techniques and rules. That's the meat and bones of a sucessful kitchen. Anyone can cook: boil an egg, heat a can of soup or boil water. Then there are people, like the moms of the world, who take it to another level. When you go to a restaurant, that is another level. In the end, it all costs you something: money and time. There is a joy to cooking, and if you don't feel it change your approach.


Last night my cooking class was about the other white meat... pork! Yes, as a chef, I have eaten all kinds of food. As a matter of fact, during my second week in culinary school, we had to prepare and sample "variety meats." Whew! Brains and intestines, heart and sweetbread treats were very new to this Trini. Back then, I closed my eyes, held my your breath and let it go down like a pill.


Sunday on the Travel channel Andrew Zimmerman, the guy who dares to eat anything, was sampling animal testicles. You read it correctly. Animal testicles. To cut a slimy story short, the llama had the best-tasting balls, at least according to Zimmerman.

But back to pork. I explained to the class the need to cook pork only to 135 degrees F medium-rare. You should see a little pink. The fear of trichinosis has been eliminated in the USA because of high sanitary standards set by the Food and Drug Administration.

Depending on the cut, grilling or roasting is the best way to cook meats. I love doing the tenderloin or fillet. It is a prime cut from the loin, trimmed of fat and membrane. Apples and pears complement pork marvelously when cooked together or in a sauce. I adapted the following pork recipe with cranberries from Truffles and Trifles, my work kitchen. Enjoy


Pork Tenderloin in Cranberry Rum Sauce


2 1-lb pork tenderloins, silver removed

1-1/2 tsp. salt

1-1/2 tsp. black pepper

4 tsp. herbs de province

3 tbsp. olive oil


For sauce:

3 tsbp. butter

2 cups onions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 tsp. orange zest

1-1/2 tsp. herbs de province

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups fresh cranberry

1-1/2 cups cranberry juice

1/2 cup sugar or Splenda

1/4 cup rum

1 tbsp. corn starch


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat oil in a large skillet over medum-high heat. Add pork and saute till brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and roast to 135oF, about 15 minutes. Transfer pork to a platter and let it relax, in so doing you let the juices to be redistributed. Save skillet and drippings.


2. Melt butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute until golden brown. Add garlic, 1-1/2 teaspoon, sage, and 1 teaspoon herbs de provence; stir 1 minute. Add stock and cranberry juice and simmer until reduced to 2-1/2 cups.


Strain sauce into heavy-medium saucepan, pressing solid with back of a spoon. Add cranberries and sugar; boil until berries begin to pop, about 5 minutes.



3. Mix rum and cornstarch in a small bowl to blend. Add to sauce and boil until thickened; season to taste with salt and pepper.




4. Return skillet with pork drippings to medium heat; beware the handle may still be hot. Add cranberry sauce and remaining orange zest and simmer, stirring frequently.




5. Slice pork into 1/2-inch diagonal slices. Place on platter and pour sauce over.

West Indian in Atlanta

I had the pleasure to be in Atlanta in May for a family reunion. It was also the weekend for the West Indian Carnival and, as luck had it, there was a Jazz in the Park festival. This all meant that the aroma of home cooking was every where. When my brother and I went looking for lunch, we struck out. We didn't enter the food court of the Carnival because of time constraints. We did find a homey cafe along the main drag to the food court, but it was crowded and understaffed.

As the sun set, we decided to have dinner at a spot we had Googled earlier. Finding Chef Rob's Caribbean Cafe at 5920 Roswell Rd in the Sandy Springs area of Atlanta was a challenge. Rob's is a combination restaurant and catering service. It's in a small shopping center and has a small patio with outdoor seating facing the parking lot.

No surprise, the dining area was small and intimate. At 5 pm, we had a choice of seats. The staff was polite, but inattentive. We asked a lot of questions, but our waitress didn't think it important to explain and sell the menu items to us. She just stood there like a statue and wrote down what we selected. (Any of you thinking of opening a restaurant, the wait staff is important to your success!)

Thank goodness for the food. It was good and authentic, with a blend of jerk , seafood and vegetables. The signature drinks were excellent, especially the mojitos: at $8 for a 16 ounce glass, a clear winner. You can also order a pitcher of mojitos for $24. Our server didn't entice us to do this.

The menu was a fusion of Caribbean dishes and spices combined with Italian and other dishes to create a nuevo style. Our group of five ordered a combination of plates. Italian dishes weren't the kitchen's strength. The pasta in the jerk chicken-shrimp fettuccine pasta was overcooked, but the well-seasoned chicken and shrimp made it tasteful. The kitchen aced other dishes. The coconut fried shrimp starter at $8 was good. So, too, was the grilled shrimp drizzled with a pina-colada sauce and served over grilled pineapple.


Chef Rob was offloading a catering van as we were leaving. He is a Jamaican who moved down from New York, and has catered events for many of Atlanta's growing hip-hop stars. There were various restaurant reviews on the walls of the restaurant. He was trained at the Culinary Institute of America.

While dinner had its flaws, Chef Rob's Caribbean Cafe is definitely worth a repeat visit.

Labor Day Weekend Nostalgia

Labor Day is a federal holiday honoring the millions of West Indians who call these United States home. There'll be a huge street parade in New York. So come September 1, head for Crown Heights, Brooklyn, for this eye-opening, street drinking, food consumption carnival.

Fool you! I know Labor Day doesn't honor West Indians, but if you're in New York on this day for this carnival it sure seems so. If you are like me, you will be in a New York frame of mind on Labor Day.

It's also the last chance to barbecue, so grill away. But first, be sure you do it right! Some grilling can do more harm than good. So here are my two cents if you are going to fire up the "barbie."

• Avoid flaming or charring food. It is true that grilled and especially charred meats can present health risks. Your cooking habits can help eliminate or reduce those risks.
• Be sure to clean your grill first. The buildup of fat drippings on the coals can smoke during barbecuing and create hydrocarbons. If your meat is burned, scrape off the blackened parts.
• Don't set the flames on high, as this can cause chemical reactions in food products. A study found that compounds in foods react at high temperatures to create some carcinogens, a study whowed triggered breast, colon and prostate tumors in rats and mice. Lawrence Livermore Laboratory showed a link between high consumption of grilled or well-done foods and cancer.

So, now that I have scared the daylights out of you, remember to:

• Set your grill at 350F.
• Cook your meat medium-rare to medium.
• Heat your meat four minutes per side for a two-pound flank steak. You'll have a succulent and flavorful steak.
• Use marinades to set a barrier against heat.
• Eat grilled vegetables as a side dish, including broccoli, squash, onions and asparagus; all are good grill items.

Harvesting In Lean Times

Yeah mon! That was my joyful exclamation as I reaped my first pineapple from my own backyard Saturday. It was the size of a grapefruit, with a Borinquen sunset color and sweet to the core like brown sugar.

You can do the same. I have over a dozen other pineapple plants at various stages of growth on my 40 acres (and a mule). Some are in pots, while others are in the ground. So, next time you buy a pinapple, cut off the top (the part with the green leaves) about 1/2 inch down into the fruit. You then make a hole deep enough to cover the 1/2 inch fruit base part and cover up to the leaves with dirt.

Please, don't stop there. Next time you are at the garden shop or even at the vegetable section of your supermarket pick up some fresh herb plants. Parsley, basil, oregano, cilantro, green onions and dill are all easy to grow. You can also do tomatoes and squash.

I also have a Pondersa lemon tree. These trees grow about three feet and, at the moment, my tree has six lemons and lots of buds. My brother Clunis has two grafted mango trees in his yard, and he was born with a brown thumb! So get out there before the summer is over. How about a garden salad recipe before I leave you?


Garden Salad
3 lbs. potatoes (about 6 large)
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, shredded
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup cottage cheese
3/4 cup low fat milk
3 tbsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. dill, diced
2 tbsp. cider vinegar

1. Wash potatoes, boil in jackets until tender about 20 minutes. Cool, peel and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Add celery, carrots, green onions and parsley.

2. In blender, blend cottage cheese, milk, and rest of ingredients. Chill for 1 hour.

3. Pour dairy mixture over vegetables; refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.

Summer Package Deal

A couple months ago I did a dish -- red snapper and vegetables, including sweet plantians wrapped in a banana leaf. Maria gave it raving reviews, but low and behold I did not write it down and haven't been able to duplicate it.

Cooking in banana leaves is a reminiscent of vintage French cooking, as in cooking en papillote (the use of parchment paper to seal the food with a little wine). In a short time, you will have a tasty and succulent meal with little or no dishes to wash up.


Cooking en papillote can be applied to a variety of foods that don't require a lot of heat to cook, such as corn, chicken breast and ripe fruits in desserts. The trick is to have a balance of solids and liquid. You don't want a soup. Seasoning is a must but take care not to overpower.

Banana leaves add a herbal flavor to food; they also keep food moist. You can seal leaves with twine or enclose in aluminum foil. The package is baked at 450F for about 20 minutes.



Halibut in Banana Leaf
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

2 tbsp. olive oil, divided use
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 sprig green onions, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
2 red chiles, seeded and sliced into 1-inch strips
1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. adobo powder
3 tbsp. apple cider or white wine
4 banana leaves, cut in 8 x 8 pieces and smoked
2 ripe plantains, peeled and sliced in 1/4-inch rounds
4 (4-oz.) halibut fillets

1. Preheat oven to 350F. For the salsa: In a medium saucepan heat 1 tbsp. of oil over medium heat. Add garlic, green onions, jalapeno and red chiles. Cook 3 minutes. Add cilantro, oregano, adobo and cider; cook 2 minutes more. Remove from fire.

2. Place banana leaves on flat surface with shiny side up. Brush remaining oil lightly on leaves. Place 6 slices of plantain in center of each leaf. Place a halibut fillet over plantains. Top with 1/4 of prepared salsa. Fold the sides of the leaves toward the center. Place packets in one layer, folded side down, in a glass baking dish. Bake 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes. Place packets, folded sides up, on individual plates. Serve halibut in the leaf.

Serves 4.

306 calories per serving

Front Burner News

Hey chef, there is a spy in my soup. Yes, famed chef Julia Child is reported to have been a spy for the Office of Strategic Services, an earlier version of the CIA created by President FDR. Seems like we had over 20,000 spies made up of military and civilian cohorts who were looking under your kitchen sink and bed.

Better ask your grand dad to come clean and come in from the cold. The list had lawyers, doctors, soldiers,athletes, reporters and actors. The full report will be out soon stating why they were hired, what job they did and the missions they might have done while working for the agency. In the kitchen this axiom works, "Never trust a skinny cook."

Bon Apetit!

Jicama Citrus Salad

This is a healthy, simple salad and can be prepped ahead of time. Jicama is a root vegetable that is known in Mexico and South America. It's a creamy beige on the outside and white on the inside, and can be as small as a potato or as large as a cantaloupe. It tastes like a firm, spicy apple or radish. The salad is nice to look at, with orangy colors. You can serve as a salad or dice it up for a salsa to serve with tortilla chips. The salad was one of the dishes on the menu in my earlier posting.


Jicama Citrus Salad

2 small jicamas, peeled and cut into 2-inch strips
1/2 cup of bitter orange juice*
1/4 tsp. salt
3 oranges, peeled and sectioned
4 tangerines, peeled and sectioned
1 cucumber, scored, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
2 ripe and firm mangoes, peeled , seeded and cut into 3/4-inch strips
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
4 cups watercress
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced


1. Place jicama in large bowl. Pour orange juice over jicama and sprinkle with salt. Toss and let stand at room temperature for an hour.

2. Meanwhile, toss together oranges, tangerines, cucumber, mangoes, cilantro and chili powder . Add jicama after 1 hour. Serve over watercress or other greens. Garnish with avocado.

Serves 6 to 8

* You can find bitter orange juice in Hispanic supermarkets. If you can't find it, you can make your own by blending the juice of 6 limes (about 1/4 cup), 1/2 grapefruit juice and 1/2 tsp. of orange zest. Let stand for 1 to 2 hours. Strain.

A Mouthful of the Caribbean

Caribbean cooking is plain and simple Creole cooking, a mouthful of African, East Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern and European flavors. Today, Caribbean cuisine offers some of the most exotic foods in the world. When we say Caribbean, we are referring to the archipelago of islands from Cuba to Trinidad and Tobago.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of presenting and cooking the menu below to a 12-person cooking class. Everything was a hit but the callaloo! Some people just can't stomach the slimy okra in this traditional Trinidad dish. I should have served it with rice or provisions, which was my recommendation. But time constraints forced me to eliminate the rice dish.

The class loved the simplicity of the food and the combination of spices such as cilantro, sazon (Hispanic seasoning), curry, cumin, geera, cayenne pepper, garam masala and allspice. Their favorite dishes were the meat pies and Mexican-style roasted corn on the cob. They loved the fried plantains and tostones (green plantains). Most had never tasted plantains before. How can you go through life without eating plantains?

Of course, any Caribbean setting must have music. The class cooked to the sounds of calypso and soca from this year's Trinidad Carnival, thanks to my brother Clumpy.



Here's the menu:


Buljol
A blend of salted codfish, onions, tomatoes and hot peppers

Meat Pies
Creamy puff dough filled with spicy beef or chicken Hispanics call this empanadas)

Callaloo
A thick pureed soup made from taro leaves and okra, crab and coconut milk

Tamales
Meat-filled masa dough steamed in corn husks (Caribbean folks also make tamales, although Mexican tamales are better known).


Veggies
Roasted fresh corn rolled in parmesan cheese and cayenne pepper (cotija is a better known Mexican cheese)
Jicama and avocado salad

Jerk Pork
Meat marinated in a blend of spicy spices and grilled to perfection (very Jamaican)

Chicken Roti
A delicate Indian flat bread, which can be filled with curried chicken, potatoes and chick peas

Dessert
Tropical cheesecake with guava sauce, which I developed for a food company using passion fruit (granadilla or parcha).