another reason to be fanatic about sundays

sunday lunch is always a big deal. but our friends at fanatic kitchen studio took it to another level with their interactive chef's kitchen sessions. once again, this was my first time participating in anything like this, but from the time that i had, i know it's not going to be the last.

this session that ran for 2 sundays was hosted by chef jason peru. a cool fella who is passionate and knowledgeable about food and cooking. that might have something to do with the fact that he lectures at the Trinidad & Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute. just guessing.

anyway, how it works is the chef creates a menu that includes a main course and a dessert. this time around he prepared a chicken roulade with carrots, spinach, swiss cheese, yellow peppers and chicken ham, drizzled with a beet reduction and served with a herb spaetzle, sauteed with rosemary and thyme. and for desert, lemon ricotta fritters with fresh strawberry jam. in other words, a deliciously good time.

oh! just in case you were wondering, you come with your hands swinging. no tools required.

the FKS crew supplies you with everything you need to work just like the pros.

including mimosas...

and wine. i'm a red lover myself.

so chef jason preps some of the fresh, quality ingredients and makes this beautiful spread of color that immediately makes your mouth water. after a little talk about the menu that featured nice little tidbits like "roulade" is a french term that means to roll and rolling citrus like limes and lemons help to soften them up so you get more juice out of them, everyone was in the mood.

we got right into it with the first demonstration, which schooled us on how to debone a chicken breast.

then he showed us how to tenderized and seasoned it to get it ready to roll.

inside he wrapped some spinach, chicken ham, juliennes of carrot, sweet peppers and swiss cheese. then held the wrap together with tooth pics.

next he set up a breading station with an egg wash, flour and bread crumbs. wash, flour, wash, crumbs was the order.

searing came next. just a few seconds on each side to create a crust which would give us a nice texture and trap in all the flavors when we put them to bake.

then came the fun part... our turn.

we cut...

and cut some more...

tenderized...

seasoned...

we wrapped...

breaded...

we seared...

and we made some tasty morsels to bake.

came out well if you ask me.

but the fun wasn't over. we learned the technique to make the herb spaetzle.

it's basically a type of pasta, so you have to make a batter and feed it into a colander over a pot of boiling water.

pressing it through the colander makes it into little balls that take about a half minute to cook.

then you fish them out with a strainer and put them into cold water to stop the cooking process.

into a pan they went with oil and butter to sautee with crushed garlic, some herbs, salt and black pepper.

the end result is tasty. something a little different that sits right between a seasoned rice and the regular pasta we're accustomed having.

all that was left to do for the main course was to make the beet reduction from beets that were slow roasted in the oven with a little vegetable oil, salt and black pepper.

and the mango chow with mango, radish, shadon beni, chive, celery, a touch of lime, salt and black pepper.

with the main course done, we went on to make dessert. this started with a tasty fritter batter that incorporated lemon zest, ricotta cheese and almond essence.

we spooned them up and...

fried them in vegetable oil 'til golden brown.

they were unbelievably light and fluffy. dusted with powdered sugar, these things were great. we had a few before they were plated. i mean... who could resist?

all the while in the background, we were reducing some crushed strawberries in some water and sugar to make a delicious strawberry jam to compliment the fritters.

with everything done, we had a seat and looked on as chef jason skillfully plated up the main course.

followed closely by our beautiful dessert. at this point, the reality of creating a restaurant quality meal set in.

what a tasty main course this was. the tangy acidity of the mango chow went well with the savory flavors of the chicken, all on top of the starchy, herbal goodness of the spaetzle.

and the dessert was the perfect compliment. light citrus tinges from the lemon ricotta fritters complimented by the tart strawberry jam made the need for a cream element unnecessary.

i guess the plates tell the story better than i can. but the only way to really get it is to check out one of these interactive chef's kitchen events at fanatic kitchen studio. it's more than worth it. check the calendar of events on the website and see which one you'll be interested in. thanks again FKS for a great time and a great entry.

ALL YUH NEED NOW IS SOME WINE TO DE SIDE

carnival is here once again. that can mean one of two things:

1. you can't wait to take a wine in town while prancing around in yuh costume.

2. you can't wait to enjoy some wine with a nice plate of something when you get home from liming about in town.

my breddrins and i fall into category number 2. our usual spot is on the corner of ana street in woodbrook by anchor cafe. that's our friend charlie's bar. level drinks, level lime, level fun. but after a day in the sun, it's always nice to whip up something not too hard to make but tasty none the less. that's where easy pots like this fettuccine with seared chicken breast by baidawi comes in. check it out...

according to my NatDecants app, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and champagne are among the beverages that pair well with pastas in cream-based sauces. so is no scene if yuh want some wine to de side of this one.

leh we bubble.

CARNIVAL QUICK FIX

while the masses palanced on carnival sunday, i was home enjoying the idea of no real obligations for two sure days. joy. what could compliment some quality lounging time better than a nice plate of something tasty. considering the pack of minced chicken left over in the deep freeze, i thought a chicken bolognese and spaghetti might be the meal to hit the spot.

so into a saucepan went a little golden ray with some onions, garlic and pimento peppers. sautee time. dropped the minced chicken into it and cooked away the pink. put in some chicken stock to add some moisture and deglaze the pan a bit. then i added a sauce that was made before, which combined tomato paste, onion, garlic, italian seasoning, basil, thyme, salt, black pepper a little sugar and lemon juice. poured that in there and cooked it low and slow until everything cooked together thickened a bit. i would have liked the flavour and texture some heavy cream brings to the table, but alas, my cupboard was sans heavy cream and i didn't see a grocery run or a fairy god mother producing such a product for me in the near future. so i just sprinkled some parmesan on top and spruced it up with some chopped olives. some garlic toast on the side and that was it.

since the next two days are up to this point unplanned and open to various outcomes, it's safe to say that this is most likely my only carnival quick fix. check it out.


leh we bubble.

de fish's tagliatelle positano with mushrooms and chicken

de fish all the way in england decided to let us here at home know he was handling his stories proper. so he took a little time to send us a quick entry. no detailing of the process in the pics, but the dish is simple enough that we get it with the description and a shot of the final product. check it out.

Ingredients
500g Tagliatelle
1 Chicken breast thinly sliced,ideally as close to shredded as possible
2 Medium firm tomatoes, cubed very small
6 Mushrooms sliced thinly
a handfull of chives
sprig of parsley
grated cheese preferably parmesan

in pan 1
bring a pot of water to boil and add a teaspoon of oil and salt.
put in the pasta and boil till al dente

in pan 2
lightly fry the chicken to your desired colour.

in pan 3
heat 4 tablespoons of virgin olive oil and add add the rest of ingredients to it.
once the tomatoes have become soft, use a potato masher to make it into a smooth paste.
add the chicken and pasta and mix it all together.
sprinkle the grated cheese liberally while mixing.




eat

keep it bubblin in england horse.

A meal fit for a father

Firstly, let me say how terribly difficult it is to cook and take pictures of the process at the same time. One has to consider dirty hands, burning oil etc. So that is my excuse for not taking as much pictures as I should have, this being the first time that I have tried to do it all by myself. Hats off to the other blog contributors who make it seem so easy.

Yesterday I decided to make lasagna for lunch, one veggie and one chicken. My father put some chicken thighs and wings to bake to compliment the lasagna.

I started off with the veggie first, giving the minced chicken a little more time to marinate in the seasonings. So it began with your usual suspects, I sautéed some onions, garlic, celery and thyme in olive oil with a tablespoon of butter. Add salt and black pepper for flavor, then in goes two bags of mixed vegetables. The mixed vegetables that I got had green peas, carrots, string beans and corn which are a nice blend of flavors. After the cooking the veggies for about 10 minutes, I added a tin of Hunt’s Tomato Paste along with some Italian Seasoning. Let that come to a simmer then turn off the pot.

In the meantime between time, I had my lasagna cooking in a pot of boiling water with a dash of oil to prevent them from sticking together.

I took out a deep casserole dish and used a teaspoon of olive oil to grease it. In goes a thin layer of veggies to the bottom of the dish, then I do a layer of lasagna. I add the veggie mixture to that layer then sprinkle it with grated rat cheese.

I repeated this step until the dish was filled. To top it off, I put a thin layer of tomato paste and sprinkled a decent helping of cheese. I then added some parmesan cheese and paprika to it for a bit of a twist.

Popped that into a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes and there you have it. Veggie Lasagna!!!

Now for our chicken lasagna I had two packs of minced chicken marinating in seasoning. I found out later that two packs of chicken are not enough to fill a biggish lasagna properly, so I advise you to go with three packs. To season it I squeezed a lime, added some salt and black pepper, thyme, onion, garlic, sieve and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. I let that sit for about 30 minutes while I was preparing its veggie counterpart.

Dice 1 onion, 5 cloves of garlic, celery, thyme and 1 pimento. To a heated pot I added a bit of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter and sautéed my chopped veggies.

Then in goes our minced chicken.

I sprinkled a bit of cayenne pepper to the pot for a bit of zing. After the chicken has started to cook through, add the Hunt’s tomato paste and let it simmer for a couple minutes again to make sure all the flavors meld. At this point you can add tomatoes and sweet peppers if you like. I didn’t have any so I could not add even though I really wanted to.

To bring the lasagna together I followed the same steps as the veggie lasagna, the only difference being I sprinkled Italian Seasoning on top with the cheese instead of paprika.

I was contemplating making a fresh salad to go with this meal but realized soon after my contemplation began that I didn’t have any lettuce or tomatoes. Who wants to make a fresh salad without lettuce? - Certainly not me.

All in all, my father was content with the meal. He ate a sliver of chicken lasagna with a sliver of veggie lasagna and a baked chicken wing. Needless to say, he eats like a bird. Chinyere however, does not eat like a bird!