Jerk Chicken and Beefsteak Tomato Salad

A few weeks ago I went back in my archives of cooking magazines to get some inspiration for a quick weekday meal.  I often go a few years back to the same month to get some good seasonal recipes.  As I make each dish, I scribble notes on post its sticking out the top or on the page itself.  Or I'll just stick a post it in there if I want to eventually make the dish someday.  This was one of those such occassions.

I opened my July/August 2005 edition of Everyday Foods and found a scrap piece of paper pointing out a Jerk Chicken recipe.  Would Dustin eat this? I wondered.  It has jalapenos and allspice. Hmmm, I could give it a go and see what happens. I didn't have to search for long before finding a good side to go along with it, a few pages over was a bookmark for Beefsteak Tomato Salad.  Looking for any opportunity to use up precious end of summer tomatoes, this was a quick decision.

Of course, I changed the Jerk Chicken up a little bit.  We're not big fans of bone-in anything around here, so I used cutlets instead.  My grill was out of gas so I cooked them up on the stove.  Since it wasn't browned on the grill, the jerk sauce gave the chicken a greenish glow.  I was hesitant to serve this up to Dustin.  Would his balk immediately at the sight of it?  I stook to my guns and served it anyway with very plain white rice (quick dinner + football tray = tv dinner night.)  He took a few bites, stared at the tv, took a few more.  "What is this?" he said with his mouth full of chicken and pointed at the Beefsteak Tomato Salad.  "Just a tomato salad," I said.  He took a few bites, "Mmmmm..."  Afterwards I asked for his opinions.  Too spicy? Make again?  His reply: no, not spicy at all (I had removed seeds and ribs from jalapenos) and yes, definately make again.

An important thing to remember about this is that you have to make the jerk sauce in advance and let the chicken marinade for two hours.  Otherwise, easy peezy.

Here is the original recipes:

Jerk Chicken
From Everyday Foods

Serves 4

• 1 bunch scallions, chopped (1 1/2 cups) (I didn't have any, omitted.)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 jalapeno chile, chopped (ribs and seeds removed, for less heat)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for grates
• 1 tablespoon light-brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Coarse salt
• 8 pieces bone-in chicken (drumsticks and thighs), skinned and trimmed of excess fat (I used boneless chicken cutlets.)

1. Make marinade: In a blender, combine scallions, garlic, jalapeno, lime juice, oil, sugar, allspice, thyme, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons water; blend until smooth. Set aside 1/4 cup for brushing.

2. Place chicken in a shallow dish; season all over with salt. Pour remaining marinade over chicken; toss to coat. Cover; refrigerate, turning once or twice, at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.

3. Heat grill to medium-high; oil grates. Lift chicken from marinade, letting excess drip off (discard marinade); place on grill, and cover. Cook, turning occasionally, until chicken is blackened in spots, about 10 minutes. (I cooked in pan on stove.)

4. Move chicken to a cooler part of the grill; brush with reserved marinade. Grill, covered, until chicken is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes more. Serve immediately.

Everyday Foods, July/August 2005

(Not a great shot, but you get the idea.)

Beefsteak Tomato Salad

From Everday Foods

Serves 4

• 3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 teaspoons capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped (I didn't have any, omitted.)
• 3 ripe beefsteak tomatoes
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

1. In a small bowl, whisk together red-wine vinegar and olive oil; stir in shallot and capers.

2. Core tomatoes; cut each into 8 wedges and place in a serving bowl. Drizzle with dressing, and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Everyday Foods, July/August 2005

Easy Peach Cobbler

I discovered last month that making "Easy Peach Cobbler" is in fact, rather easy.  Unfortunately I have some adult onset peach allergy so I can no longer partake in a beautiful fruit from my youth.  My dashing fiance however has a deep love for said fuzzy fruit.  So in a fit of young adoration (and seeing that the season for fresh peaches is rapidly disappearing), I found a well reviewed recipe and whipped up a batch of cobbler for my darling.



(Peach Cobbler is not that easy to photograph FYI)

The part that was not so easy however surrounded the peel.  A conversation with myself at the kitchen counter with peaches in hand and ingrediants at the ready:

Do I peel these peaches? It would be so easy if I don't have to, peeling might be kind of hard. Hmmm... the directions do not say.  The picture looks like their peeled.  Do people eat peels in dessert? No, or else the peel would take away from the overall texture. There is no peel in canned peaches. OK, no peel.

(Peeling process commenses with a small knife.)

Damn. These things are slippery!  And freaking hard to peel.  Let's try a peeler.

(Peeler totally not working.)

Scratch that.

(Back to the knife.  Large chunks of fruit also being removed as peach fumbles in the hands of increasingly frustrated, adoring wifey2B. Juice cascading down hands. Wifey2B tries to go faster in an awkward attempt to get the peeling done as quickly as possible, making the process worse.)

(Forever later.)

Done. There needs to be a better way than that!!!!

Ahhh, behold the "How to Peel a Peach" segment of current post.  Of course, it wasn't until "Easy Peach Cobbler" was in the oven that I sat down at the computer to look for better ways then the process above. (And if I couldn't find a better way, well then sorry future hubby, this was going to be my last foray into peach baking.)  A tutorial popped up right away.  So I went onto my second adventure into Easy Peach Cobbler this evening, used this method and it worked great!

How to Peel a Peach
-Boil a pot of water, enough to cover a peach when submerged.
-Scrub peaches clean of any dirt or chemicals.
-When pot of water begins to boil, turn off stove.
-Submerge peaches for 45 seconds, remove with slotted spoon.
-Keep an ice bath next to the stove and quickly transfer peaches from hot water into ice bath.
-Once cooled, remove peach and score it with knife.
-Peel will remove easily! (And you won't take chunks of the fruit off in the process!)
-If the peel does not remove easily just return to hot water and start process over.
-Works like a charm.

(This would be delicious warmed up with a heaping scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Yum!)

Easy Peach Cobbler
from Southern Living

Yield: 10 serving
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar, divided
1 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk
4 cups fresh peach slices
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)
1. Melt butter in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
2. Combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter over butter (do not stir).
3. Bring remaining 1 cup sugar, peach slices, and lemon juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly; pour over batter (do not stir). Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.
4. Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve cobbler warm or cool.

Southern Living, JUNE 1997

Harvest at DePiero's

One of my favorite times of year is when the abundance of fall harvest arrives at farm stands and supermarkets.  It's usually coupled with back to school time and for me, its a time of new beginnings and breaths of fresh air.  I think it's appropriate that Rosh Hashanah also shows up this time of year, it really is a New Year.

On Friday I met a friend for lunch at DePiero's Farm and thought I'd pick-up a few things for the weekly shopping trip.  I've moved my shopping day to Fridays which allows me to cook fabulous things all weekend.  I put on my anthropologie apron, kick up my heel and *cling* I'm ready to go!

After lunch I didn't have nearly enough time to peruse all the goodies so I came back later after work.  I pulled up a shopping cart, dropped my purse in the front seat and slowly walked towards the produce, fingers lingering on the end of summer beauties all laid out before me. I picked up: a basket of roma tomatoes, a large basket of macintosh apples, parsley, spinach, two striped eggplant, three red peppers, four huge peaches, five onion rolls and assorted treats from the bakery.  (Including a burnt cider donut. How do you burn a cider donut? Why I am compelled to eat all cider donuts despite the fact that some may taste rather burnt?)

(Sorry for the blurry shot. See? I wasn't driving. Just fumbling to get a shot at a stoplight.)

On my way out I again lingered by cartons and cartons filled with all sorts of beautiful pumpkins, gourds and indian corn.  Signs pointed towards haystacks nearby.  Of course I really wanted a big huge helping of mums which was no where to be seen.  No bother, I'd come back again soon.

Yay for Fall. I am so happy to see you.

Start at the Beginning...

I've come to love blogging; hearing other people's stories in their own words, discovering new things (recipes, ideas), feeling solidarity in others trials and triumphs. Like Julie Powell I am a disgruntled government drone with zero outlet for creativity during the day, but I am certainly no "renegade foodie at night."  I'm a girl with some interests. I like to keep my home fresh and inviting, I love to cook for my honey and I love that he loves how I take care of him. I've always been a writer but for some reason over the past few years I have surpressed that tendancy (see: no outlet.) So I've decided to throw my hat into the ring and give this thing a try. This blog will mainly center around my love of making seasonal food and recipes with a few fun extras thrown in there. So I hope you enjoy & Bon Appetit!