An Inspired Kitchen

Jamaican Jerk Chicken with Stewed Collard Greens and Plantains

There are hundreds of variations on the spice blend for the traditional Jamaican jerk.  Black pepper, allspice, cinnamon, cardamom, oregano, smoked paprika, ground ginger and ground lemon peel can often be found, but other recipes also have garlic powder, nutmeg, cloves, coconut sugar and dried and ground scotch bonnet chiles are often added.  I like to make a small jar of it up and keep it on hand to just sprinkle on chicken, shrimp or pork and often take it a step further and make a wet rub marinade to marinate the meat before I grill but that’s another recipe.  Having a jar of jerk spice blend in the pantry makes it easy for weeknight cooking with a lot of flavor and no effort.  I don’t make mine too spicy and definitely don’t reach for dried scotch bonnet flakes, but you can bump it up by adding cayenne or red pepper flakes.  The collard green side dish starts out by sauteing an onion, garlic, and ginger and adding some tomato paste and a little water to cook it down.  You can also use kale or spinach.  Plantains or maduros are cousins to the banana but are firmer, less sweet and starchy.  They are simple to cook by just slicing them and sauteing them in some olive oil and caramelizing them until nicely browned and are a great alternative side dish to serve alongside the jerk chicken breast from normal the potatoes.  I cut a lime in half and cooked it flesh side down while the chicken was cooking to squeeze over the chicken when it was served for a little zing.  Click here for the recipe….

Ham with Mango Chutney Orange Glaze

Spring Vegetables with Tarragon

Carrots with Orange Marmalade Glaze

Roasted Asparagus with Tarragon Vinaigrette

Scalloped Potatoes with Leeks, Gruyere Cheese and Thyme

Bunny Bark

Lemon Cheesecake 

Deviled Eggs

Easter really snuck up on me quickly this year!!! I thought it was always in April or I would have posted this a little earlier.  I made ham with mango chutney orange glaze last year for Easter and really liked the easy glaze you baste the ham with towards the end of cooking.  The prepared chutney already has some wonderful spices like coriander and cardamon and I added minced crystallized ginger, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, orange zest and juice which really compliment the sweet and salty spiral ham.  30 minutes before the ham is finished cooking, you brush the ham with the glaze a few times until you have a beautifully browned ham.  I made a quick pan sauce with the ham juices by adding the remaining glaze and serving it in a sauce boat alongside the ham.   I served scalloped potatoes with leeks, fresh thyme and Gruyere cheese – something I could eat every day but save it for once or twice a year.  A great vegetable side dish is roasted asparagus with tarragon vinaigrette, spring vegetable mix which has snow peas, snap peas, asparagus and leeks, roasted carrots with orange marmalade glaze, or roasted carrots with Dukkah – a Middle Eastern spice blend.  For an appetizer, I made good old fashioned deviled eggs, but took a bit more time and dyed the whites festive pastel Easter colors.  Everyone seems to like them.  For dessert I made some bunny bark and a lemon cheesecake.  I have  put together an entire menu with a time line to make things a little easier to plan.  Click here for the recipes….

Corned Beef Hash with Caramelized Onions and Red Peppers

I have to admit I am more excited about having leftover corned beef from St. Patty’s Day so I can make corned beef hash on the weekend!  I usually cook 2 corned beef and allow one to cool and cut it in cubes and freeze it for later.  I sautéed an onion and red pepper until lightly golden and added the potatoes, corned beef, garlic and fresh thyme and cooked them until the potatoes were nicely browned.  The tip is to allow the vegetables to brown on one side before turning them.  If you keep turning them while they cook, it doesn’t allow for that nice crust that I think is the best part of the dish.  I poached some eggs (or you could fry the eggs) to serve on top of the hash and served it with some fruit salad.  Another time I made it, I had a diced leftover roasted sweet potato and added it to the mix and it was delicious.  A great way to start the weekend! Click here for the recipe….

Corned Beef with Roasted Carrots and Beets with Za’atar, Sautéed Cabbage and Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes

Roasted Red and Yellow Beets and Rainbow Carrots with Za’atar Spice

Irish Soda Bread

I am not a huge fan of corned beef, but I like to have it a couple times a year and especially on St. Patrick’s Day.  I bought 2 flat cut corned beef so I could have extra to make corned beef and hash another day and cooked some extra potatoes to save time.  In a Dutch oven I poured a bottle of Guinness stout, cut a whole garlic in half, added the spice package that came with the corned beef, added 6 whole cloves and 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and brought it to a boil over the stove before I added the corned beef. I slathered Dijon mustard on the top and braised it in a 325° oven with a lid for 3 hours.  To give it a nicer color, I quickly broiled it to get the top a little browner before I served it.  The corned beef was really moist and flavorful and had a lot of flavor.  For the vegetables I sautéed an onion until caramelized and added roughly chopped cabbage and cooked it until it was lightly browned.  Before I served the cabbage, I drizzled some Balsamic glaze. I roasted beets and carrots and sprinkled za’atar spices which is a Middle Eastern spice mixture with thyme, sesame seeds and sumac over them for the last 5 minutes of roasting to give them a little extra umph.  I made some Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and went the extra mile and even made a quick Irish Soda bread.  It’s easy to make in the food processor and it is leavened with baking soda and buttermilk instead of yeast which needs several hours to rise.  The crust is nice and hearty, and slathered with butter, is a great accompaniment to the whole dinner.  Click here for the recipe….

Meyer Lemon Glazed Catfish with Ginger Collard Greens and Cracked Freekeh 

The side dish is what really makes this a stand out meal.  Freekeh is under ripe wheat that is picked when it is still green, sun-dried and roasted.  It has a subtle nutty, smoky flavor, is a little chewy and it is delicious. It has been used in the Middle East for centuries and has just started showing up here in cooking magazines and restaurants. It’s loaded with fiber and has more protein and almost 2 times the fiber of quinoa and 3 times the amount of brown rice, so it’s a great choice for a healthy side dish.  It comes either whole grain or cracked and is really easy to make.  Just simmer it in double the amount of water for 20 minutes for the cracked freekeh and 40 minutes for whole grain.   To make the dish, you sauté an onion, garlic and ginger and add the collard greens, kale or spinach and add it to the cooked freekah.  The Meyer lemon glaze is super easy to make by simmering lemon slices ~including the rind, in a little water with some sugar until the liquid has almost evaporated and syrupy and then you just dust the catfish with some rice flour, salt and pepper and and cook it for 5-8 minutes on one side, flip it over and cook it until it is cooked through. You could make extra freekeh and add it to your morning oatmeal for an extra fiber boost.  Give freekeh a try!  I think you’ll like it!  Click here for the recipe….

Sumac and Aleppo Pepper Spiced Steak with Roasted Honeynut Squash and Apple, Walnut and Mint Salad

Apple, Walnut, Mint and Feta Cheese Salad

This recipe sounded a bit strange but I loved all the ingredients, so I took a chance.  It paid off!  It was really good and the apple salad with mint, walnuts and feta was delicious over the steak and made it really fresh and good contrast to the rich and beefy steak.  You could also use blue cheese.  The roasted butternut squash was a great side and you make a quick pickled red onion to serve with it, and again, the contrasts of the rich and buttery squash paired with the sweet and sour onion were delicious.  You sprinkle sumac which is a ground red berry that has a little lemon kick and and Aleppo pepper which has a mild spicy kick on the steak along with the salt and pepper and sauté until medium rare ~ a great combination I had not tried before on steak.  The apple salad would be great on its own.  Give it a try for something different and delicious!  Click here for the recipe….

Super Fudge Brownie

Super Fudge Brownie with Mocha Buttercream

S’Mores Nutella Brownie

This has been my favorite brownie recipe for years and was inspired by Ina Garten’s brownie recipe. It has a pound of butter and over 3 cups of chocolate and the texture is fudgey and rich with chocolate.  I like to use Ghiradelli semi sweet chocolate chips and I add a few ounces of unsweetened chocolate for a deeper flavor.  I think one of the tricks to make fudgey brownies is not to whisk the eggs and sugar very much.  Over beating them can give the brownies more of a cake-like texture which I don’t really like.  She bakes hers in a 13×17-inch sheet pan, but I like to bake mine in a 9×13 so they are thicker and more substantial brownies unless I need to make a very large batch.  Another trick is to take them out right when they are cooked and a toothpick comes out almost clean.  For a Super Bowl party, my nephew came over to bake food for his party and we made two batches of brownies for each of our events.  I frosted mine with mocha buttercream, and he slathered nutella over the top and then toasted some marshmallows, sprinkled graham crackers and drizzled melted chocolate over the entire top.  They are also delicious just plain as well.  Click here for the recipe….

Shrimp Perloo

Shrimp Perloo (pronounced perlow) is a classic low country dish from the South that combines rice and either shrimp, chicken, sausages, bacon, oysters or a combination, and is cooked in one pot.  You can use a combination of peppers and if you don’t like green peppers, you can use red or yellow peppers.  I used mainly green peppers and added a little red pepper.  If you have a chorizo sausage or hot Italian sausage, you can sauté slices and add it to the dish while it is cooking.  A can of crushed tomatoes gives the dish a wonderful depth of flavor.  This dish uses Bomba or Valencia rice which is a traditional Spanish rice used in paella and can be found in gourmet stores.  It is a short, starchy grained rice and gives a creamy finish to the dish.  You can also use arborio or long grained rice.   I only buy frozen shrimp so I know it is fresh and hasn’t been sitting on ice at the grocery store for who knows how long.  This dish is a 30 minute meal and is full of flavor and nice and hearty.  Click here for the recipe….

Italian Sausage and Peppers Melt

I made these for last year’s Super Bowl party and they were really good with the sweetness of the onions, peppers and Italian sausage.  I caramelized onions and red and green peppers and browned some Italian pork sausage and cooked it with a lot of fresh garlic, and fire roasted tomatoes.  You can make the filling several days before and refrigerate.  On game day, heat the pepper and Italian sausage mixture, cut a good quality Italian roll almost in half and layer the roll with the sausage mixture and top it with Provolone cheese and some cheddar and broil.  They were very hearty and delicious.  Click here for the recipe….