


For once there is Caribbean food on this blog - my once in a year Caribbean cooking experience. Now don't get me wrong - I love Caribbean food but it just takes so damn long to cook and prepare everything. I really need an excuse to get the vibes going - and nothing better than hosting a party for some friends - complete with home style cooking and sweet soca music.
The guests came from all over the world - Sweden, Japan, Portugal, USA, Yorkshire - but everyone enjoyed the stewed chicken, christophene with cheese and lemon thyme, fried plantain, and sweet potato and pumpkin pie (recipe courtesy Syliva Hunt). Accompanied by several bottle of wine - you will have to excuse the wine bearers for the lack of rum punch and Caribs! And the strawberry and chocolate mousse from Michel Roux's book 'Just Desserts.
If you think I lie about the Caribbean veggies (and no my friend from the earlier visit didn't smuggle them in her hand luggage), then come down to South London, and check out some of the market stalls Brixton way. They even sell callaloo bush - or cocoyam bush as they call it - and yes you can even get shadon beni - although that will require a trip north to China Town. And you can even find Caribs in the local grocery. Luckily being of mixed heritage I am free to shop at all corners of global London.
The secret of the stew chicken was a little dash of Angostura Bitters - as mentioned by TriniFood at http://cancookmustcook.blogspot.com/ - there is a whole recipe book full of uses for this secret spice, but despite this I did not add it to absolutely everything. I had planned to make something new, rather than tired ol stew chicken, from my rather precious photocopy of Sylvia Hunt's book but bailed out as her recipes looked delicious but quite complicated. And I didn't want to risk messing up my photo copy.
And for the cooking tip of the day - Michel your mousse (or moose if you prefer) does not require 1 leaf of gelatine but rather 2 or even 3 leaves. If using leaf gelatine follow the instructions on the packet and ignore the quantity in the recipe as the setting power of gelatine varies widely between brands. And on no account do you have the liquid boiling when you add the gelatine as reaching 100 deg Celsius will impair the setting quality.
My cake decorating teacher (no, I am not 50 years old - please subtract over 2 decades) would be horrified at the 'bare' cake board - the height of amateurishness, but I was pressed for time. Better for this kind of dessert, to use a thin board, or piece of cardboard box cut to exactly 8" so it does not show.
See the first month's post on this blog for recipe for stew chicken.
Sweet Potato and pumpkin pie is simply mashed 4 boiled Caribbean sweet potato (the grey kind not the orange kind), with 1/2 cup mashed cooked pumpkin mixed with 3 eggs, some thyme, fried onion and 1/2 cup coconut milk, and baked at 375 F till firm.
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Cardinal Gateau: from Michel Roux
Choc. Rasp. Parfait:
7oz. dark chocolate (melted)in microwave
Heated together as syrup until 250f:
1/2 c. sugar
2 tbsp. water
Cook to 'soft ball' stage. do not let crystallize, if so start all over again.
Then whisked into:
2 yolks
1 egg
add:
2 or 3 sheet softened gelatin (used 1 as instructed and was too soft)
Still on slow speed add chocolate, mix to combine, then cool a moment before folding in:
7/8 c. raspberry puree (please sieve to remove seeds). I used 1 box strawberries, and 2 boxes rasperries. Cooked over low heat to make puree.
1 1/4 c. whipped whipping cream. whip to ribbon stage. best to do this before you make the chocolate mixture.
Assemble before parfait sets.
Assembling:
8" layer of chocolate sponge on board, place collar around it and half fill with parfait. Sprinkle 1 lb. fresh rasp berries, then top with remaining parfait and a second layer of chocolate sponge cake. After parfait is set. Glaze with a mixture of 2 leaves gelatine, dissovled in 1/4 to 1/2 cup raspberry juice mixed with 1 tbs jam, sieved. Leave to cool - glaze should thicken beofre you use. If you glaze before it is set or glaze is cool you will melt the top and get a dirty looking glaze. You can omit the top layer of cake if you wish. I would prefer to layer the cake and mousse so you have cake - mousse - cake - mousse - cake - glaze.