Apiti - Steamed Plantain Pudding

I know I haven't blogged in a long time... that's because I haven't really cooked anything. It's a very weird period in my life right now, but in due time everything will be fine :) . 

So anyway, I've been missing my grandma a lot lately and craving everything she used to make for me as a kid. My grandma raised me and pretty much cooked all of my meals when I was growing up. One of my all time childhood favorites is called Apiti (sp?). She made it for me all the time, it literally is a piece of heaven.  It's pretty much steamed plantain pudding made from a mixture of very ripe plantains, cornmeal, onions, peppers and other spices. Unfortunately,  I never wrote down the recipe and my mom doesn't know how to make it either, so I decided to make it completely from memory.  To my delightful surprise, the apiti turned out almost exactly like my grandma's, I think the only thing that was missing was my grandma's love. Hope you love this recipe as much as I do. Enjoy :)

Ingredients

6 very ripe plantains (The skin should be black - but not moldy -and the flesh should be soft/mushy to  
the touch. You may need to keep it for a few more days after you buy it)
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal (I like the grainy texture of stone ground cornmeal)
1/2 red bell pepper
8 scotch bonnet pepper (use more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
1 medium red onion
1/4 cup of dried ground crayfish
1/4 cup of heated palm oil
2 bouillon cubes (I use African knorr cubes)
Dash of salt
Foil paper/mini foil trays

DIRECTIONS

Peel the plantain.

 In a large bowl, mash the plantain with a masher or a wooden spoon. It should be really easy to do because the plantain should be very soft and super mushy. ...dont use a blender/food processor for the plantain because it turns into a runny paste. you want a little bit of chunk in it.

Add the crushed bouillon cubes to the mashed plantain

Using a blender/food processor, grind bell pepper, scotch bonnet pepper, onion, crayfish.

Add blended mixture to the plantain and mash/stir

Add 3/4 cup of yellow cornmeal to the mixture and stir/mash

Heat  the palm oil on the stove for about 4mins. Pour the heated palm oil into the plantain mixture. As you pour, you should hear it sizzle. Add a dash of salt, stir it all together. 

Allow the mixture to rest for about 10-15 minutes. Then pour into individual foil pouches. You can also use mini foil trays. Fill the pouch about a 3rd of the way.  (instructions on how to make a foil pouch are at the bottom of the page). 

Seal the pouch and place in a pot filled a tenth filled with water.The water is the source of the steam.  I place a steam tray at the bottom of the pot to make sure water doesn't touch the foil pouches. 

Allow to steam for about 45minutes. Keep an eye on it, because you may need to add more water to the pot. 

You know it's done when the content of the pouch is firm to the touch. Remove from heat and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. unwrap the package and transfer the deliciousness :) to a plate/dish. 

I serve my apiti with a side of stewed fish, but it can also be eaten alone.  It can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Enjoy :) 

How to make Foil Pouches

1. Tear a piece of foil paper

2. Fold in half

3. Seal two of the open edges by folding. 

Fill pouch with mixture and seal 

Chicken-Dodo Stir Fry

Happy New Year EVERYONE!!!

So I've been experimenting a lot with food combinations... The other day I made colored pancakes.. well, I used the same recipe for red velvet pancakes, but as I was making it, I was like why stick to red, so I made purple (combination of blue and red colors), green and red velvet.. Was pretty yummy.. anyway, I digress...

I love stir fry and I love dodo (fried/baked plantain). So wanted to see what it would taste like if I combined both of 'em and that was how chicken-dodo stir fry was born.

I marinaded my chicken in homemade teriyaki marinade and cooked the chicken in the marinade, then added the plantain and the veggies and cooked everything together.

The recipe for my homemade Teriyaki marinade is below, but u can also use store bought teriyaki (use the kikkoman brand). But u still need to add ginger, garlic, brown sugar, thyme, black pepper and a little bit of soy sauce and sesame oil.

Ingredients For Teriyaki Marinade: 
2tbs Soy sauce
2tsp Sesame oil
3/4 cup Sake (Dry rice Wine)
1/4 cup Mirin (sweet sake)
piece of grated Ginger (you can replace with 2tbs ginger powder)
2 chopped Garlic cloves (you can also replace with 2tsp minced garlic or garlic powder)
3 tsp brown sugar
1tsp dried thyme
pinch of black pepper

Do not use any salt.. the sake and soy sauce have enough salt in 'em

mix all the ingredients together  in a bowl and add the chicken to it.

I used boneless/skinless chicken thighs, because the thighs have more flavor than chicken breast. but u can use chicken breast if you want to. cut the chicken into strips. I am very lazy so I just use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the chicken. steep the chicken into the marinade and allow to sit for about 20mins (or until you're done frying the plantain)

Ingredients for plantain portion:
1 ripe plantain
1 1/2 cup of oil to fry
pinch of salt

As the Chicken marinades, slice and cube the plantain. salt slightly and fry until golden brown. Alternatively, you can put the plantain in an oven. grease a grill pan and place cubed plantain evenly on the tray. Do not stack the plantains on top one another. set oven at 350 for about 15mins. and turn for another 10mins.. until golden brown.

Ingredients for Stir-fry
1 medium onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
a bunch of scallions (green onions/spring onions)
1/4lb of sugar snap peas
3 cloves of garlic
1tbs red pepper flakes

Directions

You can also add mushrooms or any of your favorite veggies.

Thinly slice the peppers long from top to bottom. Also slice onions and chop up the garlic. Cut the green portion of the scallions into two and thinly slice the white portion. just rinse the sugar snap peas.

slightly grease your pan and add the marinated chicken.. allow to cook for about 5mins until the chicken caramelizes. The brown sugar in the marinade will caramelize the chicken.

Cook for a few minutes, then add onion, garlic and the bottom white portion of the scallions. Allow to cook for a few minutes and then add plantain. Then add the other veggies stir and allow to cook for another 5mins

You may add some chopped basil at this point if you wish.

Chicken-dodo stir fry is ready to consume... Enjoy :)

Note: You can use the same recipe for stir-fry, just remove the plantain portion!

Coq Au Vin Blanc

Man, I haven't had alcohol in since August 2nd 2012!!! Yes, I remember the date, it's etched in my brain. I cannot wait to taste alcohol...Anyway, since I am not allowed to have alcohol for a while, I figured i might as well attempt to enjoy the flavor without the alcohol. (When you cook with wine/cognac, the alcohol evaporates leaving you with just the flavor). I decided to make Coq Au Vin which is pretty much just a fancy French term for chicken in wine sauce. It's a really delicious dish, it has mushrooms and bacon and pearl onions. This dish is traditionally made with red wine (burgundy), but I HATE red wine ughhh, It's gross and bitter. So if any recipe calls for red wine, I generally use white wine instead. Hence the 'Blanc' in the name of the dish.  Plus I also feel white wine gives any dish a lighter crisper taste. 

INGREDIENTS 

6 chicken thighs

1/2 pack of frozen baby (pearl) onions - (you can use fresh pearl onions, but i wont be caught dead trying to peel those little suckers, so I just use the prepackaged frozen ones)

1 medium onion

4 habanero pepper (I put habanero in EVERYTHING, I like spicy food) 

8 bacon strips

4 large carrots

6 cloves garlic, sliced

1 cup mushrooms (I used crimini mushrooms) 
1/4 cup of cognac 

1 cup of your favorite white wine

1 cup of chicken stock

1 tablespoon of bacon

1 stalk of fresh basil (optional)
1tsp dried thyme or 3 sprigs of fresh thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Put a splash of olive oil into the pot/pan. Then cut the bacon into little bits. Add the bacon to the pot and let cook for about 8mins until the bacon is crisp. The bacon will also produce it's own grease. 

As the bacon is cooking up... salt and pepper both sides of the chicken. When the bacon's done.. remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon leaving behind the fat/grease in the pot. Brown both sides of the chicken in the bacon grease. about 3mins on each side .

Remove the chicken and put it in the same dish as the chicken. Cut up carrots, I like cutting the carrots into big thick slices. Slice the Onions, mince the garlic and habanero pepper (if necessary). Add the onions and garlic to the pot and allow the onions to soften. Then add the carrots.

Pour in 1/4 cup of cognac to deglaze the pan and get all those delicious crusty parts into the sauce. Add 1 cup of wine and stir with a wooden spoon. Then add the chicken stock.

                         

Return the bacon and chicken back to the pot. Add a pinch of salt, a little bit of black pepper and 1tsp of thyme! Cover pot for about 45mins. 

I love basil in everything.. so to give it a hit of basil flavor, I just put a stalk of basil on top and allow it to cook with.

As the chicken cooks, in a different pan melt 1tbs of butter and add about 1/4 sliced onion to the pan. When soft, add sliced mushrooms to the pan and sauté.

After 45mins, remove the chicken and basil (if necesssary) from the pot and stir the sauce. if it's a little too watery, you can make a rue to thicken it . (just mix 3tbs of flour w/ 1tbs of butter) and add it to the sauce. Add in sautéed mushrooms and stir, but be careful not to break the mushrooms.  Also add the pearl onions into the pot.

Then return the chicken to the pot and allow to cook for another 10mins or so. 

Voila... Coq Au Vin Blanc is ready

Serve with whatever side dish you like. I served mine with creamy garlic mashed sweet potatoes. It was absolutely delicious :)

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

 Before I even begin with this recipe let me just tell you how in love I am with my Dutch Oven. I have always wanted one, but categorically refused to shell out $200 to buy one. (yes, I am cheap as hell) ... I always say one day I am sure they'll go on sale. But sale after sale, for some reason, they ALWAYS remained full price. So imagine my joy as I was just leisurely browsing and came across a ONE DAY SALE on all Dutch Ovens/French Ovens @ Macy's. I instantly hopped on the train and ran to Macy's to buy one before they ran out. Luckily, I grabbed one of the last ones. I guess I wasn't the only one waiting for them to go on sale. But I am really really happy i own this cast-iron beauty now and even happier that I found a purple one (favorite color).  It's a really great investment, and with care, they last for decades.  It's perfect for roasts, stews, casseroles and even braising.

Anyway, back to my Chicken Cacciatore. This meal was muy delicioso. It's basically a one pot meal of veggies (Onions, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes), spices, wine and chicken that starts on the stove and finishes in the oven.

INGREDIENTS

1 Onion 

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 orange or yellow bell pepper

1/2 cup of chicken stock

1tbs butter

1 cup of regular All Purpose Flour

3tbs of olive oil 

1/2 tsp dried thyme

fresh thyme sprigs (about 5 or 6) 

1tsp oregano

black pepper

basil leaves (optional)

salt to taste

8 chicken thighs (WITH SKIN) -- please if you're going to remove the skin, then please don't bother with this recipe. go buy a can of progresso soup and enjoy :) 

4 habanero peppers (optional, but I love my food spicy. u can also use crushed red pepper) 

4 cloves of garlic [you can use less if you don't like garlic, but I love garlic so i use a lot]

1/4lb of mushrooms [I use crimini mushrooms. You can use whatever you like except those little  irritating button mushrooms. They have ZERO flavor] 

3/4 cup of white wine  [apparently some people use red wine depending on what part of Italy they are from. I don't like red wine, so I use white wine. Don't worry it wont make you drunk. The alcohol burns off and you are left with just the flavor of the wine.]

1 can of diced tomatoes. [if you like large chunks of tomatoes in your food, you can use the canned whole tomatoes]

Your favorite pasta (I used 'No Yolk' Egg Noodles)

DIRECTIONS

Before you begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice your peppers, onions and mushrooms. Make sure you slice and not dice, because you want chunky pieces of veggies in the pot. The only ingredient you should chop is the garlic.

Heat your olive oil and butter together in your pot/pan (you're going to need an oven-safe pot/pan. One that can withstand at least 400 degrees f. A cast iron pot/Dutch Oven/French Oven/Casserole pot is best. 

As the butter and oil are heating up, salt and pepper both sides of the chicken. Pour the flour into a bowl or some sort of dish where you can easily dredge the chicken in the flour. Coat both sides of the chicken in the flour.  

Then place the salted/peppered chicken in the hot oil/butter combo. you're not trying to cook the chicken. you just want to brown it. brown each side of the chicken for about 2mins or so. Make sure you dont overcrowd the pot. you can do it in batches. about 4 pieces/batch. 

Remove the browned chicken from the pot and place in a bowl/plate

Then add the sliced onions to the pot and cook for about 3mins. stirring occasionally. Then add the garlic.. and let cook for about a min. Then add the chopped peppers and allow to cook for about 2mins.

Then add the sliced mushrooms. cook for about 1min

Then add 1/2 cup of wine to deglaze the pot. stir the veggies, you want to scrape all the luscious brown deliciousness that is stuck to the bottom of the pan. Then stir in 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Add oregano and black pepper and salt. 

Pour in the canned tomatoes with the juice. Then add the chicken (skin side up) into the pot.  

Place the sprigs of fresh thyme on the top. you don't want to scatter them all over the pot, so when it's cooked, you can easily remove them. 

Close the pot and place it in the pre-heated oven for about 45mins

After 45mins, remove the lid of the pot and increase the temperature to about 390 degrees and cook for another 10-15mins. 

Remove the sprigs of thyme. .......and voila ----- CHICKEN CACCIATORE

Serve with your favorite pasta or noodles. I served mine with egg noodles

NOTE: If your sauce is too watery when you remove the pot from the oven, remove the chicken and veggies and cook just the sauce on the stove for a little bit until it thickens up. Then return the chicken and veggies to the pot before you serve.