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ST. LUCIA…Day 5

Posted: April 10, 2019 in Uncategorized
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My driver and newest best friend, Anthony, was telling me about this woman who cooks the most amazing grilled conch. But she only serves it on Wednesdays and Fridays. And considering today is Wednesday, and my last full day on the island, it was imperative that I go and check it out.

 

 

He told me it would be unlike any conch I’ve ever had before… And he was right!

 

I think she marinated and then grilled it, but didn’t overcook it, so it was absolutely delicious with a little bit of a bite.

 

 

She served it with rice on the side, And then poured this amazing sauce made of sautéed onions and garlic over everything. It was fantastic!

 

It was a long ride from my comfortable little hut, but it was absolutely worth it.

 

On the way back, we stopped at another roadside bakery, where a woman was baking amazing bread.

That’s my buddy, Anthony, being served!

 

 

Flour, water, yeast, salt.  The natural warmth and humidity of the air was perfect for proofing the bread before baking.

The sheer ingenuity of the people on this island… Utilizing anything they can get their hands on. Really amazing.

 

And the bread was absolutely delicious!

ST. LUCIA…Day 4

Posted: April 9, 2019 in Uncategorized
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When I’m asked for my best advice for traveling, my top reply is: make friends with a local.  Nobody knows like someone who’s lived there all their life.

In the case of my driver, Anthony, he knew all the back roads to avoid traffic in the bigger city. He knew all the food places where the locals, not the tourists, eat.

And I noticed how the locals looked at me, giving me a thumbs up, when they saw that I was supporting one of their own.

Today’s island tour covered mostly the northern part of the country. We had lunch at a simple Caribbean restaurant, where I had delicious grilled chicken with salad, rice, potato salad, and noodles.

 

 

I grabbed myself another bottle of St. Lucian rum, this time a little less fancy than what I have been drinking before. But it totally works with a mixer.

 

I discovered something called banana ketchup, which I have to take home!

 

And in the heat of the day, I enjoyed fresh coconut water.  Afterwards, with a couple of swift moves of his machete, the gentleman split the coconut in half and made a makeshift spoon that let me scoop out all the soft interior meat. Delicious!

 

( Anthony is a great driver… But not the best photographer! )

 

 

ST. LUCIA…Day 3

Posted: April 8, 2019 in Uncategorized
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So here’s the deal with St. Lucia: all the beaches are accessible to the public,  even the ones that have resorts built on them. So fancy places like Anse Chastanet do what they can to keep the so-called “riffraff” out.

The 2-mile entrance road to the resort is in ridiculously poor condition, to limit the number of cars entering the property.

Most of the people who can afford to stay at this resort fly in by helicopter. (They have the only helipad on the island.)

Others will pay big money for a water taxi that can deliver them right to the beach. But then again, you don’t get to use the part of the beach the hotel guests use. You use the more commercial side, where all the scuba boats and what-not go in and out all day.

No matter. I rented a 4WD and took the road in. I snorkeled ( it’s supposedly some of the best on the island, but it was a rainy and cloudy day) and had a wonderful lunch on the beach.

Red snapper ceviche with coconut and St. Lucian shrimp quesadillas!

My original plan was to have dinner at their sister resort, Jade Mountain, which is located directly above, up another crazy treacherous road. But I decided that having dinner and cocktails and then driving in darkness was probably not a smart idea.

I made it back to my little eco-hut in Marigot Bay long before sunset.

ST. LUCIA…Day 2

Posted: April 7, 2019 in Uncategorized
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BD392CCB-AE62-4F0C-A6DC-A7CB9FD9D1E6The Rum Cave at the Marigot Bay Resort and Marina:  A decent selection of rum. But many fun tapas to enjoy.

Took a taxi instead of walking the very long and steep uphill back to my hut. Worth every penny!

ST. LUCIA…Day 1

Posted: April 7, 2019 in Uncategorized
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Straight from the airport, my newest best friend in St. Lucia, Anthony, my driver, took me to this roadside bakery with fantastic bread baked in a wood-fired oven. Sliced open, a little butter, and a little cheese in that still warm bread made a fantastic gooey sandwich!

The bread was so good that I literally had another bun  with salted butter as my dinner!

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PORK RIBS WITH A BALSAMIC BARBECUE SAUCE

Posted: April 5, 2019 in barbecue, Carnivore!, Food, pork, Recipes
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Off on a vacation for a few days, so I’m posting this a bit early. But let’s face it: weekends are for ribs, and even if you don’t have the grill ready for the season yet, you can enjoy this recipe because the ribs bake in the oven.

The balsamic vinegar I use in this recipe is not the super-expensive stuff that should only be drizzled at the very end for a Caprese salad. I use the $9-a-bottle stuff that you can find in any supermarket. Good quality, and I try to find one from Modena, Italy, the world headquarters of balsamic vinegar.

3 lbs. pork ribs (I like the St. Louis cut)
4 cloves garlic, minced or through a press
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt

Place the ribs in a roasting pan, cutting the racks in half if you need to, to make them fit.

In a bowl, combine the garlic, rosemary, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and salt, and then rub the mixture evenly all over the ribs.

Let the ribs marinate for an hour at room temperature or longer in the fridge.

Marinated ribs, ready for the oven.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and pre-heat it to 425. Pour 1/2 cup of water into the roasting pan with the ribs and cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil.

Roast the ribs until the meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

While the ribs are roasting, make the barbecue sauce…

1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon molasses
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons hot sauce (I like Frank’s)
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

 

Place the balsamic vinegar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and cook the vinegar until it is reduced by a third, about 8 minutes.

Whisk in the ketchup, apple cider vinegar, honey, mustard, molasses, Worcestershire, hot sauce and salt. Bring the sauce back to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer until it has thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.

 

After baking, brush the ribs with the barbecue sauce.

 

Remove the ribs from the oven and transfer them to a baking sheet lined with non-stick aluminum foil.

Increase the oven temperature to 450 .

Brush both sides of the ribs generously with the barbecue sauce and bake them uncovered for about 10 minutes, until the sauce is browned and sizzling.

 

Delicious balsamic ribs!

 

Leftover barbecue sauce is great for dipping the ribs in!

 

 

PICKLING BEETS

Posted: April 3, 2019 in beets, Food, pickling, Recipes
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Growing up in a Lithuanian family, there was a small group of foods that I had to love to survive, since they constantly appeared on the dinner table: potatoes, cabbage, mushrooms, herring, and beets. Fortunately for me, I loved them all, despite my Mom’s desire to boil everything to death.

One of the many uses for beets, besides a cold summer soup and a hot winter soup, was pickling. Pickled beets are an excellent side dish for any hearty meat dish. (I love ’em with kielbasa!)  Store-bought pickled beets pack way too much sugar in every jar, so it was time to make my own. The addition of hard-boiled eggs to the mix is a personal one. If you don’t like ’em, leave ’em out and add more beets.

A real time saver is a product called Love Beets, which you can find in any supermarket. If you use them, you can skip the roasting of the beets altogether.

beets

 

4 to 8 beets, scrubbed (your favorite variety)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 red onion, sliced
4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled (optional)
6 fresh dill sprigs

Pre-heat the oven to 450. Wrap the beets in foil and roast for about an hour, until tender. When they’re cool enough, carefully peel and quarter them. (If you’re using Love Beets, just open the package!)

In a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, garlic, sugar, peppercorns and salt. Bring it to a boil and simmer over moderately high heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Let the pickling liquid cool to warm, about 15 minutes.

In a heat-proof glass jar or container, layer the beets, onion, eggs and dill sprigs and then cover with the pickling liquid. Let it stand at room temp for 2 hours, then place it in the fridge overnight.

They stay fresh for a week, but they won’t last that long!

“COPE” CHOPS: FEEDING HUNGRY DJs FOR ALMOST 4 DECADES!

Posted: March 31, 2019 in barbecue, CHARCOAL, Food, grilling, Recipes
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“Cope” chops are the creation of my long-time radio buddy, Marc Coppola, who can be heard from Cape Cod to California. Cope and I started in radio at WBAB on Long Island back in the early 80’s. He had the afternoon drive shift, and I was on after him from 7 to midnight. After his show, Cope would remove a hibachi grill out of the trunk of his car, light some charcoal in the radio station parking lot, and he’d grill up the most amazing pork chops I’ve ever had. They were thin, but juicy and beautifully charred, with a wonderful saltiness. He called ’em “Cope chops,” and we’d eat them by the stack, wrapping the hot bone of the chop with a paper towel, and then just chowing down. It was a great memory, and one that I regularly re-live by grilling Cope chops at home even today.

After three decades, I’m not sure if my Cope chop recipe is the same as the original, but they are damn good and incredibly easy to make.

Ironically, for this recipe, I don’t go all out and spend big money on thick, expensive pork chops. I want them thin, fatty and with the bone in. This is not a low-and-slow process: the secret to the success of these chops is to cook them hot and fast, sealing in the juices.

 

Thin-cut pork chops
Dry white wine (I use an unoaked inexpensive chardonnay; many Australian brands to choose from)
Lawry’s seasoned salt

Place the pork chops in a flat bowl, and pour the wine over the top, making sure you cover the chops. Let them marinate for at least an hour at room temperature, flipping them over halfway through so that all sides get covered by the wine.

Light a hot hardwood charcoal fire.

Pour off the wine from the chops and discard. Place the chops on the hot grill and season the top with the Lawry’s seasoned salt. Once they’ve charred nicely, flip the chops over and season the other side. Grill until the chops are cooked all the way through, but not dry. Serve immediately.

The proper way to eat a Cope chop: wrap the bone in a paper towel and chow down!

MY TANDOORI CHICKEN ADVENTURE

Posted: March 28, 2019 in Food, frying, Recipes
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I love foods from all over the world, but I’m pretty clueless about Indian cuisine. My one experience at an Indian restaurant was in New York City many years ago, where I was served very dry, very spicy grilled chicken. It didn’t thrill me.

Recently, I spotted a recipe that looked like something I could handle first time around: “Indian Cooking 101,” if you will. It uses the traditional 2-step tandoori process of marinating: first, with the spices and then with yogurt for tenderizing. Using chicken thighs and drumsticks (as opposed to breast meat) meant the chicken would be flavorful and juicy. And frying in oil meant a crispy skin. I was ready!

Since the pieces of chicken I used were rather large, I fried the chicken only to get a nice golden color on the outside. Then the meat went into the oven to finish cooking all the way through.

This recipe requires marinating for a full 24 hours, so plan ahead!

 

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5 garlic cloves, chopped
one 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
the juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for frying (I like to use avocado oil mixed with a little pork lard)
2 teaspoons Kosher salt, plus 1 teaspoon later
1 teaspoon pepper
5 lbs. chicken thighs and drumsticks
1 1/2 cups full-fat Greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
fresh cilantro sprigs and lime wedges, for garnishing

In a food processor or blender, combine the garlic, ginger, lemon, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, vegetable oil, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Blend until smooth.

Place the chicken pieces in a large Ziploc bag and add the marinade, mixing well so that every bit of the chicken gets coated with the spices. (I like to use gloves for this messy job.)

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Place the Ziploc in the fridge and marinate the chicken for 12 hours.

After 12 hours, add the yogurt to the bag, mixing well, and return it to the fridge for another 12 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Set a rack over a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.

In a bowl, combine the chickpea flour and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Meanwhile, in a large heavy saucepan, heat about 2″ of the oil to 325 degrees on a thermometer.

 

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When the oil reaches the right temperature, take the pieces of chicken out of the bag one by one, letting the excess drip off back into the bag before dredging the chicken in the flour. Shake off the excess, and carefully place the chicken pieces in the hot oil, working in batches. Don’t overcrowd the pan.

 

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Fry the chicken until golden brown, flipping once. You don’t need to cook it all the way through, just to brown it nicely. Place the browned pieces on the baking sheet with the rack.

 

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Once all the chicken has fried, place the baking sheet in the oven and cook the chicken until each piece registers about 160 degrees.

 

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Place the chicken on a plate, then garnish with cilantro leaves and lime wedges.

 

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Other stuff…

Chaat masala is a spice powder mix that typically contains dried mango powder, cumin, coriander, dried ginger, salt, black pepper, chili powder and more. It’s commonly used at the end of cooking a dish like this as a sprinkling on top. Since the only jar I could find contained 1/2 lb., way too much for my needs, I chose to leave it out.

Despite that coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant, the two are not interchangeable in cooking. Coriander seed has a lemony essence when ground. Always good to have in the pantry.

 

CANTONESE DUCK

Posted: March 23, 2019 in Carnivore!, Food, Recipes
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This is basically my Cantonese chicken recipe, which I based on my love of Peking duck. But, for whatever reason, I never tried this recipe on duck before. Recently, I went home to Long Island to visit my Mom, and I stopped by one of the great food stores of my life: Miloski’s Poultry Farm in Calverton, NY.

I’ve been coming to Miloski’s since I was a kid. My Dad would buy his ducks there and Grandpa Miloski, the guy that started it all, would serve us. Over the years, grandpa made way for his son, and now the son is retired and the grandson has taken over the business. All along the way, one thing hasn’t changed: the excellent quality of their product.

My uncle Antanas passed away years ago, but when it came to being a true foodie, this guy put all others to shame. Besides being the only hunter in our family (my first taste of venison was at his table) he had several huge freezers in the basement of his Richmond Hill, Queens, home back in the day. He would drive to Miloski’s and buy 50 ducks at a time, and bring them home to freeze. Very often, after I finished Lithuanian school on a Saturday, my uncle would invite our family over for dinner, and we’d all sit around a massive table where no less than 5 ducks would be cooked and served, along with all the fixings. That’s just a taste of my Miloski memories.

I try to stop at Miloski’s every time I pass through. I bring cash, because Miloski’s doesn’t take credit cards! I have a long ride home, first on the Cross Sound ferry from Orient Point to New London, CT…and then an hour-and-a-half on the highway from there. I bring a cooler and I buy a bag of ice along the way.

Miloski’s sells all kinds of exotic meats, like wild boar and ostrich. But I go for their delicious kielbasa, pierogis, and now: duck!

1 whole duck, thawed, about 5 lbs.
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil

 

Remove all the giblets from the bird and cook them up for your dog, like I do for my buddy, Fellow. (Leave out anything with bones, of course.)

Rub the soy sauce first all over the duck. (It will absorb the flavors better if you do it before you rub the bird with the oil.) Then rub the peanut oil all over the duck.

Rubbed and ready to go in the oven!

 

Combine the Chinese five spice, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Season the entire bird, including inside the cavity, with this mixture.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the duck in a pan lined with aluminum foil (cleanup will be easier.)

Reduce the oven temperature to 250 once you put the duck in the oven, and then cook it low and slow for up to 4 hours…or more.

Meanwhile, combine the hoisin sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl. When the duck is about 15 minutes away from being done, brush it with the hoisin/sesame oil mixture. Cook it another 15 minutes until the bird has a nice dark glaze.

Let the duck rest about 15 minutes before carving.

 

Perfectly delicious!

 

Can you get salmonella from duck? In a word: depends! It used to be that salmonella was only found in the intestinal tracts of chickens. But because ducks are often raised in areas where chicken live, cross-contamination is very possible. Even if the birds live totally separate lives, cross-contamination can also happen in slaughterhouses. So…despite the fact that many say you can eat duck meat that’s pink, I prefer not to. I’ll tell you this: there’s quite a bit of fat in an average duck, so even if you cook the bird to medium-well, it will be delicious and juicy….and the skin will be fantastically crispy. Be safe!

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