Cocktail of the Week

Frozen Mojito

• 1 cup simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water boiled together until sugar melts- cooled!)
  
• 8 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
  
• ½ cup fresh mint leaves, plus additional 4 sprigs for garnish
  
• 8 ounces white rum
  
• 4 cups crushed ice
  
• 1 lime
  
• Cane sugar (optional)
  

1. Chill 4 glasses in freezer (do this at least 20 minutes before serving).
   
2. Combine simple syrup, lime juice and mint leaves in a blender and blend until combined.
   
3. Add the rum and crushed ice and blend until frothy.
   
4. Cut lime in half leaving one half whole and slicing the other half into four even slices.
   
5. Place sugar into a shallow bowl/ plate.
   
6. Trace rims of each glass with the full lime half; dip each glass into ground cane sugar.
   
7. Pour frozen mixture into each glass; garnish by placing a lime wedge on each rim and placing a mint sprig in each glass.
   

This refreshing minty favorite is sure to be a crowd please at any summer event! But hey, don't leave this for just special occasions. Feel free to whip up a pitcher of this fabulous favorite for yourself anytime.

Note: Kick this recipe up a notch by subbing in 1oz. of 151 for 1oz. of white rum!! Mmmm…I GUSH!

Recipe of the Week

Perfect Paella

• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 lbs. chicken thighs (bone out)
• 1 1/2 lbs Chorizo Sausage (casings removed)
• 1 lbs Cooked lobster meat, shredded (optional)
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• ½ green bell pepper, diced
• ½ red bell pepper, diced
• 1T Parsley
• 2T Cilantro
• 1T lemon zest
• ½ lb. calamari rings
• ½ lb. med. shrimp - peeled and deveined
• 8 mussels (optional)
• 8 clams (optional
• 8 scallops (optional)
• 1 t salt
• 1 t Cayenne
• 1 t Paprika
• 1 teaspoons saffron threads (steep in 1T water)
• 1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• ½ cup peas
• 3 cups long grain rice
• 6 cups chicken stock (or water)
• 6 wedges lemon

1. Heat olive oil in a very large skillet or paella pan over medium-high heat until it begins to smoke. Place chicken thighs skin-side down into oil and sear until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes; remove and set aside.
2. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 2 minutes. Add cayenne, paprika, chorizo, green and red bell peppers and cook for 2-3 minutes more.
3. Add parsley, cilantro, lemon zest, shrimp, calamari and stir.
4. Immediately stir in salt, saffron (w/ water), tomatoes, peas, rice, and water until well combined.
5. Slice and add chicken pieces; simmer for 15 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to make sure rice does not stick.
6. Stir in shredded lobster and decoratively nestle mussels and clams into rice. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Place the scallops into the paella, recover, and continue simmering until the rice is tender and the scallops firm and opaque, about 5 minutes. Garnish with lemon wedges to serve.

This Paella is a perfect summer meal. Its use of fresh summer ingredients makes its flavor even more authentic and delicious. There are many ingredients in this that are optional due to price and availability. This is a great meal for a dinner party, grill out or even a romantic dinner for two. Whatever the occasion this delicacy is sure to please.

Note: Play around with the ingredients! You can use any combination of the proteins in this recipe in different amounts to create your perfect Paella.

What's Grilling?

Homeward Bound!

Fellow foodies-

I am brimming with excitement! It is my favorite time of year……Grilling Season! It is the only part of the summer that I truly adore! I’m not a huge fan of the heat; give me a snowy night and a fireplace any day! However being from the islands I have grown particularly fond of outdoor and, specifically, beach grilling. As you know I’ve been living in NY this past year, but the time is swiftly approaching where I will be blogging to you from the beautiful shores of The Bahamas! I can already smell the fresh sea air and taste the salty goodness that oozes from the jewels of the sea. I long for the beach days and ice cold coolers, the frothy mixed drinks and the familiar faces of friends. This blog serves as an introduction to my newest installment ‘What’s Grilling?’ in which I will explore the world of grilling, experimenting with both flavor as well as texture, and hopefully be bringing it to you in both video and pictorial form.

And I’m not talking just burgers and hot dogs either; that’s child’s play! The sky is the limit when it comes to grilling. I’m talking everything from steaks and chops to pizzas and Po boys to fish, conch and lobster! Oh yes food fans, this is the season where I pull out all the stops with marinades and glazes o’plenty! This is the season where delectable fresh summer fruits and their natural nectars can be combined with citric acids to create some of the most flavorful marinades, glazes and dipping sauces (not to mention cocktails)recognizable to human taste buds! The season when fresh seafood comes alive in your mouth; Skate, Lobster, Eel, Mackerel, Salmon, Crawfish and Prawns are at their most abundant and flavorful. I can’t wait to get home!

Some of my favorite fruits are in season now as well. These fruits lend themselves nicely as grilling components; nothing is better than fresh grilled fruit to go with a spicy grilled jerk Pork. How about grilled salted Pineapple or Mango mint salsa for example! Star apples, Sapodilla “Dilly”, Guava, Native Orange; so many fruits, so little time! Salsas, salads, marinades and sides- I can’t wait to dish them all!

Join me on this journey; stay tuned for all of my explorations into tropical food and island living. From deep sea fishing to food festivals, this summer is going to be phenomenal!! As I mentioned before I will be posting both video as well as pics from my ventures at home so check back often ;) and STAY TUNED!!

Recipe of the week

Not Mamas Minestrone

• 6oz slab bacon medium diced
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1lb sweet Italian Sausage
• 2/3 cup minced celery
• 2/3 cup cubed carrots
• 2 cups tomato puree
• 1 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
• 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
• 3 cups water
• 3 T red wine
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ cup chopped zucchini
• ½ cup yellow squash
• 1 ½ cups spinach, rinsed and sliced
• 2/3 cup uncooked ditalini or other small pasta
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannelloni beans, drained
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons chopped parsley

1. In a large stock pot, cook bacon and drain off fat. Set bacon aside.
2. In same pot add onion and carrots. When onions are translucent, add garlic, celery, sausage.
3. When sausage is almost browned, add the bacon, pureed tomatoes, whole tomatoes, broth, water, wine, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Stir in zucchini, squash, spinach, pasta, cannelloni beans and parsley. Let simmer an additional 15 minutes or until pasta is cooked through.
5. Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese.

For obvious reasons people seem to think that soup should only be eaten in the winter! But I love soup and think that it is the ultimate comfort food! So, on one of those rainy summer evenings, snuggle up with a bowl of this Summer Minestrone, on the comfort of your couch with a blanket (hopefully air-conditioning) and the TV. Tell me this isn’t soup satisfaction at its best!
Note: For you vegetarians out there this recipe still works fabulously without the meat!! ;)

Cocktail of the Week

Bahama Mama (Authentic)

2oz Coconut Rum (Ricardo)
1oz White Rum (Bacardi)
1oz Dark Rum (Bacardi)
1oz 151 Rum (Bacardi)
Orange Juice
Pineapple Juice
Splash of Grenadine

1) Mix coconut rum, white rum, dark rum and 151.
2) Add half OJ and half pineapple juice and grenadine to rum into a mixer with ice and shake.
3) Serve over crushed ice with a cherry and orange slice.

Simple, tropical and soooo delicious!

Disclaimer: This too is an authentic Bahamian cocktail and is a serious creeper!!!! Drink at your own discretion, and note that this drink can be made with or without the 151 based on your tolerance.