Good Friday

So the holy weekend of easter is here again and as a young chef and man that likes his belly this mean that I get to indulge in lot of food . As a tradition my family and many others across Trinidad and Tobago, we prepare what we like to consider blue food . The menu usually consist of Dasheen,Cassava,Ripe Plantains.Sweet Potatoes,normal potatoes. Then of course there is the many different fishes prepared on this day , but the most common are Fried fish ,stewed fish ,salt fish ,salmon,mackrelle ,curried shrimps and smoked herring . So around this time the fisher folk make a hearty living and so do the farmers . So now I will like to see or hear what u guys made today.

-101 Caribbean things to eat before you leave Earth

 
So after my long time of not blogging mainly because I had writers block(or just plain laziness ) I decided that I had enough time of being lazy and really wanting my creative juices to flow again. So after much thought and consideration I figured the best new addition to my blog should be as local as I am and then some. So this is going to be a daily post of Caribbean food that u should have eaten before your departure. Here's a brief history about the Caribbean so you can have a greater appreciation for where the different make up of cuisine came from.

The history of the Caribbean reveals the significant role the region played in the colonial struggles of the European powers since the 15th century. In the 20th century the Caribbean was again important during World War II, in the decolonization wave in the post-war period, and in the tension between Communist Cuba and the United States (US). Genocide, slavery, immigration and rivalry between world powers have given Caribbean history an impact disproportionate to the size of this small region. Source Wikiknoweverything
So to start off the series I have two of the more enjoyed Caribbean dishes to share with you. Do enjoy.


 
Bake and salt fish buljol

½ lbs Salt Fish (Soaked to rid of excess Salt) cooked or uncooked

2 Onions (Chopped small)

4 blades of Chive (Chopped)

2 Tomatoes (Diced Small)

1 Green bell pepper (Diced I think you got the idea cut everything small)

¼c Olive oil

2-3 tsps Fresh lime juice

1 hot pepper (add to your taste)


 
Directions

Flake fish or cube which ever style you want.

Place into stainless steel bowl with remaining ingredients and add lime to taste.

Add more or oil or lime to alternate taste.

Serve with Fried bake or sada roti(recipes to follow soon)





So check back everyday for the count down to 101 Caribbean things to eat b4 you leave earth

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monthly Food SALE

Chefaholic's catering is having the start of its monthly BBQ. This will be a once a month event where u can order delicious chicken which come with amazingly delicious sides while still maintaining to be healthy. The first instalment of this BBQ event will be a chicken only affair with other meats coming in the upcoming months. All meats use will be halal and safety is our number one priority. You also don’t have to worry about portion sizes as your sizes will be very generous in size. Contents of the BBQ are as followed (chicken leg thigh/breast wing, vegetable rice, fresh salad, pasta salad and a cinnamon bun stick) all that in one box. There will also be a delivery service to offices from Arima to Port of Spain with orders 10+. Call 715-5315 for more info.

I wanner have my abs and eat cake too.

So after having a nice convo with saramoh and she telling me how she made a cake tonight it got me feeling for cake, but then it dawned on me my diet doesn't allow me to have processed white flour. It sucks to be me right well not really I gonna be smexci in 50 days and you still gonna be well you lol. So after much research (all of five mins) I came across a cake which I can eat while still keeping my calorie intake to a healthy level. Oh oh and to saramoh place and time your best recipe against mine. So people here u go the recipe of the day. And remember keep cheffing.


  LOW FAT CARROT CAKE 

• 6 egg whites
  
• 1 1/3 cups white sugar
  
• 1 cup applesauce
  
• 1/2 cup skim milk
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
  
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
  
• 2 cups shredded carrots
  
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  
• 1/2 cup raisins
  
  
  
  Directions
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9X13 inch pan with non-fat cooking spray.
   
2. In large mixing bowl, beat egg whites. Slowly beat in sugar, then applesauce, skim milk, and vanilla. Stir in cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, and flour. Stir in, one ingredient at a time, pineapple (with juice), carrots, walnuts, and raisins. Pour into the prepared pan.
   
3. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes in the preheated oven. It is done when toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean
   

The beginning of insanity

So if you're a fitness buff or someone in the know of fitness DVDs you will know what I speak of. Insanity is a fitness DVD that promises superb results in 60 days if u follow the regiment to a t. The motto is dig in and get out or something along those lines. I started it today with a 25 min fitness test and boy o boy if that's only the test imagine what I have in store for me. But that's not what am here to talk about the DVD series comes with a very compelling nutrition guide. This guide comes with notes explaining the different food groups, recipes; explanation about good and bad fats even has an equation to accurately calculate your calorie intake. So to all my friends that are toning up for the carnival seasons I recommend this to you. Here's a few recipes out of the nutrition booklet enjoy and remember keep cheffing.

For Breakfast you can try this recipe

EGG WHITE BREAKFAST WRAP

4 egg whites

1 whole-grain tortilla

½ cup part-skim mozzarella chesse

Sliced tomato

½ cup cubes melon

In a non stick skillet coated with non fat cooking spray scramble egg whites .

Pile egg whites unto tortilla and top with chesse ans sliced tomatos . fold and toast in skillet for 30 sec all round

Serve with cubed melons

296 calories

32 grams protein

34 grams of carbohydrate

5.5 grams fat

3 grains fiber


 
For lunch you can try

Salmon Nicoise

3oz salmon

2 cups mixed salad greens

1 cup green beans , steamed

1 smallred potato boiled

5 olives

Fresh lemon , salt and pepper to taste

You can gtill poach bake or broil salmon .

Pile 2cups of mixed salad greens on plate mix with steam beans potato and top with cooked salmon drizzle with lemon and salt pepper

301 calories

28 grams protein  

30 grams carbohydrate

8.5 gra, fats

7.5 grams fiber

Last but not least dinner


 

 
Citrus bake chicken glazes carrots

4oz boneless skinless chicken breast

1/2tbsp olive oil

2tbspleemon juice

½ tbsp paprika

Sea salt and pepper

1 cup carrot sliced and blanched

2 tea spoons of honey

Wash chicken

Season with olive oil ,leamon juice ,paprika,sea salt and pepper

Bake in oven safe dish in a preheated oven at 375 for 15 to 20 mins

Serve chicken with glazes honey carrots

297 calories

24 grams protein

28 grams carbohydrates

9 gramd fat

5 grams fiber

So they u have it a full meal plan for one day u can follw suite with easy to make recipes and nutrition filled meals also . these are just basic recipes u can double or even tripple them to meat your calorie intake .so remember stay healty and check back formore delicious recipes and keep cheffing


 

 

 

 

11/1/11 JUST GREATNESS

So today i finally made into the registration office in Port of Spain, my journey there was simply to register my new business venture and also just for good measures mark the name of chefaholic as my own. So as of today am the proud owner of Chefaholic Catering Yay me!!!! So the real work has really begun i now have to go file for a BIR number finish my marketing and business plan also raise enough starting capital while going to school and continuing working . This is going to be a very hectic 2011 for me sigh , but all in all am very happy with my decision and i stand by it 10000000%. So unto matters of the blog , what are u guys eating to get in shape for carnival i know that u fed up hear that question but it inevitable you know you want to look your best on Monday and Tuesday even during the Feteing!!!!! So i did a lil research and found three recipes that can help boost your metabolism which helps keeps our energy level balance while tasting great and not busting your pocket, cause I know we still have allot of partying to do.

OPEN-FACE TURKEY VEGGIE SANDWICH

Lean deli meat (1-2 slices) and 

1 cup bell peppers, sliced (use a mix of red, green and yellow)
1/2 cup onion, Thinly sliced
4 slices whole grain bread, toasted
2 teaspoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons stone-ground mustard
1 pound cooked turkey breast, sliced
2 ounces Monterrey jack cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 12-inch skillet with non-stick cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Stir-fry the peppers and onions until they’re tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the skillet. Top each slice of bread with about a half teaspoon each of mayonnaise and mustard. Divide the turkey into four servings. Top the mayonnaise and mustard with turkey, followed by the bell peppers, onions and a thin slice of cheese. Heat in oven for about 5 minutes. Hint: You could also prepare this recipe in a toaster oven.
Serves 4.

Per Serving:

297 Calories; 10g Fat (31 percent calories from fat); 31g Protein; 19g Carbohydrates; 3g Dietary Fiber; 76mg Cholesterol; 558mg Sodium


Pan grilled salmon salad 


1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
4 each salmon fillets
1/3 cup walnuts
4 cups greens
2 ripe Bartlett pears, thinly sliced

 Whisk the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lime juice, honey, salt and pepper in a bowl until blended. Drizzle each fillet with 1 1⁄2 teaspoons of this vinaigrette mixture. Grill salmon on oiled hot grill, turning once during cooking, about 6 to 12 minutes per inch of thickness. Do not overcook. For the salad, spread the walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast at 275°F for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss the salad greens with some of the vinaigrette. Mound the salad greens on a large platter. Top with the pears, warm salmon and walnuts. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over the salmon.
Serves 4
Per Serving:
491 Calories; 27g Fat (48.4 percent calories from fat); 37g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 88mg Cholesterol; 662mg Sodium

New Year New You (or so it should be right )

WRONGGGGGGG  loll you suppose to be good from last year u must strive to be your best at all time butt I know this is hard to achieve 100% of the time sooooo ill give you guys a Bligh . So happy new year from me and mu imaginary chefaholic team (do u hear them cheering in the background). So that was your good words of the year from me loll. Now on to business, I haven't been writing up a storm this year or late last year because simply I was tired as F**K!!! So as my status all over the place said this is the year of greatness in every aspect of my life (love, education, business, career and the list goes on). This year I look forward to exploring different cultures which mean different types of foods broadening my views and exposing my palate to exotic cuisine. so readers you all can start back to follow my blog on a regular kind of going to steal my padner idea whereas am going to post a recipe a day as to things I will like to cook and then on the weekend an going to make at least three of the recipes I featured during the week . So look out for today’s recipe as well as featured restaurant a new feature @chefaholic .so remember keep Cheffing !!!

Cakery (Con’t)

So I had a very hard day at work today and the only idea I had to post tonight , was how to get a full nights rest to get back up to start again at 12 sigh!!!! So today's post will follow suit to where I left off with my cake series. Another popular cake this time of the year is the traditional sponge cake. This recipe is simple and many variations can be derived from them, something like the mother sauces u take five sauces and makes millions of variation. So without further hesitation and typing here is your post for tonight.


 
INGREDIENTS

Zest from 1/2 lemon

1 cup sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

4 large eggs

2 tablespoons warm water

1/2 teaspoon real vanilla

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt


 
DITRECTIONS

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a blender or food processor. Blend until the lemon zest is fine. Add this mixture to the softened butter. Beat with a mixer on medium until fluffy. This should take about 5 minutes.

Add the eggs to the sugar and butter one at a time, beating well after adding each one. Add the water, lemon juice, and vanilla. In a different bowl, use a whisk to mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the rest of the ingredients. Mix on low. Then add the rest of the flour mixture.

Now beat at medium speed until the cake batter becomes shiny. The mixture should also turn a white colour. Do not skip this step or reduce the mixing time. The longer you mix the batter, the more air bubbles you create. This is what makes sponge cake recipes light and fluffy. This step of the sponge cake recipe should take about 15 minutes.

Pour sponge cake batter into two round cake pans that have been greased with shortening well and liberally floured. If they haven't been greased and floured thoroughly, your sponge cake recipe will stick to the cake pans.

Bake lemon sponge cake in a preheated 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven for approximately 25-30 minutes. The sponge cake should pull gently from the sides. It will be golden in colour and spongy to the touch. It should spring back when touched. To be sure the sponge cake is done, test the centre with a toothpick and see if it comes out clean. Do not open the oven while the sponge cake is baking.

Remove the lemon sponge cake from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10-15 minutes before removing the cake from the cake pans. Let the sponge cake cool completely before frosting it. A lemon glaze would work well with this basic sponge cake recipe. Of course, frosting a sponge cake is optional. Plain sponge cake recipes are delicious by themselves.

yur wa some sorrel o wa

                                                                                              

this is how excited some people get for sorrel 

ingredients

2 lbs dried sorrel

2 cinnamon sticks (each approximately 3 inches long)

1 piece orange peel (fresh or dried, approximately 3 by 1-inch)

12 whole cloves

10-12 cups water

1 1/2 cups sugar (or more to taste. Granulated will give a better colour.)

Directions

In a non-corrosive pot, bring 10 cups of water to a boil then add the sorrel, sugar, cinnamon stick, whole cloves and orange peel and stir continuously while the mixture boils for one minute.

Cool and cover with foil or plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature to steep for 2 hours or overnight.

Taste for strength and sweetness. If it is too potent, add water or if too tart add more sugar. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a jar and refrigerate. (Discard the spices left in the sieve). The sorrel will stain so use a non-reactive glass jar or bowl. Don’t use plastic.

The Cakery

So the countdown for the most anticipated holiday of the trini calendar outside of carnival is here, and we here at chefaholic can't wait for this special day. We're so anxious we have dedicated and entire post to the baking of cake. So in today's post am going to showcase four scrumptiously delectable baked treats. The first being the ever so popular TRINI BLACK CAKE. I assume that most trinis have already prepared that jars and buckets full of different fruits for example (currents prunes sultan raisins). Don't fear if u are still yet to do so there is still time so it's quiet easy grab a sterilized container ¾ fill it with fruits or whatever amount u have and cover it with cherry brandy and white rum cover container with lid and leave to soak in the alcohol . so people that was and always will be the first step in making black cake so here is the rest of the recipe and don't forget to send in your pictures to be featured on our facebook wall.

Fruit mixture

• 1/2 lb currants
  
• 1/2 lb raisins
  
• 1/2 lb prunes
  
• 1  jar cherries, drained
  
• 1/4 lb mix peel
  
• 2 ounces almonds finely chopped
  
• 1 Bottle white rum
  
• 1bottle of cherry brandy
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
  
  
  
  
  
  Caramelised sugar
  
  1lb brown sugar
  
• 1cup boiling water
  
  
  
  The cake
  
• 1 teaspoon lime peel grated
  
• 2 cups flour
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 1/2 lb butter
  
• 1 1/8 cups sugar
  
• 5 eggs
  
  2tbspVanilla essence
  
  1tbsp cinnamon
  
  
  
  Directions:
  
  
  Prep Time: 2 hrs
  
  Total Time: 5 hrs
  
  • To prepare the fruit mix: Finely chop currants, raisins, prunes, figs and cherries.(always chop please don't blend)
    
  • Combine in a large bowl with mixed peel and almonds.
    
  • Mix vanilla and ground cloves with rum, and pour the rum mixture over the fruit mix.
    
  • Stir to combine.
    
  • Cover the bowl tightly, and let soak for a minimum of 24 hours and up to one month.
    
  • Prepare the caramelised sugar on the day you intend to bake the cake.
    
  • Put brown sugar in a heavy pot.
    
  • Carefully cook over low heat stirring constantly, until sugar liquefies and begins to turn darker.
    
  • Do not burn!
    
  • When sugar has turned dark, remove pot from heat and gradually stir in hot water.
    
  • Mix well.
    
  • Let the mixture cool.
    
  • Preheat oven to 120 C (250 F).
    
  • Line a round cake tin with buttered parchment paper.
    
  • Stir lime peel and caramelised sugar into the fruit mixture.
    
  • Set aside.
    
  • Sift together flour and baking powder
    
  • Set aside.
    
  • Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
    
  • Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until blended.
    
  • Add the flour mixture, stir to combine.
    
  • Add the fruit mixture, stir to combine.
    
  • Pour batter into the prepared tin and place the pan in a larger shallow pan filled with hot water.
    
  • Cook in the preheated oven for 2 1/2- 3 hours or until cake tests done.
    
  • Cake should shrink from the sides of the pan.
    
  • Cool cake in the tin for 24 hours before removing.
    
  • Let the cake ripen for some time before serving.
    
  • Fruit cakes keeps very well, but if you want to store it for a longer time, moisten it with additional rum from time to time.
    
  
  
  
   

T minus 10

its ten more days till Christmas tell us @ chefahoilc what is a true trini Christmas to u

Trini Christmas Wine Punch(aka Sangria)

So this morning I am straying a bit from the food and giving you a wonderful wine punch recipe. It’s usually called sangria but I added a few extra ingredients to give it a little kick. For those of you that aren’t too familiar with the drink sangria is a flavourful mixture of wine, fruits and clear carbonated beverage. Its origin is from the beautiful culture of Spain where this mixture was served in special ceramic pitches and drank mostly at large feasts. So here u go readers make enjoy and remember with this one designate a driver.

1 750ml bottle fruity red wine
2litres carton orange juice
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup triple sec
1 /2bottle Absolut Vodka
1/8 cup lime juice
2 apples, sliced
2 oranges, segmented
10 grapes
1 2-liter bottle 7-up

Prepare a large pitcher or bowl. Pour in the red wine, orange juice, brandy, triple sec, vodka, lime juice. Add in the apples, oranges and grapes. Let the mixture sit in the fridge for at least two hours and preferably overnight so the fruit flavours all soak into the liquids.

Before serving, add in the 7-up so the bubbles are fresh. Serve over ice. If you have extra fruit, freeze the pieces to act as natural ice cubes.

With the high volume of ingredients in this recipe, I would really not recommend trying to make this in a single serving size.

A very Maggi Christmas

So Maggi, a subsidiary of nestle (ah think), had a promotion before their current promotion that required you to submit a recipe that depicts a creative use of sorrel and Maggi products. I made my submission and to my surprise I was chosen as one of the hamper winners! Yayyyy me!
So I collected my hamper today and I must say: "WELL DONE MAGGI!".
I can proudly say you'll don’t lie when you say the hamper is huge!!! Getting it home was a task but I am grateful and for this I say thank you and remember people text to win! Trust me you will want this hamper. Also, feel free to hit the 'follow buttons' and 'like' trini-chefaholic on facebook and follow me on twitter. Laters for now folks check back tonight for another festive recipe.

Taking the apple out of Christmas pie (well sort of)

So today on work amidst the millions of orders coming in and when everything was seemingly going wrong with my brains, Rachel our sauté chef and resident Tobagonian in the kitchen found time to make an apple pecan pie and she was aided by the 'parrot' of our kitchen Gregory. Now seeing that this was a joint venture by two of our more senior chefs I presumed I was going to taste a piece of heaven on earth...*blehhhhhh* I was wrong!

Just to point out two major things you guys did wrong....well three. Firstly: where was your ice cold water? You can’t make pastry without it. Second: did I just see u bake the bottom crust first then add the filling and bake it over again?? Reallyyyyy???

*Sigh*

Third: for my readers, unless you want a sweeter than normal concoction, I suggest u don’t make the filling on the stove prior to baking...it never tastes good. So there you have it my brief tips on the perfect pie.

Now on to my newest creation thanks to the help of my double puppy team of advisors; one proving to be more helpful that the other *ahem ahem* but we still cool. I came up with an alternative to the foreign apple and pecans method of ingredients. I opted to go with pineapple and cashews and well to make it 'extra trini' throw in a dash of sorrel liqueur or sorrel syrup. So here you go readers! Tonight's, well morning's recipe:

Pineapple Sorrel Cashew pie

CRUST (recipe makes one double crust):

2 1/2 cups white flour

3 tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup cold butter, broken into small pieces

5 tbsp. cold vegetable shortening

8 tbsp. ice water

• Measure the flour, sugar and salt together. Stir to combine.
• Add the chilled butter pieces and shortening to the bowl. Cut them in with a pastry cutter or knife. Don't over mix them.
• Add the ice water. Mix until the dough holds together (add a bit more water, if necessary).
• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead it together, then divide in half.
• Flatten each half into a disk, wrap in saran wrap and chill for at least half an hour.
• Roll out one of the disks on a lightly floured surface until you have a circle that's about 12 inches in diameter.
• Put the circle in a 9" pie plate, trimming any extra dough from the edges with a sharp knife. Return it to the refrigerator until you are ready to make the pie.
• Add filling (see below)
• Roll out the second ball of dough and cover top. Use a fork or your fingers to pinch the edges together. Cut a couple slits in the top.

FILLING

1/4 cup sugar.

1/4 cup all-purpose flour.

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg.

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon .

Pinch of salt .

1 cup of pineapples (slice or dice medium size

1/3 cup of cashews

1/2 cup of sorrel juice

• Heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Peel clean pineapple of all blemishes (the black eyes) Try to keep the size of the slices even.
• Mix, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt in large bowl.
• Stir in pineapples and cashews
• Add sorrel and sugar to a sauce pan and bring to a boil getting it thick .
• Mix with fruit mixture
• Pour into pastry-lined pie plate.
• Cover with top crust and seal the edges. Cut slits in the top.
• OPTIONAL: Cover edge with 3-inch strip of aluminium foil to prevent too much browning.
• Remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking.
• Bake 40 t0 45 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust.