beef bourguignon. Her enthusiasm was contagious. Creating the menu for my own restaurant in Anguilla made me feel like Julia. I was inspired just reading recipes for chili-crusted sea scallops and Jamaican jerk sauce. Lists evolved day by day.
The testing began. Thomas was kind enough to bring me several lobsters that arrived in a lively, squirming burlap bag. I peeked inside, debating the best form of attack. What is it about lobsters, anyway? In Maine they have vicious claws that snap at your fingers. These had no claws but were completely covered with spines and were just as treacherous to handle. With two giant oven mitts, I grasped the first creature by the antennae and lowered it gingerly into a pot. Scalding water showered the kitchen, but I bravely emptied the bag.
I rolled out dough for dumplingsâvery thin so theyâd be tender, almost transparent, when cookedâand cut them into circles. With the lobster meat cooled and diced, I added wild mushrooms, shallots, ginger, and a tiny bit of goat cheese to hold the mixture together. I dropped a spoonful of filling into the center of each circle and crimped the edges into little half-moons ready for steaming. I glazed the tiny bundles with fresh lemon juice, more ginger, a little garlic, a spoonful of sugar, and some soy sauce. The first batch didnât have enough lobster, the next had too much lemon. My crimping technique slowly improved. Sometimes the dough would tear or the egg used to seal the dough wouldnât stick. But after repeated attempts I had perfected my first appetizer.
The Caribbean is known for its jerk sauce, and I tested eight different recipes before concocting my own variation. The final list of eighteen ingredients included ten different herbs and spices, fresh lime and orange juice, and that hottest of hot peppers, habaneros. Those fiery little devils came in a rainbow of colors, which I initially suspected might reveal their level of heat, but I was wrongâthey were all hotter than hell. My eyes watered and burned; my fingertips were on fire for days.
Grilled Tuna with Coconut Rice Cakes
My love of Asian food prompted me to come up with an easy marinade for grilled tuna served with crispy coconut rice cakes. For two recipes so easy, the contrast of flavors and texture was a great discovery.
Make the rice cakes first. You will need a jelly-roll pan approximately 10 by 15 inches. In a saucepan, bring 7H cups water and 1H cups unsweetened coconut milk to a boil. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 4 1/2 cups Agatha rice. Cover and reduce heat to very low. Cook for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Transfer rice to a bowl and stir in 4 minced scallions and 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds. Press mixture firmly into jelly-roll pan. I cover it with plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to make it even and compact. Chill well. When ready to serve, cut into 3-inch squares and then in half into triangles. Brush with olive oil, dust with bread crumbs, and sauté until golden brown on both sides. Makes 30 triangles.
Have 6 tuna steaks cut 2 inches thick so itâs easy to cook them rare. Marinate the fish for about an hour in 1 1/4 cups teriyaki sauce, 1/3 cup cooking sherry, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, 4 minced scallions, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice. Grill quickly over hot coals and serve immediately. Serves six.
Grilled whole snapper on a bed of sauteed corn and spinach with Thai curry sauce; smoked salmon bundles filled with crab salad and a lemon-chive crème fraîche; crispy coconut prawns with homemade apricot chutney; lemon-buttermilk pound cake topped with homemade vanilla bean ice cream and fresh berries; mangoes and cream with cinnamon and a little brown sugar . . . relentless trial and error. Bob and Jesse eagerly sampled everything, arriving nightly with ambitious appetites, ready to evaluate my latest experiments.
I took a break
The testing began. Thomas was kind enough to bring me several lobsters that arrived in a lively, squirming burlap bag. I peeked inside, debating the best form of attack. What is it about lobsters, anyway? In Maine they have vicious claws that snap at your fingers. These had no claws but were completely covered with spines and were just as treacherous to handle. With two giant oven mitts, I grasped the first creature by the antennae and lowered it gingerly into a pot. Scalding water showered the kitchen, but I bravely emptied the bag.
I rolled out dough for dumplingsâvery thin so theyâd be tender, almost transparent, when cookedâand cut them into circles. With the lobster meat cooled and diced, I added wild mushrooms, shallots, ginger, and a tiny bit of goat cheese to hold the mixture together. I dropped a spoonful of filling into the center of each circle and crimped the edges into little half-moons ready for steaming. I glazed the tiny bundles with fresh lemon juice, more ginger, a little garlic, a spoonful of sugar, and some soy sauce. The first batch didnât have enough lobster, the next had too much lemon. My crimping technique slowly improved. Sometimes the dough would tear or the egg used to seal the dough wouldnât stick. But after repeated attempts I had perfected my first appetizer.
The Caribbean is known for its jerk sauce, and I tested eight different recipes before concocting my own variation. The final list of eighteen ingredients included ten different herbs and spices, fresh lime and orange juice, and that hottest of hot peppers, habaneros. Those fiery little devils came in a rainbow of colors, which I initially suspected might reveal their level of heat, but I was wrongâthey were all hotter than hell. My eyes watered and burned; my fingertips were on fire for days.
Grilled Tuna with Coconut Rice Cakes
My love of Asian food prompted me to come up with an easy marinade for grilled tuna served with crispy coconut rice cakes. For two recipes so easy, the contrast of flavors and texture was a great discovery.
Make the rice cakes first. You will need a jelly-roll pan approximately 10 by 15 inches. In a saucepan, bring 7H cups water and 1H cups unsweetened coconut milk to a boil. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 4 1/2 cups Agatha rice. Cover and reduce heat to very low. Cook for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Transfer rice to a bowl and stir in 4 minced scallions and 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds. Press mixture firmly into jelly-roll pan. I cover it with plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to make it even and compact. Chill well. When ready to serve, cut into 3-inch squares and then in half into triangles. Brush with olive oil, dust with bread crumbs, and sauté until golden brown on both sides. Makes 30 triangles.
Have 6 tuna steaks cut 2 inches thick so itâs easy to cook them rare. Marinate the fish for about an hour in 1 1/4 cups teriyaki sauce, 1/3 cup cooking sherry, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, 4 minced scallions, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice. Grill quickly over hot coals and serve immediately. Serves six.
Grilled whole snapper on a bed of sauteed corn and spinach with Thai curry sauce; smoked salmon bundles filled with crab salad and a lemon-chive crème fraîche; crispy coconut prawns with homemade apricot chutney; lemon-buttermilk pound cake topped with homemade vanilla bean ice cream and fresh berries; mangoes and cream with cinnamon and a little brown sugar . . . relentless trial and error. Bob and Jesse eagerly sampled everything, arriving nightly with ambitious appetites, ready to evaluate my latest experiments.
I took a break
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