Friday, August 10, 2012

Jamaican Jerk Chicken Legs

TGIF-where has the week gone by?...pretty soon, the kids will be going back to school at the end of this month, and the end of summer vacation for most people, as well! Living in South Florida most of my life, and my children, 'native Floridians'...grandchildren not even knowing what cold winter, and snow is all about...glad that we are here in the 'land of sunshine'...not so much of it for the last couple months. Although we get a 'sneak preview' of it just about every single day, even if its for an hour, S. Florida is still the SUNSHINE STATE!
Often, I have a dilemma about what to make for 1 person (myself) for dinner, when I'm not at my daughter's which is just about every day. We cook together, or I cook (she does most of the baking)...but when I eat alone, about twice a week, I just don't want to heat up my little kitchen and waste electricity, so I use my George Foreman grill, or my toaster over to make a small portion, for (2) ...yes, 2...either for one, and have another portion fore leftover lunch, or invite a friend!
Have you ever tried cooking a gourmet meal in the toaster oven?...well, you can, you know, it's as easy, if not easier than in your big conventional oven! I've been doing this for a long time now, and my best friend suggested that I write a 'toaster oven cookbook'...which of course, I haven't but then, they already have them and she gave me a cute little toaster oven cookbook!

You have to have at least a large enough tray for the toaster oven to be able to fit at least 6 pieces of chicken comfortably, or for roasting a few pieces of vegetable, fish, or even baking cookies...seriously!

I'm gonna share 3 different recipes...one for the Jerk seasoning, 1 for the Basmati rice which is a cilantro-lime scented, and a fabulous Cuban , authentic Havana based black beans, which you can mix with the rice, or serve it separately! So, are you ready?...because I will guide step-by-step for this semi-spicy delicious Caribbean dish, that will take you away to the island of Jamaica...or the Havana black beans to the 'forbidden island'...which I will not go into a long explanation but just that; it was referred to as the 'jewel of the Caribbean'...the largest of the Caribbean islands...frozen in time, from the 1950's!... see link-Caribbean, Havana!
We have a huge population of Cubans here, in S. Florida, as we also have a large population of Jamaicans, and Haitians. We have so much 'island influences' that you do not have to venture far to authentic cuisines of these colorful, tasty, spicy, Caribbean influences of their culture!



Remember my trusty little Better Homes and Gardens recipe box?...I featured this last year, with all my old scribbled...copied recipes, and some on little index cards from the eighties...some torn out pages with pictures; but let me tell you...these are truly 'treasures' that I can make, and have made in the past. Recipes that are really a 'labor of love' ...and hand-me-downs, although I have some scribbled pages tucked away in some old treasured cookbooks!

The Jamaican Jerk Seasoning...and Marinade, which I have adapted from the scribbled page, is another one that I have saved (no photo of it) ...although I have not made this spicy delicious chicken in a long time, I decided to make it on a smaller scale...using my Cuisinart Toaster oven, that is just as strong if not stronger, than my conventional big oven! Save time...save energy...save money on your electric bill by using a smaller oven that you can bake, broil, toast, just about anything, and everything that will put a 'smile' on your face, because you have minimal clean-up!

Jamaican Jerk Chicken Legs
adapted from 2 various sources

1 Scotch bonnet, or Jalapeno, or Habanero pepper,
seeded and chopped
(you can use one of each...if you dare)
4 scallions sliced into 2-in. length
3 cloves of garlic, peeled, and chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
(about a 2 inch piece)
4 sprigs of fresh thyme chopped
(or, 1 1/2 teaspoons dried)
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1 Tbsp. all-spice, ground
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
(or 3 teaspoons, dried)
2 teaspoons English style dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:
created by; Elisabeth

1 cup crushed pineapple
1/2 cup tomato juice
1/4 cup vegetable, or canola oil

Mix all the ingredients together in a blender,
and brush on the chicken as a glaze
note: brush on only, at the last 20 minutes. You can
double this recipe, and also use it for dipping, and adding
on extra sauce at serving time.

For the seasoning (spice rub) ingredients: Put all the ingredients in a food processor, and mix together till everything is pureed into a powdery form. This spice rub is plenty enough for a 3 1/2 lb. chicken, so you will not need all of it for 6 pieces. Just use half the amount, and save the other half in a jar, or plastic container in the fridge to use later.

In a large zip-lock baggie, place the chicken pieces, and pour half the amount of the spices...or use the entire amount if you are making a lot of chicken parts to marinade. Close the bag, give it a good shake, and refrigerate up to 24 hrs. no less than 2hrs. (the longer, the more tender your chicken will be, and more flavorful)
Grill, or bake @ 350 F.for l till about 45- 50 minutes, just remember to brush with the sauce the last 20 minutes.



Havana Black Beans

2 15-oz. canned black beans
(you can make your own, from dried
if you prefer)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
dash of cayenne pepper
half of a green pepper, chopped (opt.)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp. canned chipotle sauce,
8 oz. can of tomato sauce
juice of 2 limes
1/2 cup of water
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 scallions finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro

In a medium saucepan, add saute the garlic, the pepper and the scallion in the olive oil, add the bay leaves, slice one of the limes, and add into the saucepan, and use the juice of the other, or (you can just use the juice of both limes)
Add the chipotle sauce, the tomato sauce, and the 1/2 cup of water, bring to a boil, and cook for about 10 minutes.
(you can remove the lime slices and the bay leaves at this time)...drain the liquid from the black beans, and add it to the sauce ingredients, add the thyme, and cayenne pepper, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. You can serve the beans separately, or make a batch of Basmati Rice, adding cilantro, and lime juice while cooking the rice!

This is so incredibly delicious with the Jerk Chicken, that your family or friend will think you slaved away all day making this amazing dish!...and don't forget the frozen Margarita cocktail...(which I will have to borrow from one of my fabulous foodie friends)

Have a blessed and peaceful, wonderful weekend!
xo

Enhanced by Zemanta

37 comments:

Cucina49 said...

I would eat these in a heartbeat! They look delicious--and I love the ease of making these in a toaster oven.

Priya said...

Salivating here, sooo tempting chicken legs.

Marina@Picnic at Marina said...

Elisabeth, those chicken legs looks absolutely delicious! Next time I have chicken, I will make it! Have a great weekend! :)

Patty said...

Oh my goodness, Elizabeth, your photos are beautiful...and that chicken looks so delicious!

Pieces of Sunshine said...

Looks very tasty! We tend to have the opposite problem, working out how to fit enough in our conventional oven to feed the ten of us each night. This meal would work well as only the chicken needs to go in the oven. Chicken drumsticks are about the cheapest meat you can buy here so we usually eat them at least once a week.

Cake Duchess said...

These I can say were very tasty. Spicy...but not too spicy. Wonderful black beans that are perfect just with rice (and maybe some friend plantains!)

Biren @ Roti n Rice said...

This is certainly a delicious meal for two! Love the spicy chicken, rice, and beans. I just recently tried habanero peppers and they sure are spicy. I would love to give your recipe a try.

I use my toaster oven a lot too for roasting and broiling fish. No need to heat up the kitchen with the big oven. Have a great weekend! Hugs xx

Wendy Wofford-Garcia said...

With only two in our household, I often halve recipes so we're not eating leftovers for days on end! These spicy chicken drumsticks look fabulous...have a wonderful weekend!!

Pegasuslegend said...

I am so wishing for this kind of food... this looks perfect and authentic! Going on a cruise tomorrow and now I am craving this kind of chicken! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Swathi Iyer said...

This looks delicious, perfect meal, you need some fried plantains as sides. then it is authentic,

simple baking said...

Drooling!!!! Bookmarked! Even though I had made Nigella's recipe before, this looks more authentic and bursting with flavours. Thanx for sharing.
Anuja

Illéskrisz Konyhája said...

Máris mentettem annyira nagyon guszta! Szuper csirkés étel. Szeretjük a fűszeres dolgokat, és a különleges ízeket. Gondolom hamar elfogyott! :o)

Phong Hong said...

Elisabeth, that is a feast!

Ola said...

delicious!

Blog about life and travelling
Blog about cooking

Angie's Recipes said...

o my...this makes me so HUNGRY! I love your crushed pineapple sauce.

Kati said...

Ez a jamaikai csirkecomb nagyon mutatós, és fűszeres is:) Sajnos nálunk sok fűszert ezekből nem is lehet kapni. A szószod is nagyon tetszik, azt elkészítem egyszer, mert ahhoz minden hozzávaló megtalálható:)

Katalin said...

Nagyon szépek lettek a csirkecombjaid! Szívesen beleharahnék, annyira gusztusosak :)

Zsuzsa said...

I read through the ingredient lists. These recipes sound amazingly good and I really like the idea of cooking in a toaster oven especially in the heat. I always wanted one, but it’s either a toaster oven or a micro and the micro I cannot let go. I don't have any room left in my kitchen and there are safety issues to consider. Those legs look amazing Elisabeth.

Amelia said...

Hi Elisabeth, wow..... I'm drooling! The jerk chicken legs look awesome. The first picture, I can have the whole plate by myself. LOL

The crushed pineapple sauce sound interesting and delicious and I'm sure it add extra kick to the chicken legs.
This dish is excellent and can't help stay here a little longer feasting with my eyes since I can't have the real dish. LOL

Have a beautiful Sunday. Regards and hugs to you.

Couscous & Consciousness said...

Elisabeth - I love every single one of these dishes and I want to try everything.

You're absolutely right about the toaster oven. For several years, up until about 18 months ago all I had in my kitchen was a toaster oven, a single solid plate element, a crockpot and a George Foreman grill. I cooked and blogged many great meals in that kitchen, and I certainly became the queen of the one-pan-wonder. I used to even cook whole chickens in my toaster oven, by simply cutting the backbone out and then butterflying it to lie flat in the oven dish. Worked fantastically.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend.

Sue

Ridwan's kitchen/Asian spice mix said...

Havana black bean sound very tasty,and of course the finger licking "chiken leg " i just love mixed spices ingredients on these chicken leg recipe,YUm,,YUm :)

Sissi said...

Elisabeth, your Jamaican seasoned chicken legs would bring sunshine even to the coldest parts of the globe! I love the mixture of sweet and hot. You are right: the dish looks and sounds as if you had spent hours preparing it, but then reading your recipe I realised it's quite simple.

Gizi said...

Elisabeth, csodálatos ez a tálalás, és mennyei finom lehetett ez a finom-fűszeres páccal készült husi, na és a babos-rizs is igazán kedvemre való. Nagyon szeretem a pácolt húsokat, és van egy hasonló receptem melyben csirkeszárnyat, és sertés oldalast szoktam sütni. A múltkori sertés hasaalját pedig szívesen elcserélném ezekre combokra. Puszillak

Gina said...

My mom loves her George Foreman grill. I make my husband do most of the grilling though. I love spicy anything and it does look like you slaved away. I was reading "The Art and Soul of Baking", I wanted raspberry muffins, but had to use up some other ingredients before the went bad. Hope that answers your question. One of these days I want to upgrade my commenting so I can do it that way. It's a great reference book and I love looking through it when I get a chance. I can't believe it's Sunday night and I have to get up early tomorrow for school. Have a great week.
-Gina-

Lisa said...

OMG, Liz..next time I'm in Florida, will you make these for me?? I'm hypnotized staring at them..and the dry jerk rub and glaze sounds out of this world! I love that use the GF grill for small portions!

marisz57 said...

Nagyon gusztusosak a fényképen a csirkecombok, kedvem lenne beleharapni!

Lyndsey Chapin said...

Hey Elisabeth! I've been in Michigan for a family reunion. Our flight was cancelled last night and we are stuck here another day. I can't complain about the weather it's room temperature here! A fun time and visited some beautiful places, but I am ready to come home. Tomorrow I start back to work getting ready for the school year.

Your jerk chicken legs look delicious and we always like black beans and rice at our house. Can't wait to get home to try it! :)

Spicie Foodie said...

Oh how lucky to live in perpetual sunshine. My mother-in-law lives there and during the winter I wish I could stay with her. Your jerk chicken looks so so good! It is one of my hubby's favorite, but I have never made it. Thanks so much for sharing and can't wait to try it.

Elisabeth said...

Lyndsey, I knew you were on a family reunion...but did not know where. So now I know you were out of state! Michigan is a beautiful state and there's lot to see and enjoy...so glad you're coming back home! Another school season for you, my dear friend! xo

Elisabeth said...

Thanks for commenting...so nice to hear from you. Will visit your beautiful blog. Jerk chicken or any other meat is really good with the Jerk seasoning, and the sauce adds a special flavor and moistness, as well!

Elisabeth said...

Koszonom Marisz, hozzad is at latogatok, mar regen neztem a te blogodba!

mia xara said...

Hi Elisabeth,Jamaican jerk chicken is very popular with my kids and myself,since we all have a weakness for hot and spicy food! I've never tried the beans like that,I'm sure however they go well together!!XOXO

lena said...

your chicken dish looks fantastic and as i saw english mustard in the recipe, woo! that surely gives a oomph to the dish! yeah, i know it's difficult to cook for one person, so at times for when i'm really alone, i just walk over to the food court at the back of my house, quite convenient.

The KitchenMaid said...

You must have read my mind - I came home with some black beans last week and haven't been able to think what to do with them. Now I do! We don't have a toaster oven, but we do have a sandwich press and there's a lot you can do with that (but I think cooking chicken legs would be a stretch!)

Petra said...

Szép pirosak ezek a combikák. Azonnal mentem. :)

Rupali Biswas said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

Anonymous said...

Hey there are using Wordpress for your blog platform? I'm new to the blog world but I'm trying to get started and set
up my own. Do you require any html coding expertise to make your own blog?
Any help would be really appreciated!

Here is my web page :: dishwashers uk