Chef Patti Anastasia
603.818.9991
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Serving Southern New Hampshire &
the Merrimack Valley since 2003
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Great meals & the time to enjoy them!
Chef Patti Anastasia Serving Southern New Hampshire & |
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Table Talk » May 2007 Archives« April 2007 | Table Talk Home | April 2008 » May 25, 2007Jamaican Jerk Chicken ThighsIt's a great night for grilling. Summer slammed into NH and it hit 90 today. This Jamaican Jerk Chicken recipe is a favorite. I've been making this recipe for about 15 years, but I don't remember where it came from. I've tweaked it a bit over the years. The marinade is great with chicken or pork. Don't be intimidated by the long ingredient list. It's mostly spices and it goes together very quickly. Make it mild or hot by adjusting the amount of cayenne and minced chile pepper. The herbs in my AeroGarden were starting to take over the world, so I gave them all a good haircut and tossed the chopped herbs with basmati rice. I used a big bunch of herbs that included basil, cilantro, parsley, thyme, mint, oregano, and chives. Our salad included a few radishes that I pulled from the garden. They are still pretty small, but I just couldn't wait any longer to try a few.
Jamaican Jerk Chicken 1 tablespoon ground allspice Combine allspice, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, thyme, and brown sugar. Mix thoroughly. Whisk in orange juice, vinegars, and soy sauce. Add the scallions, garlic, ginger, and chile pepper. Stir to combine. Marinate chicken thighs in jerk marinade for at least 1 hour. Drain chicken and discard marinade. Grill over medium heat, 5-7 minutes on each side or until until temperature is 165F. May 23, 2007Figlets!Around the time I bought my AeroGarden, I also ordered a dwarf fig tree from Wayside Gardens. Fig trees aren't hardy in my zone 5 garden, but I plan to plant it in a container and overwinter it in our heated garage. I have no idea if this will work, but we love figs, so I decided to give it a try. My fig tree arrived the first week of May and looked like a two foot tall stick. But after a few days out on our 3-season porch, it developed lots of buds, which have turned into branches and leaves. And now it has two tiny figlets! This variety of fig produces two crops, one in July and one in September. It also attracts bird, which love to nibble on the figs, but I don't plan to share my figs with the birds. I might have to net it to keep the birds away.
May 18, 2007PCN Personal Chef of the YearWow! My fellow personal chefs at Personal Chefs Network honored me with the 2007 Golden Whisk Award for Personal Chef of the Year. The award was announced last week at the end of the PCN convention. Since we didn't go to the convention, some of my local PCN buddies and I got together for lunch on the last day of the convention. We were finishing up our lunch when Sharon Worster, the CEO of PCN, called me to tell me that I was the PCN Personal Chef of the Year. I was speechless. My friends made so much of a commotion that that everyone in the dining room wanted to know what was going on. Since I couldn't be at the convention this year, it was wonderful to share this moment with my PCN buddies. It really hasn't completely sunken in. My prize, a red Artisan stand mixer, arrived today. It screams "you're a winner!" There's a plaque on the way too. It will hang in my office next to my 2005 Golden Whisk Award for New Personal Chef of the Year. I'm blessed to be part of such a great organization. PCN has been with me through all the ups and downs of my business. The cooking is the easy part of running a personal chef service. I'm sure that I wouldn't be in business if it weren't for what I have learned and shared with colleagues. They bring out the best in me. This is a solitary business. PCN truly encourages collaboration among its members. By helping each other, we help ourselves. May 13, 2007A Sad Day for Local Food WritingThe stories, recipes, and food stylings of Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven have graced the pages of the Sunday Boston Globe Magazine for many years. For as long as I remember, the Cooking section has been the first thing I have reached for on Sunday mornings. I love their stories and recipes and have a huge collection of pages torn out of the magazine. Today's Cooking section is Sheryl's and Julie's last one for the Boston Globe Magazine. I knew it was coming because I met Sheryl in March and she told us that she and Julie were going to focus on other things. Thank goodness that Sheryl is staying on as the Food editor of the Boston Globe. It will be wonderful to see more of her writing on Wednesdays. Tonight, in honor of many happy years reading and cooking from Sheryl's and Julie's articles, I'm making Shrimp in Coconut Milk with Red Curry Paste from Sheryl's and Julie's book It's probably also time to organize all those pages torn from the magazine. This is the end of an era. But I also can't wait to see whose stories and recipes will fill my Sunday mornings. May 12, 2007Bacon-Wrapped BBQ Chicken-Cheese RollsThis recipe for Bacon-Wrapped BBQ Chicken-Cheese Rolls was inspired by Jayne, who asked me to make her chicken with barbecue sauce, bacon, and cheese.
The chicken rolls are shown with Mini Cornbread Puddings from Everyday Food, March 2007. (Note, the Mini Cornbread Puddings are not gluten-free.) Jayne's mother and sister sampled the chicken rolls when they came home for lunch and they both loved them. I used a homemade barbecue sauce because I prefer it and also Jayne has many food allergies, but you could use your favorite bottled barbecue sauce. Continue reading "Bacon-Wrapped BBQ Chicken-Cheese Rolls" » May 3, 2007AeroGarden Update: Day 25I planted my AeroGarden almost 4 weeks ago. It's growing like crazy. The basil needs pruning. It's time to raise the lights a little. It takes care of itself. At the 2 week mark, I added water and a nutrient tablet to the reservoir. An indicator light came on to let me know what to do. The parsley is the biggest surprise. I've never been able to start parsley from seed.
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