LAPTOPS IN THE SAND

RECIPES

The quantity of ingredients is based on personal taste and consistency. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes, the following ingredients:

• Apricot/Pineapple Preserves
• Chucky Peanut Butter
• Coca Cola, Pepsi, Sprite*, Seven-Up*, Ginger Ale*
• Off the shelf Barbecue Sauce
• 1 TBSP Limoncello Cream Liqueur**Sprite, Seven-UP and Ginger Ale are a better complement to the Limoncello than Coke or Pepsi.

Pour over chicken, refrigerate and marinate for 2 to 4 hours turning occasionally. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Bake at 275 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes to cook the center. Preheat grill to 275 degrees. Grill 5 minutes on each side.

Sausage Pepper Egg Casserole

• ½ pound bulk sausage
• 8 eggs
• 1 teas salt
• 1 teas pepper
• 1 teas paprika
• 1 cup three cheese blend, shredded
• 2 potatoes
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 oz bag frozen mixed peppers (red & green) thawed

Peel, cube and boil the potatoes for five minutes. In a skillet, brown the sausage, add the onion and cook until soft but not brown.  Add the peppers and sauté.  Add the potatoes and cook until slightly brown.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 13x9x2 casserole dish.  In a medium size bowl, beat the eggs and add salt, pepper and some of the paprika.  Pour half of the eggs into the casserole dish covering the bottom.  Pour the sausage, onions, peppers ad potatoes on top of the eggs.  Pour the remaining eggs on top of the sausage, onions, peppers and potatoes.  Spread the shredded cheese on top to the egg casserole.  Sprinkle with the remaining paprika

Enhanced Dexter Soup

• 1 medium potato
• ½ onion
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup frozen kale
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 19 oz can of Progresso Lentil Bean soup

Peel, diced and boil one medium potato.
Meanwhile, in a frying pan, sautée ½ sliced onion in olive oil.
Cook until soft but not brown.
Add ½ teaspoon sugar and caramelized.
Cook 1 cup frozen kale according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Add kale to cooked onions.
Drain potatoes and add to onions and kale.
Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon pepper; stir gently so that the pepper does not lead to concentrated pockets.
Bring the liquid from the kale along with the potatoes and onions to a boil.
Stir in 1 19 oz can of Progresso Lentil Bean soup.
Heat to serving temperature.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

I first discovered Spaghetti Alla Carbonara in Naples Italy in 1972 and loved it.  It is a very economical meal although in Italy, it is an appetizer.  I found a recipe on a box of spaghetti but have added my own personal touch.

• ¼ cup chopped pepperoni
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 capful sesame oil
• 16 oz thin spaghetti
• 10-12 slices bacon
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• 4 eggs beaten
• 4 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 4 tablespoons grated parmesan
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Marinate ¼ cup of chopped pepperoni in ¼ cup of olive oil and a capful of sesame oil.  Cook and drain spaghetti.  Meanwhile, dice bacon and cook until almost crisp.  Remove from pan and reserve.  Drain all but 4 tablespoons bacon drippings from skillet, add butter, garlic and onion to pan and cook over low heat until onion is soft but not brown.  Discard garlic clove.  Put hot cooked spaghetti in a large bowl.  Add eggs (quickly, the heat of the spaghetti cooks the eggs), parsley, cheese, pepper and  pepperoni with olive oil and stir until well mixed.  Add cooked onions with pan drippings and bacon pieces to bowl.  Toss to mix.  Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Phyllis' Potato Salad

For the past 25 years, I have been traveling up and down the East coast trying to find the perfect potato salad.  I have tried the Deep South to New England to upstate New York to no avail.  I have even tried the Amish country to the Eastern of Maryland.  They never quite made that for which I was searching so I went back to my steamed crabs with Old Bay Season. 

I could not describe the taste for which I was searching but could only say, “That is not it”.  I later learned that I was searching for my mother’s potato salad.  It was a recipe handed down to her by her mother had been the chef/cook for a family of means.  All was not lost for this recipe had been handed down to my sister.  When my sister was working and there was a company cookout, they would ask her to bring potato salad.

Granted, my sister is not a chemist so the quantity of ingredients is to taste.  May be I should call this the Art of Potato salad.

• 5 large potatoes, peeled, cut into ¼ inch pieces boiled for 5 minutes
• 1 boiled egg
• Real mayonnaise to desired consistency and taste*
• ½ chopped onion
• ¼ cup sweet gherkin pickles chopped
• Salt, pepper, paprika (my addition to enhanced taste and for ownership of the recipe), mustard*
• ¼ teaspoon cilantro (my addition to enhanced taste and for ownership of the recipe)*
• ¼ teaspoon sugar (compliments to Phyllis' mother-in-law)
• 1 scallion (my addition to enhanced taste and for ownership of the recipe)*

Boil and drain the potatoes, fold/mix in other ingredients.

*I told you that it was an art form.

The quantity of ingredients is based on personal taste and consistency. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes, the following ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Jamaican Jerk Sauce
• Chucky Peanut Butter
• Orange Soda
• Off the shelf Barbecue Sauce
• 2 dashes of sesame oil
• Optional: Peel and slice one mango

This recipe was developed from the influences of my trips to Côte d'Ivoire West Africa and Caribbean.

I had never had a mango until I met my wife.  We were camping in the Florida Keys.  She found a mango tree and picked one.  The next morning after my morning snorkel, I swam back to the camper, (we were beach front), and she had prepared breakfast.

It was brewed coffee, pancakes with mangoes and syrup them.

Now, I am trying everything with mangoes.

We have a friend from Côte d’Ivoire who made fried plantains.  That is when I learned that plantains had to be cooked.  If they are cooked rather than fried, they need to be ripen until black.

I combined these two tastes to create a Mango Plantain Pie.

• Very ripe black plantains
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 or 2 drop red food coloring
• 1 mango
• 1 pie crust

Peel the plantains.  Boil in water to cover until tender for 15 minutes or more.  Drain, transfer to bowl, and mash until smooth.  Add the ½ cup sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract and red food coloring.

Peel and slice the mango.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Flour the pie pan, add the pie crust and add the plantain mixture to the pie crust.  Place the sliced mangos on top of the plantain filling and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for about 30 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ingredients

Chicken Barbecue

• 1/2 Cup Jamaican Jerk Sauce
• Chucky Peanut Butter
• Orange Soda
• Off the shelf Barbecue Sauce
• 2 dashes of sesame oil
• Optional: Peel and slice one mango

Salsa

• ½ Pineapple
• 1 Mango
• 1 Red Pepper
• 1 Lime
• ½ Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• Cilantro to taste

Tortillas

Cut chicken breast into 1 inch strips lengthwise.  Marinate in the ingredients for the Peanut Butter Jerk Chicken Barbecue Sauce per the instructions shown on my  recipes webpage, Recipes, for 24 hours. Marinate the ingredients for the Salsa for 24 hours.  Squeeze the line over the salsa and then cut into pieces and add to the salsa.

To repeat, I had never had a mango until I met my wife.  We were camping in the Florida Keys.  She found a mango tree and picked one.  The next morning after my morning snorkel, I swam back to the camper, (we were beach front), and she had prepared breakfast.

It was brewed coffee, pancakes with mangoes and syrup them.

Now, I am trying everything with mangoes.

• 3 or 4 Chicken Breasts
• 1 Squeezed lime
• 2 TBL Chopped Cilantro
• 1 Chopped Scallion
• 1 Cup Chopped Onion
• 1 Mango
• 3 TBL Jerk Sauce
• 1 TBL Dry Jerk Seasoning

 

 

Chop 2/3 of the mango and mix with the other ingredients.  Remove ¼ cup of the mixed ingredients and reserve.  Slice the breast into 1 inch strips and marinate overnight the remaining ingredients.  When to ready grill; rub in the dry jerk seasoning.  Grill evenly with the marinated ingredients.  Grill the chicken and ingredients until the internal temperature is about 170º F.  When ready to serve, slice the remaining 1/3 mango, add it to the reserved ingredients and pour over the grilled chicken. DO NOT POUR THE UNCOOKED INGREDIENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MARINATED WITH THE CHICKEN OVER THE GRILLED CHICKEN TO BE SERVED.

This is a roast beef, tomato and onion sandwich on tomato, jalapeño, cheese bread with Panhandle Sauce.  Slice thick slices but not so thick that it overpowers the panhandle sauce.

Ingredients

Sliced roast beef, sliced tomato, sliced onion

Tomato, Cheese, Jalapeño Bread

• 1 cup tomato or vegetable juice
• 3 cups bread flour
• 3 TBL non fat dry milk
• 1 ½ teas sugar
• 1 ½ teas salt
• 1 ½ TBL butter, in small pieces
• 2 teas active dry yeast
• 2 to 3 TBL chopped canned jalapeño peppers
• ¼ finely shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 2 TBL chopped tomatoes

Add the ingredients to the bread machine pan according to your bread machine manufacturer’s suggested order.  Select white bread medium

Panhandle Sauce

This is a modified variation of the Stone Crab Sauce served at the Spring Creek Restaurant in Spring Creek FL.

• ½ cup mayonasie
• 2 teas horseradish
• 2 teas yellow mustard
• 1teas lemon juice
• 1/8 teas salt

Mix together and chill until ready to serve

This is based on a Bahamian recipe applied to salmon.  Salmon is not indigenous to Bahamian waters

Ingredients

• 1 salmon fillet
• 2 TBL of yellow mustard
• 1 TBL horseradish
• 2 TBL butter
• 1 onion sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic
• The juice of one squeezed lime
• Salt and pepper to taste

Reserve two thin slices of lime.  Mix the mustard and horseradish together.  Sauté the butter, onion and garlic.  Once the onions are soft but not brown, stir in the remaining ingredients.  Spoon one half of the ingredients over the salmon while grilling.   I grilled for 6 minutes at 250ºF.  Taking care not to drop the ingredients into the fire, turn the salmon over.  Spoon the remaining ingredients on the salmon.  Grill until the salmon is done but not too dry.  Garnish with the lime slices.

Guava Sauce

• 8 oz. guava nectar
• 1 TBL honey
• 1 TEAS ground ginger
• 1 TBL soy sauce
• 1 TBL jerk seasoning
• 1 TEAS corn starch
• 1 Teas water
• 2 TBL catsup

Bring this mixture to a boil to thicken.

• 4 hamburger patties
• 4 slices pepper jack cheese
• 4 slices pineapple

Rub jerk seasoning to taste into the hamburger patties.  Grill the hamburgers two minutes shy of the hamburger recipe or instructions.  Pour one tablespoon guava sauce on one side of each hamburger.  Grill for one minute.  At the same time, grill the pineapple slices for one minute.  Turn the hamburgers, top with one tablespoon guava sauce, turn the pineapples over and grill for one minute.

Top the hamburgers with pepper jack cheese, pineapple and another tablespoon of guava sauce.  Grill until the cheese melts.  Serve immediately.

• 4 Tablespoons olive oil (divided)
• 6 skinless chicken breast cut into strips
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 6 slices bacon cut into strips
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, mashed
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 6 teaspoons raisins
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup Marsala wine
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dried thyme to taste

In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, oregano.  Coat the chicken pieces in the flour mixture.   Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.   Brown the chicken about 2 minutes on each side.  Set the chicken aside and heat the remaining olive oil in the skillet.   Mix in bacon, onions and garlic.   Cook until the onions are tender and the bacon is evenly brown.   Add the mushrooms, raisins and chicken pieces.  Stir.  Pour in the chicken stock and marsala wine.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes turning once.  Season with the garlic powder, chili powder and thyme.   Stir and continue to simmer until the chicken is no longer pink and the juices are clear.

Can be served over rice or cooked potatoes.

I performed a small non-qualified survey of people who ate brussels sprouts as children.  All surveyed said that they hated them and some have brought this into adulthood. All they needed was some island spices Mon.

For a serving of 4,
 Soak 4 wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes.
Score an X on the stem side of 20 brussels sprouts.
Microwave the 20 frozen brussels sprouts for 4 minutes and let cool to handle
Skewer 5 brussels sprouts on each of the 4 skewers leaving at least 1/2 inch between each brussels sprouts.
 Melt 3 tbls of butter in a large skillet over a medium heat
Stir in

• 1 teas Jerk Seasoning
• 1 teas Curry powder
• 1 teas garlic powder
• 1 teas brown sugar.

Stir until consistent.  You can change the amounts to agree with your own taste.  Another alternate method is to roll the brussels sprouts on the butter mixture before inserting them on the skewers but it gets messy.

I got the idea of sautéed green peppers and onions in Cajun seasoning from Boondocks Restaurant in Panama City Florida, Boondocks .   Their grilled entrees come with grilled green peppers and onions in Cajun seasoning. I do not know Boondocks recipe and any similarity is purely coincidental. I got the idea from Boondocks.

Marinate four chicken breasts in the following overnight:

• 1/2 cup Coke or Pepsi
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 Tbl barbeque sauce
• 1/2 cup Peppers of Key West Jamaican Jerk Sauce

Heat the cola and peanut butter until it boils and the viscosity is such that it will stick to the chicken without falling off. Add the remaining ingredients. When the sauce has cooled to a point where it will not melt a plastic bag, place the chicken in the bag and pour in the marinate. Place in the refrigerator overnight and turn the bag every six hours. On the day that the chicken is to be grilled, sauté the following ingredients:

• 2 onions, sliced
• 1 green pepper, seeded and sliced
• 2 TBLS Cajun Seasoning
• 1/4 teas red pepper flakes.

Grill the chicken 7 1/2 to 8 eight minutes of each on a 250ºF grill temperature. Pour the Boondock peppers and onions on the chicken to serve. The Boondock sauce can be served over fish, mixed with ground beef, slow cooked pulled pork and even served on hot dogs.

Grilled Chicken with Cajon Peppers		Ground Beef with Cajun Peppers
Pulled Pork with Cajun Peppers		Hot Dogs with Cajun Peppers

• 3 chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon Jerk Rub
• 1 15 oz can of tropical fruit salad (the type that has pineapple and passion fruit juices)

Split the chicken breasts in half and flatten.  Rub the meat on both sides with the jerk rub.  Refrigerate for 4 hours.

Purée the tropical fruit salad in a blender.  Preheat the oven to 375ºF, then roast the chicken in a roasting pan for 45 minutes.  Pour the tropical fruit blend over the chicken and roast for another 30 minutes or until the juices run clear.

 

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a Sweet Potato Salad




This recipe is from my own sun fried brain.



I call it Humuhumunukunukuapua'a because it has pineapple and macadamia nuts.  There is no fish in it.  Besides, I like to say Humuhumunukunukuapua'a

• 2 large sweet potaotes, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup mayonaise
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 2 canned pineapple rings, chopped
• 1/2 cup raisins

Place potatoes into a large saucepan and fill with enough water to cover.  Bring to a boil, and cook for about 8 minutesw, or until tender.  Drain, and cool slightly.

In a large bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and brown sugar.  Stir in the sweet potatoes, macadamia nuts and raisins until evenly coated.  Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

 

Tortilla Chip Crusted Chicken






• 1 egg 
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup crushed tortilla chips
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/3 cup Colby jack cheese
• 2 1/2 chicken breasts, halved.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.  Beat egg, water, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl.  Set aside 2 tablespoons of crusted tortilla chips; pour the remaining into a large resealable plastic bag . Dip the chicken in the egg mixture, then place in bag and shake until coated.   Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Cook chicken in skillet until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side.  Place chicken into baking dish cover with salsa and then sprinkle the remaining tortilla chip crumbs over the salsa.  Cover the baking dish with aluminum and foil bake for 25 minutes.  Remove aluminum foil, sprinkle with cheese and bake for another 5 minutes.

 

 

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