Caribbean Night!

My family is big in theme dinners. Especially Christmas dinner (we've had Mexican, Southern, German...). Tonight we did a Caribbean dinner and it came out duh-lish-us!

Baked Jerk Chicken, Cilantro-Lime Rice, Curried Plantains, and to top it all off: Mango Custard Pie!

Everything was really simple to make, but came off restaurant-worthy!

Baked Jerk Chicken:



Baked Jerk Chicken

Chicken Pieces, mixed (dark meat, light meat, bone-in, boneless...your preference!)
2 Tbs Onion Powder
2 tsp Dried Thyme
2 tsp Ground Allspice
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 Tbs Agave Nectar or Honey
2 Tbs warm Water
1 can Ginger Ale

Mix together the Onion Powder, Thyme, Allspice, Cinnamon, Coriander and Cayenne Pepper. Sprinkle half the mixture over the chicken pieces in a dish to marinate. Pour over the can of Ginger Ale (flavors and tenderizes!) and let sit for an hour to overnight. After it has marinated, remove the chicken and place on a baking sheet. Mix the remaining half of the spice rub with the Agave Nectar and Water to form a paste. Brush the mix onto the chicken. Bake at 350 degrees, covered with aluminum foil, for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking for 20 minutes.

Cilantro-Lime Rice


 Cilantro-Lime Rice

2 cups White Rice
4 cups Water
1 tsp Salt
2 Tbs Butter or Margarine
juice of 1 Lime
1/2 cup chopped Cilantro
1 Orange or Yellow Bell Pepper, medium dice

Combine the rice, salt and water in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 20 minutes. Mix together the Cilantro, Lime Juice and Bell Pepper. Toss with the rice, add in the butta. Yes, butta :)


Curried Plantains

7-8 ripe Yellow Plantians, large dice
1/4 cup Curry Powder
3 Tbs Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Coconut Juice

In a large pan, heat the vegetable oil on medium heat. Add in the curry powder and stir quickly to combine. Immediately add in the plantains and toss in the curried oil. Salt to your taste. Cook on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the plantains are heated through and soft. Stir in the coconut juice.


Mango Custard Pie



Mango Custard Pie

2 ripe Mangos, pureed
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup Chobani 2% Greek Yogurt
3/4 cup Sugar
3 Eggs, 1 Egg White
Pie Crust
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 + 1 tsp Butterscotch Extract
3 Tbs Powdered Sugar

Mix together the mango puree, milk, yogurt, sugar and the 3 whole eggs. Use the remaining egg white, beaten with 1 tsp of the butterscotch extract to brush the unbaked crust. It adds flavor and keeps it from becoming soggy. Pour the mango custard mix into the crust and bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. The center will still be very loose, but it will set as it cools.

Beat together the whipping cream, powdered sugar and the remaining 1 tsp of butterscotch extract to make a whipped cream topping. Spoon into a ziploc bag and snip the corner to form a piping bag and pipe the whipped cream over the cooled pie.