And with just a little more effort ...

I'm all for "easy" recipes and quick weeknight meals. Even simple weekend meals tend to make a cook's life easier. Anyone who does a fair amount of cooking can relate to the value of a good selection of easy prep healthy meals. It would be nice to have all day to prepare the evening meal, but most people aren't so blessed. I try to encourage readers and people I associate with to explore the possibilities with good, fresh, food creations for their everyday meals, and to not resort to frozen, canned or packaged fare. In my humble opinion, the bulk of the food products that are shoved down our throats (yes, of course the pun is intended) is simply not fit for human consumption.

So this was a special Sunday night meal that required "just a little more effort," as the title suggests.  Took me several hours, spread over the course of a rainy dreary Sunday.  A day when I'd be home anyway, as it turned out.  I'd invited my friend Howie (grammar school buddy), three of our massage school friends, and our friend Cal.  Good diversified, group, lots of possibilities for food, for the night.  

Constraints / considerations included a couple of the people being on something resembling a diet (calorie type, not necessarily a food constraint), one person doesn't eat seafood of any kind (although Cal's phenomenal ceviche provided a notable exception to this), plus I'd decided I wanted to make cupcakes for dessert.  This in itself is odd, as loyal readers have undoubtedly noticed a dearth of sweets recipes ... I bake very little, and rarely to my own satisfaction.  I also needed to keep the dishes on the semi-spicy, vs. "use the habaneros" spicy that the chicken recipe usually entails.  

As I mentioned, Cal brought a ceviche appetizer, as well as an amazing crab dip.  I was off the hook for appetizers!  For the main meal, I opted for a "real" Jamaican jerk chicken recipe, a pesto with a slight twist, my cole slaw, which has evolved for years, and the afore-mentioned cupcakes for dessert. 

The jerk chicken was started early in the morning.  The recipe recommends overnight marinating, but I never marinate chicken or fish for more than a few hours.  I let this batch marinate for about 6 hours, which was perfect.  Next time (and if you decide to attempt the recipe), put some of the marinate aside for topping the chicken after it's cooked.  You obviously shouldn't use the same sauce you've been soaking uncooked chicken in, which is what the recipe said to do.   

For the pesto, I used an entire bunch of fresh basil, a half cup of toasted pine nuts (makes a big difference if you toast them briefly), parmesan and dry jack cheeses, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, and a handful of arugula, which added just the flavor I was looking for.   I served it over whole wheat angel hair pasta, and it was awesome.  

The cole slaw has been modified over the years to the way I like it.  I've spent quite a bit of time in both Atlanta and North Carolina, and once you've had real cole slaw, there's no turning back.  Mayo and sour cream in the dressing, along with celery seed, white vinegar, brown sugar, cayenne and red pepper flakes.  Two kinds of cabbage add color and taste variety, diced carrots and celery, a white onion, and a handful of peanuts complete this great slaw.  

The lemon cupcakes came from a "lemon lemon cupcake" recipe I saw posted, and they turned out very tasty, although a little heavier than they should have been due to the fact that I didn't sift the flour.  I told you ... I don't bake (but need to do more of it).  The frosting was to die for, and I served them with two scoops of different kinds of Haagen-Dazs gelato, and sprinkled a few Scharffenberger chocolate espresso bits on the top.  Even your "non sweets eater" author enjoyed this decadent little dessert.  

~ THE RECIPES ~

Jamaican Jerk Chicken:

Originally from "The Sugar Reef Carribean Cookbook," by Devra Dedeaux (available from Amazon.com), and modified somewhat.

• 1 Tblspn ground allspice
• 1 Tblspn dried thyme
• 1 1/2 tspns cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 tspns ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tspns ground sage
• 3/4 tspn ground nutmeg
• 3/4 tspn ground cinnamon
• 2 Tblspns garlic powder
• 1 Tblspn sugar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 Thai / serrano peppers (or 1 habanero or 1 large jalapeno), chopped fine
• 3 scallions, chopped fine
• 1 yellow onion, chopped fine
• boneless skinless chicken breasts (makes enough for up to 12, I found)

Method:

• In a large bowl, combine the spice ingredients
• Whisk in the olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, orange juice, and lime juice
• Add the chopped pepper(s), scallions, onions, stir well
• Add the chicken breasts, cover and marinate for at least several hours
• Cook over a medium flame grill about 6 minutes per side (and it's raining today so I can attest to the fact that the oven works perfectly well - 20-25 minutes at 325 degrees).

Arugula Pesto Pasta:

• 1/2 cup of toasted pine nuts (small skillet, medium heat, shake them around for about 8 minutes)
• 1 bunch of fresh basil
• small handful of fresh arugula
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic, or 1 tablespoon of jar/chopped (works fine)
• 1/2 cup each of grated parmesan and dry jack cheeses (all parmesan works, the dry jack adds an interesting taste)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup of olive oil (approximately)

Method:

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor, drizzle the olive oil, pulse to the consistency you like. I like mine on the moist side, not totally dry. The amount of olive oil you use will vary accordingly.

Serve over your favorite pasta. Today's was a whole wheat angel hair pasta, which was perfect.  Garnish with a few pieces of chiffonade-cut basil, have fresh parmesan available for grating. 

Best Cole Slaw:

I love cole slaw, and I'm picky about it. Too much mayonnaise, too much vinegar, too much anything, just doesn't cut it. I've done a lot of experimenting, stolen liberally from all the best chefs and cookbooks, and here's how I do it:

Dressing:

• 3 Tblspns light sour cream
• 2 Tblspns light mayo (which should say Best Foods on it!)
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 2 Tblspns light brown sugar
• 1 tspn celery seed
• 1/2 tspn salt
• 1/2 tspn crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
• fresh ground pepper to taste

Slaw:

• 1/2 head each of red and green cabbage, shredded
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 1/2 cup lightly salted peanuts

Method:

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients, "toss" the slaw to combine all the ingredients, pour about 3/4 of the dressing and mix, add more if necessary.

Note: You'll likely have leftover dressing. You can always add more, but you can't subtract if you put too much on it initially.

Lemon Cupcakes:

I commonly tell people that a stand mixer (meaning a Kitchen Aid) is an imperative ingredient. I'll leave that up to the reader, but it sure helps to have a good mixer.

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 tspn baking powder
• 1/4 tspn salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter @ room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 6 Tbspns whole or buttermilk
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tbspns grated lemon zest

Method

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Line a 10 or 12 cupcake pan with liners (medium sized ones worked great)
• SIFT the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl (I neglected to sift these, and and my friend Nicole the pastry chef pointed out that it makes for a somewhat heavier cupcake. Not the ideal end result)
• Beat sugar, butter in a mixing bowl
• Beat in eggs one at a time
• Add the dry ingredients and milk in batches, alternating
• Beat in the lemon juice and zest
• Divide among the cupcake liners, bake 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean
• Allow to cool before frosting

Awesome Lemon Frosting

• 2/3 cup of softened butter
• 4 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 tspn of grated lemon zest
• 4 Tblspns of lemon juice

Method:

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, then the grated lemon peel, and enough lemon juice for the consitency you're looking for.  Served with Haagen-Dasz gelatos and some chocolate espresso bits.  Yummy.  

Some of these are a little more complicated than people generally like to tackle, but well worth the effort.  Your guests will appreciate your time and trouble, and you can rest assured that these types of dishes aren't everyday fare for any of them.  Plus when they turn out great, you can pat yourself on the back and be totally proud that you pulled it off!