Sunday Funday with our "Jamaica" friends

A little mishap at the start of our Jamaica honeymoon led us to Julie and Dan. When we first arrived at the Montego Bay airport our luggage was no where to be found and I was in a panic. On my honeymoon with no cloths but the ones I was wearing. Mind you, we came from Chicago and the weather is much different than Jamaica. A couple in the Sandals lounge had noticed our dilemma. I am sure they saw the terror in my face. Well, Sandals located the guy that mistakenly took our luggage brought it back to us at the Sandals lounge and we boarded the bus that had been waiting for us for about an hour. I am a strong believer in things happen for a reason and had we not had the luggage mishap, we never would have met Julie and Dan. They saw us in the lounge and cheered for us when we told them that our luggage was on it's way to us. We didn't know that they would be on that bus that was waiting for us.
We chatted for a while on the bus. They live in Brookfield and had heard of Zak's Place, where Josh works. It was neat to meet a couple from Chicago headed to the same resort. We hung out a few nights in Jamaica and had a blast and promised to meet up when we were back in the states. Well, today, we did that!
Julie, Dan and their very handsome son, Aiden, were gracious hosts. They grilled up a feast! And since this is a food blog I had to share her menu and the pictures of the food. it was crazy good!

First of all, in honor of Jamaica, we toasted the day with Rum Punch made with Appleton Jamaican Rum. She grilled a german potato salad. Yes, I said grilled. With corn on the cob with cajun butter and greek chicken salad sandwiches.

For dessert, Julie grilled bananas...yes, grilled again, with raspberries and a rum carmel sauce. It was so damn good that I was licking the plate.

It was a great spread, great food, and even better company. We had such a good time and it was a really nice treat to have someone cook for us. Julie is a fellow blogger so for recipes of her menu check out her blog at urbangrillgoddess.blogspot.com
She really is an urban grill goddess and if it can be grilled, the girl can grill it.
Thank you to the guy that mistakenly took our luggage because if it weren't for you we may never have met Dan and Julie. It's great to make new friends! I think we will keep them :-)

JERK!

In recent weeks, following our return from our honeymoon in Jamaica, I have realized I have a huge obsession with Jerk. Prior to Jamaica I had never had it before and I was very very excited to try it. That first night we were in Ocho Rios our resort held a huge beach party. There was more food then I knew what to do with but I was on a hunt for Jerk! I found it! Jerk Chicken on a huge open grill with a chef "jerking" around whole chickens cutting pieces to order and a side container with extra jerk sauce. That first bite my taste buds awoke and I was delighted. It was so damn delicious! Everyday of our stay I had a Jerk dish and bought 3 Jerk sauces and marinade from the gift shop.
Being home and trying to recreate it, well, not so easy. You can pretty much use jerk on anything. Fish, beef, chicken, pork, and someday I want to try to make Jerk lamb kabobs. My first attempt at Jerk, I used pork. It was not a huge success. There was a zip and tang that was missing and there was no heat. I got some tips from some locals after that failed attempt, thank you Lanjay, and made the second attempt dead on!

The key is to let it marinade overnight. The meat has to sit in all those spices or it's just not going to be the same. The first time I just rolled it around in the dry rub I made, threw it on the grill and brushed it with sauce. The second time we marinated the pork for a full 24 hours, grilled it, while covering with sauce and we nailed it! So yummy. Jerk has become one of my comfort foods, along with adobo and curry. And when I do make those Jerk Lamb Kabobs this summer, don't worry....I will blog about it! Now go Jerk something

Jerk Dry Rub
2 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons habanero chile pepper (fresh peper)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Jamaica 2011

Josh and I just got back from our honeymoon and WOW! I fell in love with Jamaica pretty hard. I didn't really know much about the country before we left. I knew it was very poor as most of the Caribbean is. I didn't know how hilly and extremely lush it is. The Caribbean Sea was more beautiful than I had imagined. A color that words could not do justice. The people were just as beautiful, inside and out.
I know that this is a food blog and we did have a lot of great cuisine but I am dedicating this entry to the island of Jamaica. Our new home away from home.
Being home, in Chicago, for a full day, I have found myself slip into a bit of a depression. I cried so much our last day and as our flight took off. Yes, I wanted to see my daughter, and yes I missed our cats and family but Josh and I had such an amazing experience it was too hard to say good-bye. Jamaica is magical and the people, however poor they are, know it. A lot of them have nothing but make shift shacks to live in and no shoes on their feet but what they do have is the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen. A "no problem, mon" attitude and Jamaica. They don't have much but what they do have is all they need and that is why I see so much happiness in their faces.
Most of these faces were the staff at Sandals Grande Riviera in Ocho Rios and I know that it's their job to put that smile on but being there a week, we opened up to them and got to know a few of them pretty well. On some of our excursions we met a few more and yes, they want to sell you things, and yes they want to braid your hair but it was never overwhelming or frightening. The 2 hour bus ride from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios is where I saw most of the real Jamaica. The homes, people, lifestyle. It was sad at first. Seeing all these places that I knew I could never live in...or could I? If I knew nothing else would it be so bad? We, here in America, have so much. Our big screen TV's, mac computers, ipods, iphones, video games, fancy cars, and huge homes...but do we need them? No. Do I enjoy them...well heck yes! Having to go just 1 week without all of that and not missing one thing, I truly surprised myself. I will admit that I am a pretty hardcore phone junkie and I really enjoyed keeping it locked up in the safe for a week. It was freeing. It was also great to discover that Sandals was a good company to work for. A lot of them said that it paid more than the other resorts and had benefits. One of the play makers Lori, said that on her work schedule would be a spa day that she got to enjoy while on the clock...now that is a perk that I am talking about.
The staff at te resort was another big part of Josh and I falling in love with Jamaica. Those infectious smiles on their face. Such truly laid back attitudes. I vowed to bring some of that philosophy back home with me. What you have is all you got and what you got is all you need and it's no problem mon.
Now....on to the food!

I enjoyed the Jamaican cuisine so much that I brought home 3 huge bottles of the Jamaican Jerk sauce and we are already trying to find out ways to make it when it's gone. Josh and I were walking through the gardens when a chef at the resort approached us just to talk and we got into a big conversation about jerk and he told us in depth how to make it at home and reassured me that the sauce we bought was the best kind. That right there is just an example of how great the staff at Sandals was. Everyday I bugged our concierge, Lanjay, and everyday he greeted me with a smile and open arms. They all did. I will be sure to right up a solid review on tripadvisor.com but now, back to the food.
Jerk...I am obsessed! I want to put it on everything. Jerk fish tacos, jerk lamb Kabobs, jerk adobo..etc. If anyone out there knows where we can go for some good authentic jerk in the city PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know.

Throughout the resort there were about 11 different restaurants and 4 grills. I enjoyed so much of it. It was way above average to me. Especially the curry and jerk dishes. I don't really remember what we had where, but I will scatter some pics throughout the blog.
The appetizers were some of my favs. We really enjoyed the crab cakes...

...we also had this really good shrimp and scallop appetizer. It was rolled up in a white cabbage, so good!

It was great to have an all inclusive resort because we used it up. Ordering as much as we could so that we could taste everything.

We enjoyed many of the desserts as well.

But still my favorite was the Jerk. It has now become one of my new favorite cuisines. I had never had before we went to Jamaica and now I just can't wait to recreate it. Stay tuned for that blog entry!

Yeah Mon!

Toni and Matt's Baby Shower

After having one heck of a week up in Toronto for work, I came home with one day to plan my sister, Toni's and Matt's baby shower. I didn't want it to be a typical shower with the typical cakes, favors, games and prizes. I spent Saturday morning racking my brain on what to do, buy, and how to make this shower a hit....ALL IN ONE DAY! I figured it out! I was going to make cupcakes, of coarse. I made three different flavors. Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting, my specialty, Vanilla with vanilla butter cream, another hit, and chocolate with mocha whip cream frosting. They turned out so cute and were a big hit. Neither Josh nor I got to eat one. The cupcake tower looked great with them neatly arranged and each cupcake had their own little baby boy themed topper.

I also made the baby shower favors. I took your basic rice krispy treats, dipped them in melted white chocolate and sprinkled them with a little blue sugar. They turned out better than I imagined and soooooo damn cute!

Since we had the shower at Zak's Place, where Josh works, we were able to have full range of the kitchen to roast up the main coarse. Josh roasted and entire pork loin. It was huge. It was longer than my entire quad but it was so delicious! He seasoned it with garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, and basil and roasted it over a mirepoix and some white wine. It was perfect and all gone before I could even breathe.

The shower was a blast and I had fun throwing it. We ate, we drank, we played some games for great prizes and in the end Matt and Toni got to celebrate with some good friends and family! Thanks to all for helping make it such a great day and for showing Matt and Toni lots of love and support!