Jamaican Curry Goat

Note: This recipe is a work in progress, I still need to fuss with it a little but it makes good goat! In the Boston area I get my goat at the Market Basket in Somerville -- great store! This is a pressure-cooker version -- if you don't have a pressure cooker, you're going to need to simmer this for at least 2 hours, maybe longer.

2 tablespoons Cooking Oil
1 Large Onion (chopped)
2 tablespoons Jamaican Curry Powder
3 lb. Goat Meat (cut up in bite sized pieces)
2 cloves Garlic (minced)
1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper (chopped and seeded)
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
2 tbsp. Salt
1 tsp Thyme
6 whole allspice seeds
1/4 cup Vinegar
Water to almost cover

Note: I substituted 2 tsp of Walkerswood dried jerk seasoning for the hot pepper, black pepper, allspice and thyme -- it is excellent and saves you the dangerous process of seeding and chopping a scotch bonnet pepper!

In the pressure cooker, heat the oil on high. Add curry powder and onion to the hot oil and stir for 1 minute. Add the goat meat and stir for two or three minutes, until nicely browned; be careful not to burn the meat.

Add the rest of the ingredients and enough water to just about cover the goat meat.
Cover the pot and follow the pressure cooker instructions for cooking on high (15 psi) for about 40 minutes. Take the pot off the heat and let the pressure decrease naturally.

(Optional) A lot of people add potatoes to this dish, or breadcrumbs to thicken the sauce. I haven't tried either. I like to serve it over rice.

Swiss Chard Quiche

I haven't actually tried this yet, but I was looking for a quiche recipe that used chard, and this is what I found. The combination of chard and goat cheese sounds interesting -- if you try it tell me what you thought.

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 small yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 thick slices
10 ounces swiss chard, coarsely chopped
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup nonfat milk
2 eggs
2 egg whites
salt
pepper

1 pie crust

Preheat oven to 350°F Add potato slices to a medium pot and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender, 5 to 10 minutes.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add chard and cook until stems are tender and leaves are wilted, stirring often (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and cook one minute more. Turn off heat, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Fill pie crust with a layer of potatoes and top with chard. Sprinkle goat cheese on top. Whisk together milk, eggs, salt and pepper and pour over quiche. Can also bake this "crustless" in an oiled baking dish.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Slice and serve.

King Cake

2 envelopes active dry yeast
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup warm milk (about 110°F)
5 large egg yolks, at room temperature
4 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 plastic king cake baby or a pecan half
5 tablespoons milk, at room temperature
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Purple-, green-, and gold-tinted sugar sprinkles

Combine the yeast and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Add the melted butter and warm milk and beat well. Add the egg yolks, then beat for 1 minute at medium-low speed. Add the flour, salt, nutmeg, and lemon zest and beat until everything is incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, forms a ball.

Remove the dough from the bowl. Using your hands, form the dough into a smooth ball. Lightly oil a bowl with the vegetable oil. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it to oil all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
Meanwhile, make the filling. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and 1 cup of the confectioner's sugar. Blend by hand or with an electric mixer on low speed. Set aside.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using your fingers, pat it out into a rectangle about 30 inches long and 6 inches wide. Spread the filling lengthwise over the bottom half of the dough, then flip the top half of the dough over the filling. Seal the edges, pinching the dough together. Shape the dough into a cylinder and place it on the prepared baking sheet seam side down. Shape the dough into a ring and pinch the ends together so there isn't a seam. Insert the king cake baby or pecan half into the ring from the bottom so that it is completely hidden by the dough. Cover the ring with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm, draft-free place. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush the top of the risen cake with 2 tablespoons of the milk. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the icing: Combine the remaining 3 tablespoons milk, the lemon juice, and the remaining 3 cups confectioner's sugar in medium-size mixing bowl. Stir to blend well. With a rubber spatula, spread the icing evenly over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with the sugar crystals, alternating colors around the cake.

The person who gets the slice with the baby in it has to throw the party next year!

Gin-Cassis Fizz

Quantities for one drink:
2 1/2 oz Gin
1 1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 tsp Superfine Sugar
4 oz Club Soda
1/2 oz Creme de Cassis

Blending Instructions:
In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine the gin, lemon juice, and sugar
Shake well
Strain into a collins glass almost filled with ice cubes
Add the club soda
Stir well
Drop the cassis into the center of the drink

Collection of Cynar recipes

Cynar cocktail
1 oz white vermouth
1 oz Cynar
1 orange wedge

Cynar Martini
2 ounces Cynar
6 ounces vodka
Splash of orange juice


Cynar Breeze
1 ounce Cynar
3 ounces vodka
1 ounce grapefruit juice


Sicilian Iced Tea
4 ounces Prosecco sparkling wine
2 ounces Cynar
Splash of lime juice

Trident
1 ounce Cynar
1 ounce aquavit
1 ounce dry sherry
2 dashes Fee's peach bitters

Muffaletta

For the olive salad:
1 gallon large pimento stuffed green olives, drained and chopped
1 quart jar pickled cauliflower, drained and chopped
2 small jars capers, drained
1 whole stalk celery, sliced diagonally
4 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced diagonally
1 small jar celery seeds
1 small jar oregano
1 large head fresh garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 jar pepperoncini, drained (small salad peppers) left whole
1 jar cocktail onions, drained

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl or pot and mix well. Place in a large jar and cover with 1/2 olive oil. Store tightly covered in refrigerator. Allow to marinate for at least 24 hours before using.


For the sandwich:
1 round loaf italian bread (muffaletta bread is basically just pizza dough, shaped into a flattened round a little thicker than a pizza and sliced in half) 
1/2 pound mortadella, thinly sliced
1/2 pound hard Genoa salami, thinly sliced
1/2 pound capicola, thinly sliced
1/2 pound Provolone cheese,sliced
1 cup olive salad with oil

Chicken Curry with Cashews

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
2 medium onions, finely chopped (2 cups)
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
3 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 (3 1/2- to 4-lb) chicken, cut into 10 serving pieces
1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 cup cashews (1/4 lb)
3/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

Accompaniment: cooked basmati or jasmine rice
Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro

Heat butter in a 5- to 6-quart wide heavy pot over moderately low heat until foam subsides, then cook onions, garlic, and ginger, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add curry powder, salt, cumin, and cayenne and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook, stirring to coat, 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, including juice, and cilantro and bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes. (If making ahead, see cooks' note, below.)

Just before serving:Pulse cashews in a food processor or electric coffee/spice grinder until very finely ground, then add to curry along with yogurt and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring, until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.

Cooks' note: Curry, without yogurt and cashews, can be made 5 days ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Reheat over low heat before stirring in yogurt and ground cashews.