Half Moon Bay Trading Company - Caribbean Condiment

     So this week, I have the first of a 4-part review for a series of products from Half Moon Bay Trading Company. These 4 sauces/marinades come from their "Pirates Blend" line of sauces.

 

 

     This first one is called Caribbean Condiment and is a tico sauce from Costa Rica. A tico sauce is a staple in Costa Rica, kind of like ketchup in the USA, although not sweet. It's a blend of different spices that gives itself a spicy flavor, but there's no heat with it.

     This one from Half Moon Bay Trading Company is a blend of ginger, cumin, mustard, garlic, celery and cayenne sauce. The flavor is reminiscent of a nice yellow curry but slightly different.

     I decided to test out it's adaptability this past week by trying it out as a dipping sauce for some chicken tenders from Publix (some of the best tenders around) and mixed in with some basmati rice I made for my lunch at work.

     I have to say, it did not disappoint at all! The spices added some wonderful flavor to the chicken tenders, making them even tastier than normal. When I mixed it in with the basmati rice I had, holy crap was that good! The cumin, ginger, and garlic made a nice strong presence without being overpowering. The mustard provided a wonderful base that carried all the flavors. While the celery and cayenne made a nice finish to this beautifully crafted sauce.

     This sauce is a perfect blend of spices and will definitely becoming a major part of my kitchen staples! I can't wait to try out of one of the other four sauces or put this on some grilled food next weekend!

     The Caribbean Condiment sauce is available in stores, but if you have trouble finding it, you can always order online from them at http://www.halfmoonbaytrading.com/sauces/pirates-blend-caribbean-condiment

Enjoy and have fun experimenting with this wonderfully tasty sauce!

French Lemon and Roasted Garlic Chicken

     Alright you scallywags, here's a new recipe for the lot of ya. I recently tried my hand at a low-sodium dish (me blood pressure be a bit too high) and it was really good! So let me be sharing it with you all.

French Lemon and Roasted Garlic Chicken

by Ellen Brown

Ingredients:

1 (3.5-4 pound) Frying Chicken, cut into serving pieces with each breast cut lengthwise in half

Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste

2 tsp Dried Thyme

1/4 Olive Oil

2 Heads Garlic, broken into cloves but not fully peeled (leave the last skin on)

1 C Low-Sodium Chicken Broth

1/4 C Lemon Juice (or lime if you prefer)

2 Tbl Fresh Parsely, chopped (optional in my opinion)

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 400°, and grease a 10x14-inch baking pan.

2) Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels.

3) Sprinkle chicken with black pepper and rub with thyme

4) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then place chicken in pan, skin side down.

5) Brown chicken for 2 minutes per side, or until browned, and then transfer chicken to baking dish using tongs

6) Add garlic cloves to the skillet and brown for 2 minutes, then add the chicken broth and juice to the skillet.

7) Bring to a boil and then pour over the chicken

8) Bake chicken for 25 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165° in the thickest piece (usually the thigh)

9) Season to taste with black pepper and parsely (I didn't add anymore black pepper or parsley and I thought it was very good)

     I looked through several low-sodium cookbooks to find one that made my stomach growl with anticipation and this recipe really got my interest.  You can use lemon juice or lime juice in this and I opted for the lime juice and boy was it good! I thought this was incredibly tasty and it was quite healthy as well, so if any of ye have a bit of high blood pressure, check out this recipe and more in the book $3 Low-Sodium Meals by Ellen Brown.

When Grandma Finds Out You Haven't Eaten

Aye! This be truer than the blue sea! Now can any of you scurvy knaves tell me what kind of pan she's cooking in?

First one to get it right will get 2 extra entries into this year's Pirate Chef Contest coming up in September!

 

You can post your answer here on the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ThePirateChefPage/ 

Sloppy Joe Quesadilla

     Who doesn't enjoy a good Sloppy Joe sandwich? Well next time you're making some and you be feeling like switching it up a bit, try a Sloppy Joe quesadilla! This is not a recipe but more of an idea for you all, you can use any cheese you want, I just prefer Colby Jack for this kind of stuff.

1) Preheat panini maker [check your instruction manual for settings] or pan [if you're doing it on the stovetop]

2) Take a flour tortilla and put about 5 pieces of thinly sliced Colby Jack cheese on half of it.
 
3) Then spoon enough Sloppy Joe mix to cover the cheese, draining as much liquid as you can off.
 
4) Put another 5 pieces of thinly sliced Colby Jack cheese on top.
 
5) Fold over other half of tortilla shell.
 
6) Cook quesadilla until shell starts to brown and cheese is melted.
 
7) Cut into halves or quarters and enjoy!

Grilled Asian Chicken

Summertime be upon us lads and lasses, so fire up them grills and let's get cooking!

     Here's a recipe I found that my mother came up with who knows when, I rescued it from the deep dark recesses of my parents computer and tried it out this past week. It was very good and wonderfully tasty!

Grilled Asian Chicken

by The Pirate Chef's Mom

Ingredients:

3/4 C Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1/2 C No Pulp Orange Juice

1 tsp Fresh Ginger, finely chopped

1 Clove Garlic, finely chopped

2 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breasts

Directions:

1) Mix soy sauce, orange juice, ginger, and garlic together.

2) Place chicken breasts in a small container suitable to marinade in.

3) Let sit for 3-4 hours or overnight (I prefer overnight), turning over halfway through if the marinade doesn't fully cover the chicken.

4) Preheat grill and wipe down with a little cooking oil (helps to prevent sticking to some degree)

5) Place chicken on a separate plate and pour the marinade in a small pot.

6) Bring remaining marinade to a boil on the stove so that you can use it to baste the chicken as it cooks. **Please Read Safety Precaution at regarding this**

7) Place chicken on grill and brush on marinade whenever you flip it over.

8) When chicken is done, remove from grill and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. This allows the juices to be reabsorbed into the meat so that it doesn't dry out so quickly.

**Safety Precaution: Always bring your marinade to a boil before using as a basting sauce. Not doing so could result in a nice little visit to the ER.

The Shimmery Fin Drink

     Here's something for you lovers of things that shimmer and shine. No, not gold, put away your treasure maps and shovels.

The Shimmery Fin

by The Pirate Chef

 

 

Ingredients:

   3/4 oz Spiced Rum

   3/4 oz White/Silver Rum

   1 1/2 oz Margarita Mix

   1/2 oz Blue Curacao

   1/4 tsp Blue Pearl Dust (used for cake decorating)

Directions:

   1) Place the pearl dust into rocks glass

   2) Combine all the other ingredients

   3) Stir and add a couple of ice cubes

   4) Swirl and enjoy the shimmering show!

   If you don't want the shimmery part of this drink, simply omit the pearl dust and enjoy, it is quite tasty either way!

   Pearl dust is generally available in any specialty craft store that deals in cake decorating products and comes in a variety of colors. The ratio of it that I used for this was 1/4 tsp to roughly 4 oz of liquid and that can be used for any drink you want to add this look to.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to the lot of ye! Today, I have a recipe for Beef and Guinness stew for you, so if you are tired of the traditional corned beef dish, try something a little different!

Beef and Guinness Stew

by The Pirate Chef

Ingredients:

2.5 lbs Stew meat (I like to use a nice beef roast)

3 Tbls Oil

2 Tbls Flour

Salt and black pepper

1/2 Cup Flour

4 oz Butter

1 Large onion, chopped

1 Clove garlic, crushed

2 Tbls Tomato paste, mixed with 4 T water

1 Bottle Guinness Draught

1 lb Baby carrots

1 lb Small red potatoes, halved and then quartered

Sprig of thyme or 1/3 tsp dried

Sprig of rosemary or 1/3 tsp dried

2 Bay leaves

4 Cups Beef broth

Directions:

1) Trim the meat of any fat or gristle, and cut into 2-inch cubes.

2) Toss beef with 1 tablespoon of the oil.

3) In a small bowl, season the 2 Tbls flour with salt and pepper.

4) Toss meat with seasoned flour.

5) Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a medium-large pot over high heat.

6) Brown the meat on all sides in small batches.

7) Remove the meat and set aside.

8) Add the onion and crushed garlic to the pot and saute until tender.

9) Add the butter and melt.

10) Whisk in the 1/2 cup of flour to make a roux.

11) Turn the heat down to low and cook the roux until it is brown, do not let it get to a brick color, that's too long!

12) Whisk in the beef broth, Guinness, and tomato paste.

13) Bring the stew to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low.

14) Add the aromatics and beef, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is starting to get tender and the liquid is slightly reduced, about 1 1/2 hours.

15) Add the carrots and potatoes and cook, covered and stirring occasionally, until the meat and vegetables are tender, about 1 more hour.

16) Remove the bay leaf and the thyme and rosemary stems before serving.

17) ENJOY!

If the stew gets too thick, you might not have browned the beef enough or cooked the roux long enough. This is a simple fix, just heat up some more beef broth or some water in another pot and mix it in, just a little at a time, to reach the desired consistency. This is not a perfect fix but it keeps the stew from overcooking while not taking much away from the flavor.