Category: Travel

Honey Basted Jerk Chicken

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What is Honey Basted Jerk Chicken you may ask? I confess I took culinary artistic license with traditional Jerk chicken . Rather than BBQ outside I wanted  an easy indoor version of the Spicy Jamaican Favorite. The method of cooking Jerk style is essentially making a dry or wet rub of all spice, cloves, garlic, hot peppers(scotch bonnet ) and  other spices that was originally developed as  a smoking method of preservation among the natives of the Caribbean Islands.Jerk anything has evolved into a world wide favorite with commercial blends readily available. Rather than buy a commercial  Jerk blend , I wanted to make my own Jerk rub as I had a canister of allspice sitting on my pantry shelf.I saw a television spot on a local Jerk restaurant and became fascinated watching how they make their own Jerk rub. I figured I could make my own.I took some liberty and switched out  some ingredients for what I had. For instance, I used my Sambal, in place of Scotch Bonnet Peppers for the heat. This recipe is  by no means authentic, but makes a very tasty overnight marinade for chicken.To neutralize the heat, I basted my boneless chicken thighs with honey as they cooked on the indoor grill pan. The result was a a great chicken dish in which Certain Someone devoured.  Bear in my nothing beats Jerk Chicken cooked over coals and fire, but this recipe will do in a pinch.


You will need a good blender or food processor for this. You can alter and adjust ingredient proportions to taste. Less heat, more sweet, etc.

Honey Basted Jerk Chicken
8 Boneless Chicken thighs or breasts
Jerk Marinade
2 Tablespoons of  whole All Spice Berries
1/2 cup lime juice
1 cup water
1 inch fresh ginger peeled
2 tsp dried Thyme
1 tsp sea salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or grape seed oil
1 bunch scallion chopped
1 onion chopped
6-8 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon Sambal or 2 Scotch Bonnet Peppers
Baste
1/2 cup honey
In a mixer of food processor combine all the Marinade ingredients and puree thoroughly.Pour marinade over chicken pieces and cover. Refrigerate over night .
Remove chicken from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature for about 15-20 minutes.
Make sure kitchen is well ventilated.
Prepare an indoor grill pan and heat. Brush grill pan with a little vegetable oil and add chicken which has been removed piece by piece from the marinade.
Sear  chicken  on each side for a few minutes each  to make grill marks. Continue to grill chicken until almost done. During the last few minutes of cooking brush the chicken pieces with honey on both sides . Remove from heat .
Serve.


Presenting Coco The Magazine…Some things You Just Have To Make Happen.

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When I was child, even before magazine editors became household words, I always loved and collected magazines. Stacks and stacks of sophisticated magazines on Food and Fashion from all over the world. Other kids had games, and I had my Vogue , Gourmet , Vanity Fair, etc. I knew somehow, someway, I was going to get in those magazines some day or become a part of it. And surprisingly I did. I can count three times, in my socialite days here in Chicago, my photo made some publications .Not a big deal, but fun and exciting. Then I started writing  my blog and loved seeing the process unfold. I even got asked to write some more here and there. All this was great but where was it leading to personally and financially? In the blogging world I see a lot of great people get the deals to go on TV and write books. I’m still waiting but I try and I stay in the game because I do love it, whether it amounts to much or not. It’s about personal satisfaction at this stage in life. And sometimes in order to be satisfied you gotta take the bull by its horns. And that’s what I’m doing, by making my own magazine.
But first, here is a little back story. A few months ago, a friend who I worked with asked me to help out her friend with a last minute interview on her radio show. Ogi, the shows hostess , was a entrepreneurial woman who had her own boutique and was passionate about what she did. As what happens with bumps in the road of life, she had to reconvene and figure out another avenue to go on. She decided to launch her magazine. You may have seen me mention it. It’s called Hush, and I contribute food content. Just witnessing the pride and joy in creating this magazine got me thinking and inspired. It seems we both inspired each other. Perhaps that why we met? Why can’t I have a magazine too, based solely on things that matter to me. I have only seen maybe one or two food bloggers do this, and mine still is unique in concept. I also wanted hard copy, as opposed to electronic copy. I suppose that’s weird in this age, but one can’t deny the appeal  and intimacy of paper in hand. I wanted my magazine to focus on mainly food ,travel. or cultures. And so Coco was born.Coco was created through the brillance of the concept of MagCloud, a division of HP that allows people like you and me to publish their own magazines f or a fraction of the cost of traditional printing porcesses.. I hope you like my first issue, Discovery through the Palate. A Travel and Food Diary. It was a lot of work and fun piecing this together and I got great feedback from friends who know all about media. Call it a vanity project, but I want to give you the reader an up close, intimate view of some of my world and travels.It’s almost like a diary or scrapbook, full of great visuals, recollections, recipes, and places I would recommend when travelling. Coco is a little art and little reference. I plan to produce 4 themed issues and hope you consider placing an order. Each edition is meant to be timeless in that it’s not limited by seasons. Coco is perfect for those that are planning a trip or just aren’t able to travel, but are interested in the world at large and want to pick up an interesting tidbit here and there. It’s more than a magazine. Click here to order in the US, Canada, and The UK.





Greensbury Farms Organic Chicken With Borowiki Mushrooms And Pumpkin Seed Oil

After travel, no matter how much you love it, there is no place like home and a home cooked restorative meal. When I travel I love to discover a place via its food. I have always been impressed with the food of Europe. Austria is a gateway to the East and one finds not only rich, sturdy,and at times decadent food, but a emphasis on health. If you go to any restaurant you will see Kurbis or Pumpkin on the menu. And in these regions like Austria and Slovenia, they love Pumpkin Oil which they drizzle on anything from soups , salads, and meats.Pumpkin Oil is high in health benefits. One doesn’t cook with it, but use it as a finishing oil to retain the beneficial properties( rich in vitamins, omegas, good in urinary and prostate health, irritable bowel, and kidney stones). In the United States it’s hard to find and quite costly at around $25 a bottle from I have seen. But its available via mail order .
Europeans have always adhered to seasonal and local eating which we are just getting enthusiastic about here. Eating this way is not always convenient or affordable. I was lucky to receive organic meat and chicken samples from Greensbury Market.

I’m usually not a huge fan of mail order frozen meats. I will use them if on hand,but not something I go out the way to purchase. Greenbury sent me both beef and chicken. Prior to leaving I made the beef which was genuine 100 Grass Fed Top Sirloin. Just a simple grill with homemade steak sauce from Michael Symons Live to Cook book I won from Feeding Maybelle. It was excellent. The flavor and texture survived the freezing process and was really quite exceptional.

So after resting from a literal 24 hour journey with a long rest in Krakow Poland, where I spent my time looking at the Polish Vodkas in Duty free and buying Dried Polish mushrooms, I reintroduced myself to my kitchen. I took the Greensbury Farm Chicken Fillets, which are just as superb as the beef, and decided to incorporate my Pumpkin Oil and Borowiki mushrooms. A quick simple meal with a nod to my love of European Flavors.

The dried mushrooms are the King of Forest Mushrooms in Poland and emit a rich earthy flavor. If you google Polish Dried Mushrooms, you will find all sorts of sources to order from. Just soak the mushroom in hot water and let sit for 5 minutes or more. Don’t discard the liquid, as it can be used in the cooking. I used my mushroom liquid in the boiling of Quinoa, which was a side dish.
Greensbury Farms Organic Chicken With Borowiki Mushrooms And Pumpkin Seed Oil
2 Servings
2 Greensbury Farm Organic Chicken Breasts
1/2 onion chopped coarsely
1 cup Boiling water
1/4 dried Borowiki Mushrooms ( you can use regular mushrooms as well, but try to get Borowiki. The flavor is intense.)
1/4 cup Chicken Stock
1/2 teaspoon dried mustard powder
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
Dried Thyme
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Pumpkin Seed Oil
Soak Dried Borowiki Mushrooms in 1 Cup Boiling water. Let sit for 5 minutes.
In a skillet heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add Chicken breasts. Cook for a few minutes on each side to sear on medium high heat. Season with salt and pepper. Add chopped onions to skillet and brown with the chicken.Add Thyme and dried Mustard powder. Reduce heat to low medium. Once onions start to brown, de glaze pan with the chicken stock. Add mushrooms( save liquid for cooking rice, Quinoa, etc.). Reduce stock and mushrooms with the chicken. Add fresh heavy cream and cook until reduced and thickened slightly. Plate and drizzle with the Pumkin Seed Oil.
Serve hot.

Remember The Soul… Bob Curtis


I had grown up knowing I had this exotic worldly uncle who lived in Rome and was a dancer. When my mother married my stepfather and went to Rome on her honeymoon, she came back with this big Italian Harper’s Bazaar , where my uncle was in a fashion spread with fellow Italian dancers decked out in jewels, furs, and watches. That layout made a vivid impression on me and reinforced my desire to study in Europe and one day be a designer. I went onto to Europe at seventeen and never connected with my Uncle Roy, or Bob as he was known to many .
When my mother died in 2000, I picked up the phone to call him. It was our first conversation ever and he immediately flew ‘home’ for his eldest nieces Memorial service. My mother wanted a cremation and we had a beautiful two day music and dance filled memorial service. I had a cousin show up with her boyfriend at the time who was in the funk group Cameo, and all sorts of people from various walks of life. And then there was Bob, or Roy as he was know to his family . Everyone was blown away when they saw this beautiful man dance down the aisles. He must have been in his mid seventies , but his movement and grace captured all. I could feel my Mommy’s spirit beaming at this spectacular service. All who didn’t know him were amazed that this man ,who was so fit and had body most people cant attain, was in his seventies. Uncle Bob was home and he reconnected with his surviving siblings.
I next flew to Vienna to visit him later that year with my Auntie Mame. He had a big exposition of his artwork,called Remember The Soul, in which he was focusing on now, that the dance career was winding down. So many friends and admirers turned out for his exhibition, and its seemed as if Vienna was at at our feet. His friends were so eager to see his nieces from America and were curious about us. He was so happy we were there for him.It was truly an artistic and glamorous crowd.That first trip to Vienna was so memorable. I since returned a few more more times , the last being for his grand 80th birthday celebrations in 2004. A book on his life was also released to coincide with this event. He looked a little weaker and thinner as he caught a bug while traveling and teaching in Africa. His heart weakened more and more over time. He gave me some art on that trip and I remember going through photos with him and looking back over his life. He dropped the names of all these glamorous and beautiful people one only reads about. He was frank and real about his life and experiences. His life was one for the books.
His dear friend Christoph came to the US last year for his one man show. While here, he was also working on a documentary of my dear uncle. We were worried as we knew he was getting frailer and older. His manager and good friend had passed away earlier and we all started to wonder what if? Good friends, like Renate continued to look after him. The family gathered at Auntie Mame’s condo and we spoke to Uncle Bob via the miracle of Skpe. It was amazing to see this man, born in 1925 in Mississippi, just as chic and slim as ever in his black turtle neck surrounded by his art, talk to his many generations of family via a Mac Book, just after the election of our nations first black president. I guess on some level we all knew. Uncle Bob never wanted to trouble us and kept his health struggles to himself for the most part. As of recently there was talk of a exposition.
On Saturday Auntie Mame and I will fly to Vienna for his funeral.
We will Remember the Soul and toast his beautiful life.

You can read and see more of his amazing life here.

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