Pre-Christmas Feast

Well, I was going to make a Caribbean Christmas feast for Sally's extended family, but we've been invited to one of their homes for Christmas Day dinner instead.

So I made my Caribbean dinner for our Sunday brunch instead:

Malanga Hash Browns

Mojo Pulled Pork Sliders

Moros y Christianos

Malanga Hash Browns

The term 'hash browned potatoes' dates back to 1888, and has, over the years encompassed many variations. I learned to make them with diced potatoes rather than shredded. Some perverts call those Potatoes O'Brien when fried with onion and bell peppers!

I took the concept of hashed browns to the Caribbean palate by substituting the root vegetable Malanga for potatoes. Malanga has a nice nuttiness compared to the flavor of potato. The one negative about malanga is that once peeled it has a slippery surface moisture similar to sliced raw sliced okra. Luckily, once cooked the slipperiness disappears.

1-1/2 lbs Malanga, peeled and cubed

1 Red and 1 Green Bell Pepper, diced large

1/2 Sweet Onion, diced large

1 tsp "Everyday" or "24/7" type general seasoning blend

Start frying the malanga in a bit of EVOO at medium high temperature. After five minutes or so, add the onion, bell pepper, and spice. Continue frying, turning so that things are cooked on all sides and browning. Plate and serve.

 Malanga 

Mojo Pulled Pork

4-1/4 lb Pork Butt

1 bottle Badiatm Mojo Sauce

I slow-cooked the roast overnight at 175F in my Saladmastertm MP-5 cooker. Just the meat and the mojo sauce. When done, I pulled the pork with a pair of forks. Since I didn't want too much mojo flavo, instead of pouring some of the cooking juices back over the shredded meat, I took a couple cups of the liquid and made a gravy so people could add as much as they wanted.  I served them as sliders.

Moros y Christianos

"Moors and Christians" is one of perhaps a dozen variations of 'beans & rice' that I know. This one comes from Cuba. Flavored yellow rice and black beans.

1 cup Jasmine Rice

1 Badiatm Sazon Tropical spice packet

1 cup dry Black Beans

1/2 tsp Thyme

1/2 tsp Marjoram

One cup of rice, two cups of water -- the classic formula. Add the Sazon Tropical spice packet, and cook as usual.

One cup dry beans, 3-4 cups water, with spices. DO NOT soak the beans overnight or any of that nonsense. Tests have proven that the 'old wives tale' of beans needing to be soaked overnight, is pure bull. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes or so.

The traditional Cuban presentation is a bed of the yellow rice topped with a mound of beans, rather than mixing the two together. Guests then scoop as much of each as they choose.

Badia Brand Spices

In case you haven't noticed, I'm  a fan of Badia brand spices in general ad specific spices or blends in particular.  On thing I like is that they package and sell small amounts of a number of spices for under $1, rather than forcing you to buy 'mass quantities' that will go stale before you can use the.  In particular.  They also make spice blends like the Sazon Tropical powder and their Mojo and Sour Orange liquids.  Their spices are always fresher and tastier than those in red and white cans or large glass bottles.

Pigeon Pea Progress

After experiencing Pigeon Peas in connection with our Barbados adventure earlier this year, we decided to try growing our own. Pigeon Peas grown on a woody stemmed shrub rather than the more common peas vines. We got some seeds and started them in pots, then planted them out in several places around Sally's yard. As you can see below at least one planting is doing well. The yellow and red blooms are pretty, and the pods will hopefully ripen soon.