The Sugar Mill Caribbean Cookbook (34 page)
Read The Sugar Mill Caribbean Cookbook Online
Authors: Jinx Morgan
Preheat the oven to 400°. Blanch the vegetable strips in boiling salted water for 5 to 8 minutes. Drain the vegetables, and rinse them in cold water.
Season the flour with the salt and pepper, and dust the cutlets with the mixture. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet, and cook the cutlets over high heat for about 30 seconds, until they are golden brown. Arrange them side by side on an oven-proof platter, and keep them warm.
In a bowl, mix the vegetables with the marjoram, the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, the tomato sauce, and salt to taste. Arrange some of the julienne strips on each cutlet. Cover each cutlet with a slice of cheese, and sprinkle with a little paprika. Put the platter in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the cheese melts. Serve at once.
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Makes 6 servings
Veal scaloppine is always delicious, but its cost can sometimes give one pause. If you want to try a scaloppine recipe without bending the budget, use turkey scallops instead. Available in most markets, turkey scallops are a perfect inexpensive substitute for special-occasion veal.
Basil grows like crazy in the Caribbean, and we raise several types in our shadehouse at the hotel. Beyond the broad-leafed common type, we also like lemon basil, with its crisp lemon fragrance; sacred basil, with its purple flowers and slight clove scent; Mexican spice basil; and opal basil, with its handsome ruby leaves.
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| ½ | cup butter |
| ¼ | pound ground veal |
| 2 | egg yolks |
| 2 | cups firmly packed basil leaves |
| ½ | cup grated parmesan cheese |
| 1 | tablespoon coarse-grained mustard |
| 1 | teaspoon salt |
| ½ | teaspoon ground white pepper |
| ½ | cup olive oil |
| 6 | loin veal chops, patted dry |
| Salt and pepper to taste | |
| ½ | cup dry bread crumbs |
To make the crust mixture, blend together the butter, veal, egg yolks, basil, parmesan cheese, mustard, salt, and pepper in a food processor, turning the machine on and off until the mixture is smooth. Chill the mixture, covered, until you're ready to roast the chops.
Preheat the oven to 400°. In a large, heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over moderately high heat. Season the veal chops with salt and pepper. Brown the veal chops in the skillet, then transfer them to a broiler pan. Coat one side of each chop with some of the crust mixture, smoothing the top. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly on the crust mixture, and roast the chops on the middle rack of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes (for medium-rare meat). After removing the chops from the oven, preheat the broiler, if you like, and brown the chops for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Serve them immediately.
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Makes 6 servings
The menus in Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Martin, and St. Barts are filled with so many seductive dishes that it's always hard to make a choice. The blend of Gallic and Creole cooking is made in heaven, especially when it is matched with fine French wines. As departments of France, each of these islands lives up to what is expected: four-hour lunches, six course meals, free flowing wine, and romance.
Most meals begin with
le 'ti punch,
a deadly little concoction of white rum, sugar syrup, lime, and ice. From there the choice is stupefying. Will it be
crabes farcies,
land crabs stuffed with French bread crumbs and herbs? Or would you rather try
blaff,
spanking fresh fish poached in wine flavored with lime, garlic, onions, bay, thyme, and peppers? Blood sausage fanciers will find spicy
boudin créole
a new taste treat. And let's not forget what happens when France meets India in
Colombo,
a Gallic version of curry.
Accras,
tender and crisp little salt cod fritters, are a delicious way to start any meal.
Because of its dual nationality, St. Martin (French)/ St. Maarten (Dutch) provides a wide variety of dining experiences. On this go-go isle of condos and casinos, food is still a serious business, and on the French side the competition among restaurants is vigorous. Whether in an elegant restaurant or a waterside bistro, the standards must be able to withstand the fierce scrutiny and culinary expectations the French always bring to the table.
On Guadeloupe, one of the biggest holidays is the Fête des Cuisinières in mid-August, when the best of the women cooks prepare their finest dishes as offerings to Saint Lawrence. Dressed in traditional madras costumes and headdresses that reflect the East Indian influences on the island, they carry their baskets to the cathedral in the main city of Pointe-à -Pitre. After the food is blessed at a high mass, the women parade through the streets to a school yard. Upon arrival, they join those lucky enough to have purchased the highly prized tickets for the celebration, in a full day of eating, drinking, and dancing the beguiling beguine, which began here, no matter what Cole Porter would have you think.
St. Barts is certainly one of the most chic islands in the Caribbean, combining an irresistible mix of
savoir faire
and quaint charm. It is the playground of the rich and famous who don't have to worry where their next
franc is
coming from. But, despite the need for smelling salts when
l'addition
arrives, diners are rarely disappointed in any of the meals they eat here.
If you can imagine Paris with a calypso beat you have conjured up a fair idea of the French islands.
The Sugar Mill is located at Little Apple Bay, the small inlet for which this dish is named. Although we grow sugar apples (sweet, custardy tropical treats), our climate doesn't favor true " apples. Happily, they travel well.
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| 6 | loin veal chops, patted dry |
| 2 | apples, sliced |
| 1 | large red bell pepper, sliced |
| 2 | tablespoons butter |
| ½ | cup raisins |
| ½ | cup chopped walnuts |
| 2 | cups veal broth |
| ½ | cup heavy cream |
| Salt and pepper to taste |
| ½ | cup chopped parsley |
Preheat the oven to 400°. Sear the veal chops on a grill (or in a very hot skillet). Place the chops on a baking pan, and finish cooking them in the oven, about 10 to 12 minutes.
While the veal is cooking, sauté the apples and pepper in the butter until they are slightly softened. Add the raisins and walnuts, and toss. Add the veal stock, and reduce the liquid by half over high heat. Add the cream and salt and pepper. Spoon the hot sauce over the chops, garnish with chopped parsley, and serve.
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Makes 6 servings
We make this succulent veal, in a sauce as green as grass, with our local vine spinach or with callaloo leaves as season and availability dictate.
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| 6 | tablespoons butter |
| 3 | pounds boneless veal for stewing, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch cubes |
| 3 | tablespoons flour |
| Â | Grated nutmeg |
| Â | Salt and pepper to taste |
| 3 | carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally |
| 2 | cups coarsely chopped onions |
| 1 | pound spinach or callaloo leaves, stemmed |
| ¼ | cup minced fresh dillweed, or 1 tablespoon dried dillweed |
| 3 to 4 | cup chicken broth |
| ¾ | cup heavy cream |
| Â | Hot buttered noodles |
| Chopped fresh tomatoes or red hell peppers |
| 1 dill sprig |
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Makes 6 serving.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Melt the butter in a heavy pot. Add the veal, and cook it over medium-low heat, turning it often, until it is firm but not brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir the flour, nutmeg, and salt and pepper together in a small bowl, and sprinkle the mixture over the veal. Continue to cook the veal over low heat, stirring, for 5 minutes. Do not let the meat brown.
Add the carrots, onions, and enough broth to just cover the meat and vegetables. Raise the heat to medium, and bring the mixture just to a boil. Cover the pot, transfer it to the oven, and bake the veal mixture for 1½ hours.
When you are ready to serve, chop the spinach very fine in a food processor or by hand, adding a little of the veal sauce, if necessary. Stir the chopped spinach and dill into the veal mixture. Add the cream, and heat the ragout through. Taste it, and adjust the seasonings, if you like.
Serve the ragout on a bed of buttered noodles, garnished with chopped tomatoes or peppers and a dill sprig.
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Makes 6 serving
As we planted our garden, we learned that many plants that thrive in the rocky, sun-baked soil of southern Italy do equally well in our situation. We've had basil plants that grew to the size of baby buggies. This is one way we like to use the harvest.
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| ¾ | cup butter |
| 3 | pounds boneless veal for stewing, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch cubes |
| ¼ cup flour | |
| Salt and pepper to taste | |
| 2 | cups coarsely chopped onions |
| 3 to 4 | cups chicken broth |
| ½ | pound wild or fresh mushrooms, or a combination, sliced |
| ¾ | cup heavy cream |
| ½ | cup minced basil |
| 2 | tablespoons lemon juice |
Preheat the oven to 350°. Melt ½ cup butter in a heavy pot. Add the veal, and cook it over medium-low heat, turning it often, until it is firm but not brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir the flour and salt and pepper together in a small bowl, and sprinkle the mixture over the veal. Continue to cook the veal over low heat, stirring, for 5 minutes. Do not let the meat brown.
Add the onions and enough broth to just cover the meat and onions. Raise the heat to medium, and bring the mixture just to a boil. Cover the pot, transfer it to the oven, and bake the veal mixture for 1½ hours.
Heat the remaining ¼ cup butter in a skillet, and sauté the mushrooms. When you are almost ready to serve, add the cream, cooked mushrooms, and minced basil to the veal. Heat the ragout thoroughly. Add the lemon juice and, if you like, more salt and pepper. Serve the ragout hot.
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Makes 6 servings
