Chicken breast with Maple Syrup and Bacon

Using a non-stick pan cook the chicken breast. Wrap thin rashers of bacon around the chicken. Add maple syrup but keep the fire low so not to burn the chicken. After a few minutes the bacon should be cooked. Add a little more maple syrup. 

We ate the chicken with roast potatoes.

Barbadian Fast Food

A lot of Barbadian (Bajan) fast food is really good quality.
One of our favourite places is Just Grillin' found in Holetown, St James and Rockley, Christ Church.

Grilled dolphin sandwich with coleslaw and Caesar Salad
 at Just Grillin', Holetown

Everything is grilled from the potatoes and vegetables to shrimp, chicken and burgers. I think the food is healthy and really tasty and my children love it.

Forgot to mention, Dolphin is a type of steak fish it is not actual dolphin.














I know that these are chips but it is so nice to be served fresh chips not frozen ones. This meal was from a beach bar called Ju Ju's in The Garden, St James.

Grilled flying fish sandwich with squash and vegetables from
Just Gillin', Holetown, St James 

'Big Fat Greek Burger' from Opà, Limegrove Centre,
 Holetown, St James

Grilled marlin sandwich with coleslaw and rice and peas, from
Just Grillin', Holetown, St James

Bakewell Style Cake

Form crumbs 

Add water and make into a smooth ball

Using 500g of flour, 250g of butter and a little sugar make the pastry base. Make a breadcrumb-like mixture then add cold water slowly until you can make a ball that's not sticky and well formed.


Roll out to about 1.5cm thick. Place the baking tin you are going to use on the pastry. Cut around it and then grease the tin and place the pastry inside it. 


Bake the pastry 'blind' by placing greaseproof paper on the pastry and then weighing it down with rice or dried beans. Bake at 160° for about 15 minutes or until the pastry is almost cooked.


Spread cherry jam or your favourite flavour onto the pastry base.


For the cake mixture cream 300g of sugar and 300g of butter together. Add lemon zest and the juice of 1 1/2 lemons.


Add 5 eggs and mix well. Stir in 400g of flour and a packet of baking powder, (about a tablespoon). 


Pour the mixture onto the pastry base and
bake for about half an hour until golden. Use
a chop stick or something similar to check
if the cake is cooked.

Place in a greased baking tin

I had some mixture left over so I half filled  cup cake cases with it then added a spoonful of jam. Put some mixture on top of the jam. Bake again at 160° for about 10 minutes or until golden.

Roll out pastry

Cover with greaseproof paper and add rice

Bake until almost cooked

Add your favourite jam

The cake mixture

Pour on top of the pastry case 

Smooth the mixture

Ready to eat

Add a little jam 

Enjoy the cup cake.

Hot Cross Buns

The dry ingredients

I use my usual bread recipe to make the buns. For about 18 buns you will need:

700g flour

350g of sultanas

2 packets of yeast

1 tablespoon of sugar

400ml of water

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Cinnamon and spice to taste

Pastry for the crosses

Sometimes I might add an egg but this time I didn’t. Also substituting some of the water for milk means the bun may be softer.

Warm water and oil added to the mixture

Add the yeast, sugar, sultanas and spice to the flour. Stir well and then make a well in the mixture. Add the water and oil and  mixing until you can form a soft ball from the dough. Add more water if it is too dry or flour if the mixture is too wet.

Turn onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. Put the dough back into the bowl and leave to rise for at least an hour. I left mine for about 6 hours as I went to my son’s football match.

After the dough has risen turn out once again and knead. Cut pieces of the dough into the size you prefer and form into buns.

Form into a ball

Place on grease-proof paper and brush with egg.

Cut out strips of pastry and form crosses on the buns (see Salmon and Prawns in crust for my pastry recipe), http://mummywhatsfordinner.blogspot.it
/2012/02/salmon-and-prawns-in-crust.html

 Brush with egg again and sprinkle with brown sugar.

The risen dough

Knead the dough

Divide into pieces and form into balls

Brush with egg

Make crosses with pasrty

Hot Cross Buns

Bake for about 15 minutes at 200° . The buns are cooked when they make a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Sauce

What is Easter without a rich chocolate cake? I like strong flavours so I adapted this recipe to make it extra moist and chocolaty.

Place 150g of brown sugar (I ran of brown sugar so I used white), 200g of dark chocolate and 150g of butter into a heat-proof bowl. Melt over a saucepan filled with simmering water. When I have been pushed for time I have melted everything in the microwave but it is better not to.

Remove the bowl from the heat and mix straight away.

Add two eggs making sure to stir continuously so that the egg doesn’t start to cook.

Add 150g of flour 2 heaped tablespoons of dark chocolate powder and mix very well.

Pour the mixture into a fairly deep dish or baking pan as you

will have to add the sauce mixture.

For the chocolate sauce heat 400mls of spring water then add 3 heaped tablespoons of dark chocolate powder and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Stir well then pour over the cake mixture. Make sure that the cake is covered. Don’t worry if you have some sauce left over.

Place the cake inside another tin filled with water and cook in the middle of the oven at 180° for about half an hour.

When ready the cake will appear almost black and may have cracks in it.

This cake is very rich so don’t eat lots of it at one time!

Speck filled Focaccia

I used my usual recipe for bread, http://mummywhatsfordinner.blogspot.it/2012/02/herby-beefburgers-with-fresh-bread.html

After leaving the dough to rise, roll into a rectangle shape. Place strips of Speck ham on the bottom half of the dough. On the other half I spread some tomato pureè.

Fold the dough over and seal the edges. Use your finger to make dimples in the dough and pour some olive oil on top. I wouldn't sprinkle salt on top like traditional focaccia as the speck already has salt in it.

Place on grease-proof paper and bake at 200° in the middle of the oven for until the focaccia has risen and is golden.

Place strips of Speck on the dough

Spread some tomato pureè on the dough

Bake until golden brown

Ready to eat

Serve with a lovely green salad.

Apologies

Sorry that I haven't been blogging but have had my telephone line down for a coupl of weeks.

Stephanie

Potato Salad with Bruschetta

Chop and drain the tomatoes

For the bruschetta chop the tomatoes into small pieces. Drain well. I leave the tomatoes in the colander for at least 20 minutes to make sure excess water drains away. If you want to add salt now is good time as that also helps to extract water.

Put the tomatoes into a bowl and add olive oil, black pepper, chopped garlic and your preferred herb. I use basil, parsley or oregano.

Bruschetta bread

Put the tomatoes on slices of bread. If you don't have large slices of bruschetta bread just use normal sliced bread. Cook in the oven until the bread starts to turn golden.










When I make potato salad I don't add mayonnaise
to it as I don't like it. I bring it to the table separately.

Boil potatoes but don't let them get mushy. Drain
well and leave to cool.

Place in a bowl and add chopped celery, parsley,
black pepper and olive oil. Stir well making sure

Add the tomato mix

Boil and drain the potatoes

not to break up the potatoes. Put in the fridge and
leave to cool.

I like the combination of the hot bruschetta with the
cold potato salad.

Add chopped celery, black pepper and parsley to the potatoes

Stir well

A light meal