From the outside, I didn’t know what to expect when I went in because I saw the show a long time ago and honestly mostly remembered the story and not the details of decor etc.

The entire bar, washroom, store area is decorated with license plates and retro stuff. It definitely would give one the impression that the place is bursting with personality, history and charm.

When I got in, I went to the restroom to wash up and then once I returned I was greeted and asked if I’d like to be seated. The dining room area was larger than I expected and my goodness it was packed!!! I was surprised that that many people were in there at around 2pm on a Thursday. I overheard the folks at the table next to me that they had traveled all the way from Maryland to try the wings! Good for them! I don’t know if I’d travel almost 400 miles JUST to try food. Especially not these wings. Can you tell where this is going? Alright, I love food. I loveeeeee eating out. I don’t do it nearly as often as I used to but I love the opportunity to have someone else cook for me and let me tell you, if it’s good, then I don’t mind paying the price.

When I looked at the menu here, 10 wings were $13. Cool. I’d rock with it because hey, these are famous wings right? Supposedly GREAT wings right? Ah…no! The wings were ok at best. Now they weren’t bad. They were good but I’ve had better wings at Hooters, better wings at Chili’s, better wings at T.G.I.F and the list can go on and on. Now what I liked about them was that they were large, they were not breaded, crispy fried skin and tasty. The sauce options are mild, medium, hot, suicidal and Bar-B-Que. I went with the HOT and honestly there was nothing hot about it. Maybe I should have gotten the suicidal? I don’t know.

My waitress was very pleasant and friendly, so this place gets an A for customer service. She was prompt, she checked on me several times, made conversation with me and acted like she wanted my business. I really liked that. But as for these wings, as I said, they were ok-good. Maybe my expectations were too high. Can you blame me? When Guy Fieri is there closing his eyes and savoring in the food, acting like he is in heaven and then proclaiming those are the best wings he’s ever had, can you REALLY blame poor, old, gullible me? I think not!

They surely do look beautiful don’t they? They just needed a tad bit of seasoning. Something to give them a little more flavor. For the price I was paying I’d really think they’d be better. I ended up eating 4 wings there and then asking for a container to box up the rest and take them away.

As I was leaving, I stopped by their store and inquired about their individual sauces. They were $5 each but I decided to purchase the set of 5 which included all the sauces ($25) so when I get back home, I’ll be winging it up and I’ll definitely let you know what I think of these sauces. I used to like Frank’s but now Sweet Baby Rays make an AWESOME wing sauce that is now my favorite so hopefully these sauces are just as good as the aforementioned. I’ll cross my fingers.

As one person on Trip Advisor put it “Overpriced for average at best wings. They may have founded the (buffalo) chicken wing but they certainly did not master it” And there you have it folks.

Here’s my Gracie after she got smashed. I was at fault (according to the law) by the way.

It really bugged me that I drove in the US all this time, even drove 11 hours without incident to get to this country, got to Toronto with its CRAZY drivers and then this happened. Thank Goodness I’m safe though. I have health, strength and a $200 deductible. Sooo….yeah, I’m good!

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Ingredients:

4 oz guava paste
2 cups guava nectar
8-10 strawberries, sliced
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups rum

Method:
1. Combine all ingredients except rum in a blender and bled until there are no chunks of strawberry or guava paste remaining.
2. After making the strawberry-guava mixture, add the rum and blend until fully incorporated. Serve in glasses with ice.
3. Enjoy!

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I had a soy-brown sugar-ginger salmon with jasmine rice and some sautéed spinach on one plate and chopped cucumbers and tomatoes on another plate. The recipe for that salmon is HERE

My “filtered” pic that I posted on Instagram.

And how about this Jerk Chicken Salad? YUM-O

I made my Classic Crème Brûlée

For breakfast one morning last weekend, I decided to make a fine fare. I made potato latkes, buttermilk biscuits, oven fried bacon, a mushroom and pepper omelette and cheesy scrambled eggs. Passionfruit Moscato “Mimosas” to wash it down.

And my Instagram photo…

I’ve been having all types of drinks. Cocktails and smoothies. Trying to keep a balance. Alternating is fun.

A white lady (cocktail)

A Strawberry-Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie

Some concoction with Crown Royal, orange liqueur and lemon juice.

A pear apple banana smoothie

A classic margarita.

A strawberry kiwi smoothie

Had some ackee and saltfish (Jamaica’s national dish) over the weekend. Here it is served with green banana (boiled), fried ripe plantains, steamed cabbage and flour dumplings.

I made a pepperoni, bacon, pineapple pizza with a ton of cheese.

I also was inspired to try chicken and waffles.

Had a visit to Cold Stone the other day too…

Ahhhh, I’m feeling peckish again. I think I’ll go look at food porn on Instagram! If I go missing for too long, well, you know where to find me.

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Inspiration from Lisa’s Dinner Time Dish

Ingredients:
1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound asparagus, washed, ends trimmed and cut on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces
3 tbsps butter
1 small onion, diced
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 pound medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
5 cups chicken or vegetable bro pound scallops of your preference (sizing)
juice of half lemon (optional)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Method:
1. In a medium saucepan heat the broth over medium-low heat. When you add it to the rice later, it should be nice and hot so that it doesn’t slow down the cooking process of the rice.

2. In another (preferably large) saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus and cook, stirring frequently, until tender-crisp. Don’t let them get too soft. Remove from heat and place the them in a plate.

3A. In the same large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened and translucent. Add the rice and stir to coat.

3B. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid is almost entirely absorbed by the rice.

4. Add 1/2 cup of the hot broth and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the broth has been almost entirely absorbed. Repeat this process, adding broth in 1/2 cup increments. Start tasting the risotto after adding 3-1/2 cups of broth- the amount you need will vary depending on your rice. You want the rice nice and tender but with a little firmness as well.

5. In another pan, add 2 tablespoons of butter and semi cook shrimp and scallops.

6. Add the scallops, shrimp and pre-cooked asparagus to the rice and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the juice of the lemon and the Parmesan cheese and stir briefly to incorporate and melt the cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (I cooked my seafood by itself and just arranged them on my risotto but I did stir in my asparagus to the rice mixture) (You can do it whichever way you prefer)

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Ingredients:
3/4 cup – 1 cup tamarind pulp
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
juice of 4 limes

Method:
1. To make tamarind pulp, combine 2 cups of sweet tamarind fruit with 2 cups of hot water and leave to soak for about 10 minutes. Then you can mash with your fingers or a spoon until the fruit dissolves into the water once it cools.

2. Strain the fibers and seeds out with a fine mesh strainer. The resulting pulp should be about the consistency of ketchup.

3. Heat the tamarind pulp, water, and sugar over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. The sweetness of the drink will depend on the tamarind you use. Most tamarind will be very tart so your discretion is needed here.
4. Once it’s sweet enough for you, add to a pitcher and add the lime juice.
5. Let it cool fridge for a couple hours. Most of the concentrate will sink to the bottom, so once you’re ready to serve, stir for a while and then serve over lots of ice with a slice of lime.

You know what would be perfect with drink if you wanted to make it more adult-like? A splash of rum or bourbon, or whiskey or vodka. Heck, almost spirit will go well with this one. All around this is a great tasting juice!

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Ingredients:
1 1/2 packages of active dry yeast (I used Fleischmann’s yeast)
1 cup milk (I used whole milk)
1/4 cup white sugar (I used Dixie Crystals)
3 1/2 cups (15.7 ounces) all-purpose flour (I used White Lily flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 ground cloves
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 cup mixed dried fruit (I used a combination of raisins, cranberries, currants, and cherries)
1 tsp vegetable oil

Glaze:
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

Icing:
1 teaspoon milk
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
1. In a pot, melt the butter and add the milk and sugar to heat and dissolve.
2. In a large bowl mix the flour, yeast, zest, spices, salt, raisins and dried fruit together.
3. Make a well in the middle of bowl with flour mixture and then add the warm milk/sugar/butter mixture. Add the beaten eggs on top of that and then mix everything together until the dough forms a ball, coming away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Lightly grease the bowl with vegetable oil and set aside for an hour and a half.

I put mine in the microwave along with a cup of boiling water to keep the “draft-less” area warm.
5. After the dough has risen to twice its size, dump the dough onto a flour dusted counter top and work it into a nice round ball. Make sure to knock all of the air out of it and then you can divide it into 12 equal parts.
6. Roll each piece of dough into a ball and place on the buttered baking sheet, seam side down until you have a 4 x 3 formation.

7. Cover loosely with plastic and let rest for about another hour until well risen and the balls are touching each other.
8. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
9. Mix together egg and milk in a small bowl for the glaze. Remove the plastic from the unbaked balls. Lightly brush their tops with the egg/milk mixture. Bake for twelve to fifteen minutes, or until the buns are lightly browned and feel firm to the touch. Remove, place on a cooling rack, and allow to cool slightly.
10. Combine the icing ingredients in a small bowl to form a paste. Spoon into a small Ziplock baggie, snip off a very small tip from one of the corners, and pipe white crosses on the tops of the buns. Allow to firm up, about thirty seconds.
11. Serve slightly warm, and enjoy!

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Ingredients:
5 lbs pork shoulder roast
1 onion, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
3 limes, juiced (1/4 cup) and zested
1-2 oranges, juiced (1/2 cup) and zested
1 lemon juiced and zested
1/4 cup olive/vegetable oil
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
1 package Maggi Sofrito (optional) (I only used this because I needed to use it up)

Method:
1. In a bowl make marinade using all ingredients except the pork shoulder.

2. Marinate the pork in marinade for a minimum of for 4 hours (refrigerated) in a bowl or Ziploc bag.

3. Remove the pork from the refrigerator about an hour or two before putting it in oven. I wanted mine to come as close to room temperature as possible.

4. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Place pork and some of marinade in a baking dish (I used a disposable aluminum pan).

I didn’t cover mine but you can cover/tent yours if you wish

5. Let roast in oven for about 6-8 hours. I’d say about 90 minutes per each pound. I kept adding more marinade as the bit in the pan kept depleting as the meat cooked.

Here, it may look all charred and burnt but that’s just the bark. Inside, once shredded was moist and succulent. Meat falling off the bones. The trick is always – low and slow

6. Let meat rest of an hour before you begin to shred.

Shredding the meat into pieces (as one would do with pulled pork)

And here’s the entire meal. Fried Plantains, Guacamole, Yellow Rice,Cuban Black Beans and the yummy pork

If you find that you need a sauce to go on the pork, reserve some of the marinade and cook in a saucepan until it thickens and pour over the meat. Enjoy!

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Ingredients:
4 tbsp peanut butter (smooth or chunky – your choice)
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup whole milk (See Notes)
2 tbsp condensed milk (Sweetened)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Method:
Blend ingredients together until all smooth and thick. Pour into chilled glasses and serve with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Notes:
I’ve made this punch with 2 cups of evaporated milk and I’ve made it with one cup evaporated milk + 1 cup whole milk. I personally prefer the evaporated + whole milk combo but you are free to use evaporated milk all the way and no whole milk.

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Ingredients:
5 oz London Dry Gin
5 oz tonic water
1/4 cup blueberries
juice of one lime
Extra blueberries for garnish.

Method:
1. Muddle blueberries in cocktail mixer. Add lime juice and gin. Mix.
2. Pour mixture into 2 glasses with ice, top with tonic water. Stir and serve.

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I had to roast my peanuts first because they were raw

To roast: I placed them on a baking sheet lined with foil paper in a single layer in the oven for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. At the 5 minute mark of them cooking, I stirred them around a little then let them finish up for another 5 minutes. They will continue to cook once removed from oven. Once cooled, I had to rub them together to remove the red casing. This took a while!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups roasted peanuts
4 tbsp minced or grated ginger (I loveeeee my suagr cakes when they’re gingery)
3 cups white granulated sugar (See Notes)
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract or essence

Method:
1. In a large pot, add water and allow it to heat for a minute
2. Add sugar and let dissolve. Stir constantly.

3. After about 2 minutes, add grated ginger and vanilla extract/essence
4. Boil until water is almost gone and the sugar solution is thick and sticky. This was about 6-8 minutes for me.

(Sugar and water boiling away)

5. Place a sheet of parchment paper on kitchen counter or baking tray.
6. Add peanuts and stir the mixture in the pot with a large spoon for about 2 more minutes. Make sure it does not stick to the bottom of pot.

(Just dumped in roasted groundnuts)

7. Use the spoon to scoop out mixture to create wide mounds on the parchement paper.
8. Each mound should be placed in a separate heap on the parchment. Do not let them touch because once they harden, the sugar becomes crazy glue of some sort.

9. Let the sugar cakes cool and harden for about 30 minutes.

Notes:
* I know the recipe calls for a lot of sugar but trust me. I really used 3 1/2 cups and that worked fine for me.
** I wanted mines to be thick and nutty (nuts on top of nuts) but feel free to make yours thin then add nuts when water is half gone. When scooping them out spread them wider on the baking sheet in a single layer.
*** PLEASE, I’m begging you, do not succumb to the urge to lick any of the sugarry substance that is bubbling in the pot. Several times I took a spoon and then smeared my finger in it to taste the sweetness and I was burnt. My friend Oeteka did the same thing when she tried this recipe and burned herself twice. If you take out some to taste-test, let it cool a while. PLEASE.

Here’s a pic of one I had on my vacation in St. Vincent. This one had the nuts on a single layer and possibly less sugar.

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Ingredients:
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/8 cup corn starch
10 whole wings, cut into drumettes and wingette portions (20 pieces)
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2-3 tbsp finely grated ginger
4 medium cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsbp chopped green onion (for garnish)

Method:
1. Season wings with 1 tsp salt and black pepper. Let marinate for 4 hours or even overnight.
2. Mix flour and cornstarch in a bowl and then toss wings to coat. Let sit on plate while a pot of oil heats to the perfect frying temperature.
3. Add about 7 wings to a pot and let fry for 10 minutes or until they float
4. In a sauce pan, add ingredients from the soy sauce to the sesame oil and stir till it becomes a smooth sauce. Set aside.
5. When chicken wings are done, drain them on paper towels to soak up any excess oil.
6. Toss wings in soy-ginger sauce. Serve hot.

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Ingredients:
2 cans full fat coconut milk
1/2-3/4 cup light brown sugar (depends on your taste buds)

Method:
1. In a pot using medium high heat, mix coconut milk and brown sugar together whisking constantly until mixture thickens and reduces to about half of original. It took me about 15 minutes. You will know it’s finished when it coats the back of a spoon. You can store in a container in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Easy right?!!!

BTW HAPPY BIRTHDAY Lisa. I love you and adore you! I hope you guys have a great time without me *pouts*

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Ingredients:
4 large russet potatoes, cleaned and cut into 1/2 inch wedges
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tsp salt, divided use
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped fine for garnish

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment or foil.
2. In a large bowl add 4 tablespoons of the olive oil, salt and other ingredients (except potatoes). Combine well.
3. Toss in potatoes to coat;
4. Place wedges onto the baking sheet and place into the oven

5. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, turning half way through. Fries will be golden brown and crisp tender when they are ready to be taken out.

I served mine with some oven fried (sauce-less) wings

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day guys!

Ingredients:
2 cups of Guinness Stout
1 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup ice
1 egg (optional)
2 drops Angostura bitters (optional)

Method:
1. In the order listed, add ingredients to a blender
2. Blend on high for 1 minute.
3. Pour into a glass, sip and enjoy!

Here it is, served the traditional Caribbean way, with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Just in case you took the intro to this blog post seriously, I want to inform you that having drunk this punch several times, I do not think it will be much of an aphrodisiac. I strongly believe it is all folklore – fun to believe but it is not backed up by research and results.

Don’t forget to check out MY GIVEAWAY

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Many bloggers have giveaways just to draw more traffic to their site or they do it when a company wants them to advertise their product. Frankly, I’m not doing it for either reasons. I am so pleased with the handful of readers that I have and I just wanted to show my appreciation to you guys. Many of you have stuck by when I was absent for weeks at a time. You have given me encouragement to keep blogging and you guys are so welcoming when I get back from my little “breaks”. I know that I do not have a fancy website, nor fancy photos (most of the time my photos are taken with my iPhone or my digital camera). In spite of all that, I’m very proud of my site and I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity I have to write about food and share my love for cooking with the world. When I was planning to do this giveaway, I had no idea what I should give. I asked the opinion for a couple folks and this is how I came to be giving away “Jerk seasoning items”. Luckily there are THREE prizes to be given away. So that means that three lucky individuals will be getting these gifts. They are not identical gifts but I’m sure they would be items you’d love.

UPDATE:

So let’s talk about these items. For this giveaway we have Grace Foods products and Walkerswood products. Neither Grace nor Walkerswood sponsored this giveaway. In fact, I wrote to Grace about sponsorship for the giveaway and haven’t heard back from them and Walkerswood’s email address was not valid. I didn’t let that deter me, however. I decided to get them on my own.

So here are the items that are up for grabs for this giveaway. They are an essential part of Caribbean cuisine because almost every where you go in the Caribbean, you’re sure to find some Jerk Chicken, Jerk Fish or Jerk Pork. Since I have featured Jerk Chicken on my site already and I know a lot of people liked that recipe (today it’s still one of the most frequented posts on my site), I decided to give away lots of Jerk “goodies”.

Jerk Chicken with Mango Relish And Coconut Rice

Rice and Peas (With Jerk Chicken)

Prize # 1:

Grace Jerk BBQ Sauce – “Grace Jerk BBQ Sauce combines the zesty flavour of jerk seasoning with the convenience of barbeque sauce for a delicious way to spice up grilled meats or burgers”. Use it on anything you’d normally use BBQ Sauce on.

Walkerswood Jerk Marinade – Perfect for Chicken, Fish or Pork.

Grace HOT Jerk Seasoning – Perfect rub or marinade for your meat, poultry or seafood. This one is HOT.

Prize # 2:

Grace Jerk BBQ Sauce – “Grace Jerk BBQ Sauce combines the zesty flavor of jerk seasoning with the convenience of barbeque sauce for a delicious way to spice up grilled meats or burgers”. Use it on anything you’d normally use BBQ Sauce on.

Grace Jerk Marinade – Perfect for Chicken, Fish or Pork.

Jerk Seasoning (Dry Spice Rub)

Prize #3:

Jonkanoo Sauce – Is not for the faint-hearted, this seriously HOT sauce adds a real zing to dishes or can be used as a dip on the side. It’s made with fresh West Indian Scotch bonnet peppers and lots of spice. This is Similar to the West Indian Pepper Sauce I made HERE

MY FAVORITE – Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning – Perfect for Chicken, Fish or Pork. Instructions, on how to use, are on the package.

For more information on these products visit Grace Foods or Walkerswood

RULES:
- You must comment on this post as it will be your means of entry into this “competition”. This is mandatory! You can make it fun by commenting and telling me what recipe you’ll make with these jerk seasoning products.

- This giveaway is good for 14 days. Share the news with your friends and let them join in on the fun. You and your friends must be over 18 years old and you’re eligible to enter this giveaway contest between 12am on March 14th to 11:59pm on March 29th. On March 31st, I will announce the winners and mail your items off within 7 days of the announcement.

-BE SURE TO LEAVE A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE EMAIL FIELD AS THAT WOULD BE MY MEANS OF COMMUNICATION WITH YOU. If I do not get a response with your address by April 1st, then your prize will go to the next person in the sequence.

- This giveaway is only open to US residents. That means you must reside in the United States of America. Very soon, I will have another giveaway and that one will be open to other countries as well. Stay tuned.

ONE ENTRY PER PERSON. If you wish to have an additional entry, please “LIKE” the Blog’s Facebook page. Once you LIKE the blog’s Facebook page, you can come back and leave a comment to say you’ve done so (please include your Facebook name so I can verify this) FaceBook Page

That’s http://www.facebook.com/IamSimplyTiaBlog

- I will use the website random.org and use their Sequence generator to pick the 3 winners.

I’m thanking you ALL for reading and for entering the giveaway, if you choose to do so. Good luck to all!

Don’t forget to PIN IT to Pinterest!

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