Hey Mon! - An Ode To Sunny Anderson

You should really enlarge this first picture! Just click on it to enlarge it!

So, we all know how much I love Sunny Anderson, right? I mean – seriously. At first it was Sara Moulton – remember her? Then it used to be Ming Tsai with East Meets West. Then Rachel Ray. Then Ina Garten (who I am still in love with). But now, it’s Sunny Anderson. She’s like the greatest, hottest thing to hit DirecTV’s channel 231. She did a show recently where she did this cucumber drink. I swore I wasn’t going to try it. But the foodie in me wouldn’t let it rest. I tried it – and let me tell you – it’s my NEW FAVORITE DRINK. Please, please, please give this drink a try.

So, I developed a whole menu around the drink. What did I plan? Jerk Chicken, Coconut Spinach, and Sweet Potato Risotto. You can’t have a Caribbean inspired meal without plantains, right? They were on the plate as well. I finished it off with Sunny’s Mean Green Cucumber Juice.

Jerk Chicken

1 whole chicken, cut and cleaned

1 tablespoon of each (ginger, mustard seeds, hot paprika, thyme, fennel seeds, black pepper, red pepper, and ground cloves)

¼ cup of each (white sugar, brown sugar, soy sauce, honey, and fresh lime juice)

5 cloves of minced garlic

1 habanero pepper, minced

Combine all ingredients in a bowl except for the chicken. Reserve ¼ cup of marinade to baste over chicken. Put the chicken in a plastic freezer bag. Pour the marinade over it. Let it sit in the refridgerator overnight. Bake in a 385 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until done. Be sure to baste chicken every 7-8 minutes with reserved maridade.

Coconut Spinach

4 strips of bacon, cut and rendered

1 bunch (about 4 cups) of fresh spinach

¼ cup of coconut milk

1 teaspoon of each (salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes)

½ a medium onion, sliced

2 cloves of minced garlic

In the same pan as the rendered bacon, over medium high heat add onions and garlic. Cook for approximately 2 minutes. Add coconut milk and seasonings. Once well incorporated add spinach and cook until wilted.

Mean Green Cucumber Juice

2 English cucumbers

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups water

Special equipment: cheesecloth

Peel the cucumbers, saving the peels. Grate cucumber flesh on a box grater. In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. When sugar dissolves, add the grated cucumber and simmer until cucumber is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

In a blender, puree reserved cucumber peel and cucumber syrup until smooth. Line a strainer with cheese cloth over a bowl. Strain cucumber mixture. Gather cheesecloth in 1 hand to squeeze out all of the juice. Chill until cool, about 1 hour. Serve in glasses over ice.

Sweet Potato Risotto

1 ½ cups of Risotto style rice

3 cups of chicken stock

1 medium sized sweet potato, cubed (about 1 ½ cups)

3 tablespoons of butter

1 teaspoon of salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes

Prepare Risotto according to instructions using chicken stock. Once mixture begins to boil add sweet potatoes and cook until rice is done and sweet potatoes are tender. When most of the liquid has evaporated gently fold in butter and seasonings.

-DTW

The coconut spinach with bacon, onion, and garlic!

A finished pic of the jerk chicken - glad I've got non stick!















Frying up a few plantains.
















Plating - yup - the triangle plate couldn't stay gone for long.
















You're supposed to grate the cucumber...I had to chop it.
















The cucumber boiling away in the simple syrup.
















Getting a whirl in the blender!
















The bacon, onions, and garlic.















Sunny said use a cheese cloth - I didn't have one. This was the best I could do.
















I used a whole chicken...it's cheaper and really easy to cut up.
















Limes, garlic, and a scotch bonnet pepper for the marinade.















I reserved some of the marinade and let the rest do it's magic over the chicken.
















I just love chicken...don't you?