Jamaican Rum and raisin vanilla bean ice cream

"Christmas is coming"

On a Sunday evening, you will find most Jamaicans on the hunt for their ice cream fix. The classics rum and raisin and grape nut ice cream are sure to be on the list of top choices. I am a little surprised that I don’t already have a rum and raisin ice cream on the blog. It’s not like I have never made it before. I guess I just forgot to post it. Its never usually my go-to choice for ice cream but growing up we always had it on hand because it was my father favorite.

Chicken Marsala

"Christmas is coming"

Mushrooms, garlic and wine anyone? This is almost one of the easiest thing I have cooked thus far. Chicken marsala is a dish I’ve always had at restaurants but never thought to cook. I generally try to cook recipes for the holidays that is easy to feed a crowd. This one fits the bill perfectly.

Orange Chicken

"Christmas is coming"

I’m always trying to find new and different ways to prepare chicken. Not that Orange chicken is a new thing, but it’s not really an everyday flavor for our home meals. When you think orange chicken you think Chinese take-out. This recipe is very flavorful and has beautiful citrus undertones. The chickens are browned to perfection and baked in the oven in a sweet sauce.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Fennel

 "Christmas is coming"

As Jamaicans we tend not to venture too much into lamb but are very comfortable with their cousin goat. Goat is a prized meat here especially the male ram goat which imparts the most unique flavor to Manish water (goat soup) and to curries. I decided to stray a bit away from tradition for this Christmas recipe and do a succulent braised lamb shank. It has fennel, shallots and herbs cooked in wine and broth, so delicious!

Pumpkin Coconut Leek soup

"Pumpkin Everythang”

Like clockwork  the day I decided to make a lovely pumpkin soup here comes the rain, perfect timing. I had originally wanted to make a pumpkin wonton soup. However when I got to the grocery store they were all out of wonton skins, and ‘aint’ no way I’m making that dough from scratch, so plan B. A few isles down I spotted some leeks and figured, they probably taste like onions or scallions, so they should pair well with pumpkin, not to mention some coconut milk.