Tropical Rochester Reviews

[Nirak]

Hi, Everyone!

Marie asked me to start this thread. Please post your recipe. Everything was great!!

Here are Marie's Recipes and mine, too:

Calypso Chicken
This entree is similar to the famous chicken dish called country captain, but the fiery seasonings and sides make it uniquely Caribbean.

Ingredients
2-1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup minced green bell pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 (4-ounce) skinned, boned chicken breast halves
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Cooking spray
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup water
1 serrano chile

Down-Island Salsa

3 cups hot cooked long-grain rice
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)
Lime wedges (optional)

Directions
Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour, turning occasionally.
2. Remove chicken from marinade, reserving marinade; sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken; sauté 1 minute per side or until browned. Add reserved marinade, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, tomatoes, water, and serrano chile; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Discard chile. Top each chicken breast with tomato mixture; serve with Down-Island Salsa and rice. Garnish with thyme sprigs and lime wedges, if desired.


Down-Island Salsa

Tropical fruit is tossed with spicy chiles and rum in this Caribbean-style condiment. Serve over grilled fish or chicken, or as a dip with baked tortilla chips.

Ingredients
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons white rum
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon minced seeded serrano chile
4 cups (1-inch) fresh pineapple cubes
1 cup diced peeled ripe mango
1 cup carambola (star fruit), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

Directions
Prep Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well. Add remaining ingredients; toss to coat. Chill at least 2 hours.
Note: Increase the mango to 2 cups if carambola is unavailable.



Caribbean Cobb Salad

Choosing a ripe papaya is easy. Look for fruit with a yellow tinge that smells sweet at the stem end and 'gives' to slight pressure.

Ingredients
4 cups torn romaine lettuce
1 pound medium shrimp, cooked and peeled
1 cup cubed peeled papaya
1 cup cubed fresh pineapple
1/2 cup chopped peeled avocado
1/2 cup chopped red or green bell pepper
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
2/3 cup Orange-Soy Vinaigrette
1/4 cup chopped unsalted cashews, toasted

Directions
Estimated Total Time: 30 minutes
Arrange lettuce on a serving platter. Spoon the shrimp down center of platter; arrange papaya, pineapple, avocado, bell pepper, black beans, and cheese in rows on either side of shrimp. Drizzle Orange-Soy Vinaigrette over salad; sprinkle with cashews.


Orange-Soy Vinaigrette

Ingredients
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon pepper

Directions

Estimated Total Time: 10 minutes

Combine all ingredients in a jar; cover tightly, and shake vigorously.

[schuh]

Well, my pina colada recipe was right on the bottle of Captain Morgan's Parrot Bay coconut rum.

As I recall, it called for a little over 1 oz coconut rum per 5 ounces of pineapple juice. I made a can of pineapple juice concentrate -- mixed up with three cans of water -- and added 11 ounces of the coconut rum.

Garnish with pineapples and serve with straws.

I like this version because it's not as heavy as the version made with coconut milk.

No nutritional values for this -- sorry!

[LJJ]

The Jamaican Banana Bread was posted on another thread. Here's the link:
http://www.cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?threadid=20933

[magdon]

Thank you, Rochester, for posting your recipes. I love to see what other groups are up to! We're doing Caribbean in March, so they were useful too. I guess everyone is getting the winter blahs.

[C-squared]

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (18.25-ounce) package light white cake mix
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon coconut extract
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting


Directions
Estimated Total Time: 55 minutes

Preheat oven to 350º.

Coat a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray; dust with flour.

Combine cake mix and next 5 ingredients (cake mix through egg); beat at low speed of a mixer for 30 seconds. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with flaked coconut and brown sugar; top with remaining batter. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool the cake completely in pan. Spread the Coconut-Cream Cheese Frosting over top of cake.

Cream cheese frosting listed above was not to be found. I used another and adapted it. 2/3 cup light cream cheese, 1 tsp coconut flavoring and 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar. blend cheese and little of sugar at a time with flavoring til smooth. makes enough to frost the 13x9 pan.

[Peggy]

Thank you all so much for posting those recipes. They look fabulous, especially the Carribean Cobb Salad! I'm printing them all out as I type this. More recipes for the "Must-Try" binder....:o

Peggy

[schuh]

I thought both the Cobb salad and the coconut cake were outstanding (and I'm not a coconut lover).