Easy and Quick Roast Jerk Chicken for Two

This is one of those super easy phenomenal tasting spicy roasted chicken dinners that takes no time to prepare. simply set it up, throw it in the oven, and voila, it’s done an hour later or less -no fuss cooking with the feel of a fine French Restaurant-looking lovely fresh roasted chicken with a jerk twist.

Ingredients:

• 1 split down the middle small chicken.
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• red chili flakes (optional – but oh so good!)
• kosher or rock salt & fresh cracked pepper
• 2 teaspoons dry jerk seasonings
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• hot preheated oven 350 degrees
• cast iron or clad skillet – or shallow pan, anything that can go into the oven.

Directions:

1. Start your oven, and set chicken skin side up in skillet or shallow pan.
2. Pour and rub olive oil over skin. Add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, dry jerk seasonings and fresh rosemary.
3. I also place one sprig of rosemary under wing as it laid across the chicken half.
4. That’s it! Throw it into the oven, cook till internal temperature in breast/thigh reaches 165 degrees – depending upon size of bird, mine took 55 minutes.
5. Let rest out of pan on a plate before splitting in half to serve on two plates.
6. My dish shown has roasted bell peppers and potatoes that I inadvertently left in a little too long – but still had a nice bite to them.

Though the photo is not very good, my pal and I were too eager to stop long enough to set up the photo, but I assure you that it was mighty tasty!

Spring is Here – How Does Your Garden Grow?

I love Spring. After the hard winter of cold temperatures, windy sleet and snow and too high heating bills, thick stews, bone-warming hearty chili and large roasts, I am always ready for those first signs of Spring to show up around my hometown.

Whether it be crocus and snow drops popping up through the weeds and storm-tossed flower beds, or green tips of tulips, hyacinthia and daffodils peaking up through leftover leaves from winter’s past just make me smile, it always seems worth suffering through the winter to have the renewing reminder of Spring starting to adorn your neighborhood with all its showy glory.

So why bring this up at all? Well, it turns out that in my own case where I live, I currently have access through a window to have containers that keep herbs and a tomato plant close by to my kitchen for easy access and my cooking needs on an extended roof top. And just the other day I was thinking to myself, ‘I would love to be able to have access to a larger garden and plant a few things such as butterfly-attracting flowers like black-eyed susans and butterfly bushes to other interesting vegetables like a jalapeno pepper plant’. Well my prayers were answered – and maybe more than I wished for.

So yes, be careful what you wish for, you have heard that before, but in this case, I am absolutely thrilled. My local church put in their bulletin the need for volunteers to work on their various flower beds to be groomed having been somewhat forgotten about, to allowing people to adopt a small portion to be able to grow almost anything in them. So I not only get a larger flower bed that I thought about – it even comes with its own official name; they call it the St. Francis Garden which already has lilacs, several rose bushes, a hydrangea and lilacs -all of which are terribly have been neglected.

A small statue of St. Francis with his usual birds on his shoulders and one in his palm adorn him and his robe as he stands looking at the garden which I now am responsible for. I will not only be able to plant those jalapenos peppers, but that butterfly bush and some black eye susans and cone flowers among other flowers both perennial and annual that attract the butterflies. Of course, I will give some space and respect to all that is already planted, and to the lovely statue of St. Francis, but I am so thrilled for my new adventure and to help put back in place my own little secret garden that can be shared to all who just look beyond a side fence and around the church’s corner.

The best part is that this side of the church where this flower bed exists is not seen by many people since it is somewhat hidden, yet since I live right next door, I will be able to see it from the side of my building as I look out hopefully fondly as I see the growth and results of my hard labor. I was able to get out today a little and started to attack some of the forsythia  – with my dog in tow, tethered to the dogwood tree. He was happy laying in the grass under the tree while I worked a few miracles on a few of the bushes and even got to take some of the forsythia into the house to ‘force’ their blooming – just what the early spring-gal like me loves. Live Flowers. Love Flowers. Enjoy Spring. And there’s even a spring in my step now, a reason to wake up extra early, and relearn what I love about gardening.

As time comes soon, I will share photos of the garden how it stands currently and in its soon to be glory.

So share with us all, what is in your garden and how do you enjoy Spring and all its’ early signs.

~Chef Maven

How to Throw Your Own Stimulus Pot Luck Party

The other week, I decided to throw a party. I realized I hadn’t thrown one of my infamous Dinner-n-Jam parties in awhile, and also noticed it seemed like everyone including Wal-Mart was creating their own stimulus savings plan – and knowing I was on a limited budget – I decided to throw my version of a stimulus Pot Luck Dinner and Jam Party – it went off without a hitch this past weekend.

Here I show you some tips on throwing a good party where all have a great time, even when your own budget is tight.

Tips and Tricks

• First and foremost – Be Organized – set up a date anywhere from 3-6 weeks ahead.
• Second, Be Flexible – A relaxed host/hostess during the party ensures everyone will have a great time.
• Decide if any ‘theme’ for the party you might wish to use.
• Make up your guest list. Make sure to invite people from your gym, some good friends, and even people you would like to know more about. A group party is a great environment to learn a little more about people.
• I highly recommend using an online free source such as evite.com to create your invitations, manage your emails and guest lists. This is so useful, nowadays, saving you monies on stamps, it’s eco-friendly and really helps set the tone for your party. You can set it up, so that you receive text or email alerts when people R.S.V.P. and you can easily add people and send additional invitations on the fly.
• Create a list of what guests should bring. When using evite.com for example, you can create a list of items for guests to choose for themselves what to bring.
• In my version, I requested people to bring what they drank, and/or to provide one dish.  Leaving said variety of possible options allows guests to bring things they can easily afford. What to put on this list? Put things such as cold appetizers, hot appetizers, cheeses, main dishes, bottle of wine, ice, dips, chips, music. On evite.com for example you can set up your needs such as 3 cold appetizers and 4 bottles of wine. As people R.S.V.P. and select off this list, the items needed will automatically reduce, and therefore reduce your need to go off and buy loads of food for your party.
• Be open and allow guests to bring people to your party. I find if I mix it up (inviting different types of people) to every party, I find I have more new people I can invite the next time. Besides, these parties allow for having a nice mix of people which certainly adds something to your ‘group’.
• Allow your friends to help when they ask what they can do when as they arrive at your party. Why get stressed out? Something my Mother taught me years ago, and she was the queen of parties – by allowing guests to help gets everyone involved in making an OK party, become a great party. Allow one person to be the ‘bartender’ whiles another stirs up the chili and another sets up the cheese platter.
• When people ask if they can help you clean up, say yes! Many hands make for light work! Don’t be too bashful, and you will only be more than grateful after everyone leaves.
• Set up tables the night before, so you are not stressed on the day of your party. I usually keep the selected tablecloth folded on top of each of the tables. Set aside serving spoons and forks to help serve the foods that will arrive. At times, when I am planning a sit down, I have been known to set up the table and then place a sheet over the entire table to keep it clean right until guests arrive.
• Set up areas for trash – allocating receptacles for cans, bottles & trash.
• Designate a smoking area if you have any friends who smoke.
• Keep scented candles to a minimum, one small ‘gentle and light’ scented tea light will do. Use flavors such as ‘clean linen’ or ‘ocean breeze’- avoid vanilla, or heavy scents such as food-related strawberry cream or coconut for example since some people can be ultra sensitive.
• Set up an area where coats, bags and other items can be kept as people arrive.
• Make sure to have ample toilet paper.
• Clean only those areas you know your guests will mingle in – the kitchen, living room, bathrooms. I tend to do a little of this every day starting a week before, thereby; I don’t have much to do at all on the day of the party, but to relax.
• As people R.S.V.P. review the list of items they will bring. If you know someone will bring cheeses for example, make sure to have a cheese plate or wood cutting board handy and related cheese utensils and knives – cheeses should be set out at least one half hour prior to people arriving to become room temperature. Reviewing will let you know if you need to supplement a dish or two.
• Set out wine opener, bottle openers, cooler filled with ice for possible beers and wines prior to people arriving.
• For music, I personally chose some CD’s to rotate until the live music started.
• Prepare any foods you can a couple of days before, dips, soups, etc.
• Relax and let people be themselves.
• Turn down the lights a little and remember to have fun yourself.
• Mingle around introducing people to one another is a great way to get people to start talking with one another.
• Finally Good luck!

Why don’t you share your party success stories with us all? We would love to hear about it.