24. The Bahamas

Bahamian Corned Beef Breakfast (FIRE ENGINE)

• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• ½ green bell pepper (chopped)
• 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
• 1 can corned beef (not corned beef hash)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2-3 sprigs thyme (fresh or dried)
• ½ cup red sauce (jar sauce is fine)
• Salt and pepper
• Tabasco sauce (optional)
• ½ cup thin sliced and cup up cooked potatoes ( this acts as a filler to stretch).(optional)
•  

Grits (quick grits are fine, but cooked grits are better and softer)

Place onions and peppers in a skillet with oil and cook until almost tender.   Add corned beef and break up.  Add tomato paste and heat.  Add thyme, red sauce, salt and pepper and continue to heat until sauce is mixes thoroughly throughout and flavors blend.   Tabasco to taste.

Add sliced cooked potato if you choose and continue to cook until flavors are blended.

Serve with either grits or rice 

Bahamian Mac and Cheese Pie

Ingredients

• 1 lb

  uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1/2 c

  butter
• 2 16-oz bag(s)

  cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/2 large

  green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 large

  white onion, diced
• 4

  eggs
• ·

  black pepper
• 2 pinch

  salt
• 2 tsp

  paprika
• 1

  habanero pepper or goat pepper, diced
• 12 oz

  evaporated milk
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How to Make Traditional Bahamian Mac and Cheese

Step-by-Step 

1. Add 2 pinches of salt to large pot of water. Bring water to a boil and add uncooked macaroni pasta. Boil until tender.
2. Strain macaroni and place back in pot. Add butter and stir in macaroni until butter melts.
3. Slowly stir in most of cheese evenly. Reserve 8 ounces (or half of a 16 ounce bag) for later topping.
4. Add paprika, black pepper, onion, bell pepper, and 1/2 of a finely diced habanero or goat pepper. Stir well until cheese is melted and blended.
5. Beat eggs lightly and stir into mixture.
6. Slowly add evaporated milk, pouring about half a cup at a time.
7. Stir well, and spread the mixture evenly into a large prepared baking pan about 13 x 9.
8. Top with remainder of cheese and loosely cover with foil.
9. Bake at 375°F for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes or until top is a golden color.
10. Allow macaroni to cool for 45-50 minutes until room temperature before serving.

11. Conch Salad

12. INGREDIENTS

    1. • 1 pound cleaned fresh conch, diced
       • 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
       • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
       • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
       • 1 jalapeño pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced
       • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
       • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
       • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
       • 1/2 European (hothouse) cucumber, peeled and minced
       • 1/2 yellow bell pepper, minced
       • 1/2 red bell pepper, minced
       • 1/4 red onion, minced
       • 1/2 cup diced fresh tomato
       • 1/4 ripe Florida avocado, diced, or 1/2 ripe Haas avocado (optional)

    PREPARATION

    1. 1. Combine all of the ingredients except the tomato and avocado in a large bowl. Stir and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to develop.
       2. To serve, fold in the tomato and avocado. Transfer to 4 chilled glasses or serving bowls.

    Ingredient Note:

    Those of us who have lived in South Florida for some time may remember when conch, freshly harvested from the sea, was readily available in grocery stores and fish markets. My first recollection of conch was watching young boys pulling them up onto the pier at Higgs Beach in Key West. A few weeks later, I learned to prepare a truly authentic Bahamian-style conch chowder using giant conch, or Strombus gigas Linnaeus, a mollusk that possesses a large "foot." They meander around on the ocean floor like aquatic peg-leg pirates, "jumping" and rotating to get food. The Bahamians taught us many ways to use this tasty creature and you can still sample fresh conch fritters, cracked conch, conch chowder and even conch carpaccio in Key West. If conch is unavailable, you may easily substitute shrimp in this salad recipe.

13. Conch Fritters

    Country: The Bahamas 
    Course: Appetizer 
    Makes: About 30 fritters 
    
     
    
    
    For the Fritters
    • 1 ½ - 2 lbs, conch meat, ground
    • ½ green bell pepper, diced fine
    • ½ red bell pepper, diced fine
    • ½ yellow bell pepper, diced fine
    • ½ white onion, diced fine
    • 1 celery rib, finely sliced
    • 1 teaspoon jalapeño chile, minced
    • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
    • 1 tablespoon dried thyme
    • 3 cups all purpose flour
    • 1/2 tsp Jamaican jerk seasoning
    • Water
    • Vegetable oil for frying
    For the Dipping Sauce
    • 1/2 cup ketchup
    • 1/2 cup lime juice
    • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
    Directions:
    1. In a small bowl, whisk together the dipping sauce ingredients.
    2. Finely mince or grind the conch meat.
    3. Sift the flour over the bowl containing the ground conch meat. Stir until the flour coats all of the meat.
    4. Gently fold in the chopped vegetables and the herbs, then add some water. You want just enough to bind it all together but not so much that the batter becomes runny. Here's what it ought to look like:
    5. Heat up about two inches of oil in a stockpot. It's ready when it bubbles up around the non-stirring end of a wooden spoon.
    6. Scoop up some of the fritter batter and flatten it out into the spoon. The fritters need be a little thin because you don't want them to end up burned on the outside and raw in the middle. These aren't sushi fritters.
    7. Drop them into the oil. Flip them once during cooking so they will cook evenly.
    8. When they are a nice golden color on both sides take them out and drain them on a paper towel. Serve hot with the dipping sauce.

14. GUAVA DUFF

15. INGREDIENTSNutrition

    • 12 -15large guavas
    • 3cups flour
    • 4teaspoons baking powder
    • 1⁄2teaspoon salt
    • 1⁄4cup sugar
    • 1⁄4cup butter
    • 1⁄4cup Crisco
    • 2eggs, separated
    • 2teaspoons vanilla

    • SAUCE

    • 1cup granulated sugar
    • 1cup butter
    • 2eggs (or egg whites)
    • 1tablespoon rum (or 2 tsp vanilla)

    • DIRECTIONS

      1. Peel and core guavas. Rub cores through sieve to obtain some of the pulp, and mix with cut up guavas. Add sugar to taste.
      2. Beat butter, Crisco with sugar, then beat in egg yokes.
      3. Sieve flour, baking powder and salt and fold into butter/egg mixture. Add vanilla.
      4. Divide dough in 3 balls. Refrigerate 1/2 hour until firm.
      5. Spread out each of the balls on a piece of foil; cover with Guava. Starting at one end, fold into roll.
      6. Cover with foil, place in baking bag and seal. Boil 1 hour in large pot with hot water. Slice and serve warn with Sauce.
      7. FOR SAUCE: Beat egg whites in dish until foamy. Cream butter and sugar in a separate dish until sugar has dissolved. Gradually add egg whites and vanilla and continue beating till smooth. Add to top of warn Guava Duff when serving.

      8. BAHAMA MAMA

      9. INGREDIENTSNutrition

         • 1⁄2fluid ounce rum
         • 1⁄2fluid ounce coconut rum
         • 1⁄2fluid ounce grenadine
         • 1fluid ounce orange juice
         • 1fluid ounce pineapple juice
         • 1cup crushed ice

         • DIRECTIONS

           1. Combine the regular rum, rum with coconut flavoring, grenadine, orange juice, pineapple juice and crushed ice in an electric blender.
           2. Blend until the drink's consistency is slushy.
           3. (Good Eats: Chocolate Lava Muffins)