The end of Christmas and the beginning of a New Year, bittersweet and very promising.  This blog is in two-part.  I will attempt and will succeed in making puff pastry from scratch, hence the additional week to perfection.  I will be making Pate, it is a traditional appetizer that is always found at any Haitian festivities.  It is very time consuming and so worth the effort.  It is usually filled with spicy chicken, ground beef, and mouri ( or salt fish).  I will be making the chicken version.  I will create a vegetarian pate for the non-meat clients.

The authentic version is made with lard.  I love it freshly made, I don't like leftover pate made with lard.  If and when I make it, I will specify that it's made with lard and include the details of it.  I know most non-Caribbeans are not used to eating lard, so really perfecting the puff pastry with butter is crucial.  Here are some pictures of what Haitian pate looks like:

Not to be confused with Jamaican Beef Patties below:

It's all in the crust as you can see.  So this is my challenge for the next week, I hope it doesn't  turn into a three-parter. Wish me luck!!!!!

S&S

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas!!!! How about you? Nothing says Christmas like soft white snow falling and you are in a nice toasty house eating sweet delectable desserts.  Ok! Maybe not every ones memories, but I've been blessed because it's mine.  This post is dedicated to my daughter, Jaime, she loves white chocolate. So, as an ode to her, I will be making my favorite dessert with white chocolate.  Yes, turtles, also white hot chocolate, and white chocolate chip cookies.

The texture of white chocolate is richer, smoother, and tastes very gourmetish.  I found that the homemade hot white chocolate was extremely tasty.  I'm sold no more regular hot chocolate, I will be having the white.  Here are some of the process, I added some caramel glaze on top.  It's the holidays, why not?.  It's time consuming but so worth it:

YUMMY!!!!! 

Now for the white turtle.  Same process as the original except for the white chocolate.  Here are some of the process:

Yes, I loved it.  Worth the try.

Finally the white chocolate chip

I made them extra large and such a treat.

Finally the packaging, that will be for Christmas with the family

I believe this will be my last Christmas dessert for this year.  Many calories later and some wonderful sweets.  

Until next week

S&S

There is nothing better for a chef or a baker to find a new recipe for Christmas cookie cutter done in a totally different way.  While looking through one of my favorite cooking magazine, I came across this awesome creative recipe.  It's wonton wrappers cut out with Christmas cookie cutter, brush with pesto sauce and baked.  Wow! I took it a step further, of course.  Since the title of my blog is Spicy and Sweet, I brushed mine with ground fresh chili paste for the mittens and ground hot jalapeño peppers for the trees and the sweet, a paste made with Equal sweetener and water (my mom is diabetic). Here's the process:

Hot Christmas trees and red hot mittens

Sweet snow angels and white light bulbs

Can we say Spicy and Sweet!!! 

Until next week S&S

CHRISTMAS is here!!! Yes, it's my all time favorite time of the year. The lights, the decorations and of course the baking.  I haven't started baking yet, but last year I did.  One was a Oreo Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Unfortunately, you can't see the inside last year I wasn't as tech savvy as I am now (lol).  The best part was that there was an actual Oreo cookie  at the bottom.

One day I was watching The Chew, love that show, I need to follow Karla on Twitter.  Clint did this amazing craft idea that I fell in love with.  My daughter and I did this.  We lined green and red starlight candies on parchment paper and melted them in the oven and used christmas cookie cutouts and these are the results.

Sorry, didn't take a picture of the green ones.

Lastly, I saw this on Pinterest and I had to do this

Beautiful.

This is just the beginning of my Christmas selections.

Until next week

S&S

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

This blog is devoted to a "future" Thanksgiving Lunch that will be offered in November 2014. It is a jerk fried turkey wing, with homemade cranberry relish with your choice of mashed Patate served with a spicy jerk gravyor sliced Patate. Patate is a naturally sweet white potato.  It is my all time favorite root vegetable.

This was my early thanksgiving dinner

This was my husband 's

It was everything I thought it would be and more.

Until next week

S&S

The Three Stages of Plantain (Banann)

Last week I did Griot ( it was goooood). In Haiti you can't have Griot without fried Banann.  It's like apple pie and ice cream. There are three fried Banann you can make.  At most events, it's usually the green Banann.  Personally, I prefer the last two stages, a lot softer and sweeter. Here are the three stages of Banann:

I've talked to a lot of people and all they know about Plantain is the fried version.  Guess what the first two stages are great boiled?  They are eaten with any meat, of course I like the second stage, yup it's sweeter, the third stage is NEVER to be boiled, yuck, mushy, only fried please.

I will show you the three fried stages of Banaan, but I've created a version that 

will be offered during my free tasting event.  It is thinly sliced stage two Banaan

 sprinkled with my special secret recipe of habanero peppers and other spices.

Here we go!!!!!!

Unfortunately you can't tell or see the difference.  It's in the taste.  The green plantain is hard and crunchy and salty. The other two are sweet and sweeter.  It's all in your taste buds.

And here's my creation!!!! Haven't found a name as of yet, but it's and ode to Spicy&Sweet.

Because of Thanksgiving, I will not post a blog on Friday, but I will post one on Wednesday.  I will feature a Thanksgiving special that I will offer next year for lunch.  It's a Jerk Fried Turkey Wing with Cranberry Relish and mashed Patate.  I can taste it now!!!!!!

Later S&S..........

Popular Appetizer In Haiti

Griox, or Griot (spicy pork stew meat) is a well-known and favorite appetizer at every major event in Haiti.  I have perfected this authentic dish with my mix of blended spices and herbs, (in the near future it will be on major super market shelves). The pork stew meat are only sold at ethnic grocery stores.  Below is a before picture of the pork stew meat:

Doesn't look very appetizing!!! You just wait.  After some careful cleaning and seasoning one whole habanero pepper was added.  Here's a picture of a bunch of habanero peppers.  Imagine what that would do to your food!!!!

This is a good time for a little history on the Foods of the Haitians

Haitian food is often lumped together with other Caribbean islands as "Caribbean cuisine." However, Haiti maintains an independently unique flavor.  Unlike its Spanish-influenced counterpart, the Dominican Replubic, Haitian 


cuisine is based on Creole and French cooking styles.  Strong pepper flavoring in many dishes also sets Haitian food apart from the other islands.






(www.foodbycountry.com) 
Now what we have been waiting for, after many hours of cooking the pork stew meat,(takes about 3 hours to tender, juicy spicy deliciousness). This is what we have, with some slice white onions and more habanero peppers, this appetizer can be a meal by itself.  But, you would want to share, don't you?

Until next week where I will feature what goes great with Griot, Plantain not the usual ones you normally see, but three variety.

S&S