Food Blogging - Johnny cake vs. Fry Bake

Johnny Cakes vs. Fry Bake 

Last November I had the opportunity explore the beautiful island of Dutch Sint Maarten. In St. Maarten international dining opportunities abound and fresh seafood appears on virtually all menus. Restaurants features American-style food, Island rum drinks, locally produced specialty and Guavaberry liquor, often accompany a meal.

One of the Famous foods in Sint Maarten is Johnny Cakes, which are popular among both the locals and tourists. Johnny cake which are basically made from fried dough disks, from flour, sugar, oil, baking powder, water and salt; are fried like small pancakes until golden. They can be component in either sweet of savoury dishes.

During my research I made the observation of the similarity of their Johnny cake to our own Trinidad fry bake.  I love bread, all different types of bread. One of my ultimate favourite is fry bakes. Fry bakes are light, fluffy, and tender (when made well). Fry bake can be enjoyed with a wide variety of Trinidadian delicacies, including salt fish buljol, baji, smoked herring, and so much more.  

  Johnny Cake Recipe 

Fried Johnny Cakes Recipe from 
St. Maarten

Servings: Makes: 12- Prep Time: 30 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup water or milk, or enough to make dough

Method 

1. Mix dry ingredients together.

2.  Cut in shortening, or rub in with fingers.

3. Add water or milk slowly, just enough to make soft dough.

4. Knead a few times until dough is smooth and holds together. Let rest for 10-20 minutes.

5. Shape into round pieces and flatten on a board with a little flour, then prick with fork. 

6. Fry, the oil must be hot before frying.( medium-high) heat, turning several times, until brown and crusty on both sides. Frying time usually takes around 15-20 minutes.

NOTE: - You will need to drain them on paper towels, and then cover them with a towel to rest around 10 minutes.

Fried Bake Recipe

Trinidad Fried Bake

Ingredients:
    4 cups all-purpose flour
    2 tsp double-acting baking powder (or 4 tsp regular baking powder)
    1 tsp salt
    4 Tbsp white sugar
    2 cups water (may vary a little)
    extra flour for dusting
    canola oil for deep frying

Method

1.      Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl.
2.      Remove about 1 and 1/2 cups of flour mixture and set aside.
3.       Make a well in the center of mixture in main bowl.
4.      Pour water into the well and mix to a thick batter consistency until smooth.
5.       Add back the flour mixture that was set aside earlier and mix into a medium soft dough.
6.      To test the dough consistency, sprinkle flour on top of dough and gently pinch.
7.      Section the dough into 12 portions (for large fry bakes) with well-floured hands.
8.      Roll them into balls and place on a clean, well-floured surface. Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.
9.      Roll out a ball into a circle with a rolling pin. You may also gently press out by hand.
10.  Heat about an inch of oil for frying. You may test the oil by putting a small piece of dough into the oil. If the dough pops up in about 2 seconds, the temperature is good for frying the bakes.
11. Add bakes to oil and fry until golden brown on each side.

Recipe Based Food Writing - Cooking with RUM

Cooking with RUM

As a student at Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute (T.T.H.T.I) pursuing my bachelor’s one of the courses I have to complete is rum and other spirits. I am so excited about learning the history, how to making and cooking with the different alcoholic beverages.

Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane byproducts, such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels. Rum can be referred to in Spanish by descriptors such as ron viejo ("old rum") and ron añejo ("aged rum").

On our first class of cooking with rums the chef imparted some of his knowledge on the different types of rum and we sample a few types with different fruits and vegetables to peer what flavors goes well with each other. We were then asked to create menu items using the different spirits; I choose to make the salad and was given the Fernandes Black Label to use. 

This class was like a real chopped kitchen only different is that we were given one secret ingredient and each group was given a different rum. We used whatever little ingredient that the chef gather for us and had to come up with a menu. My group salad was a Flam bay Pear and Salmon Salad with Passion fruit Rum Vinaigrette.  

Flambay Pear and Salmon Salad 

Servings: Serves: 4- Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 fresh salmon fillets (thinly sliced)
• ½ lb mixed salad leaves
• 1 large tomato (slice)
• ½ cup black olives (small dice)
• ½ cup green olives (small dice)
• 1 cup feta cheese (medium cube)
• 1 Pear (slice)
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tsp butter
• 1/2 cup Fernandes Black Label

Passion Fruit Rum Vinaigrette

• 1 passion fruit
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup Fernardeze black label

Method

1.      In a small frying pan, melt the butter and add the brown sugar.

2.      Stir until the sugar forms a sauce (only a few seconds), then add the pear and coat with sauce (another few seconds).

3.      When the pears are tender, add the rum and light it on fire (if you tilt the pan a little it will be easier to light).

4.      Stir until the fire goes out.

5.      Put in a stainless steel blow and chill.

To make the Vinaigrette

1. In a medium stainless steel bowl whisk together rum, passion fruit and olive oil. (about 5mins)
2. Season with salt and pepper. 

• Arrange items on plate  as in the pictures or as you wish and drizzle with vinaigrette.