The Sugar Mill Caribbean Cookbook (46 page)
Read The Sugar Mill Caribbean Cookbook Online
Authors: Jinx Morgan
Iced coffee is a popular afternoon refresher in the islands, but when it's time for sundowners, this drink supplies a Caribbean kicker.
Â
| 1 | ounce dark rum |
| 1½ | ounces sugar syrup (see [>] ) |
| 1 | ounce heavy cream |
| Cool strong coffee | |
| Vanilla-flavored sweetened whipped cream |
Put the rum, sugar syrup, and cream into a 12-ounce glass, and stir. Add two or three ice cubes, and fill the glass with coffee. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream, and serve.
Â
Makes 1 serving
I
DON'T WANT A WHITE
C
HRISTMAS WITH PLENTY OF SNOW
I
WANT A BRIGHT
C
HRISTMAS WITH RUM AND CALYPSO
!
âT
HE
G
REAT
J
OHN
L, C
ALYPSONIAN
When the full moon takes on that gorgeous peachy glow, we call it a "mango moon." This is the ideal moon-watcher's libation.
Â
| 2 | ounces dark rum |
| ½ | teaspoon Triple Sec |
| 1 | ounce mango nectar |
| 1 | tablespoon lime juice |
| 1 | lime slice |
Put the rum, Triple Sec, mango nectar, and lime juice into a bar shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake until the ingredients are well combined. Strain the liquid into a wine glass. Garnish with a lime slice, and serve.
Â
Makes 1 serving
The daiquiri took its name from a little mining town near Santiago, the old capital of Cuba; the drink is said to have been invented by one of the foremen of the mine. Ernest Hemingway liked the daiquiris at the Floridita Bar in Havana, where he ordered doubles without sugar. As time went by, the simple daiquiri went through a seachange, first when it met shaved ice and the blender, and later when the sugar was replaced by various tropical fruits, such as pineapples, mangoes, passion fruit, and, of course, bananas.
Â
| ½ | cup crushed ice |
| 1½ | ounces light rum |
| Juice of 1 lime | |
| ½ | ounce Cointreau |
| 1 | small banana |
| 1 | lime slice |
Put the ice into a blender. Add the rum, lime juice, Cointreau, and banana, and whirl until the mixture is thick and smooth. Serve it in a large stemmed glass, garnished with the lime.
Â
Makes 1 serving
One of the islands' favorite rum drinks is named for the bird that also inspired one of the Caribbean's best known songs. Yellow birds are not much bigger than hummingbirds, and if you put a saucer of sugar outside they'll gather from miles around to enjoy a sweet treat.
Â
| ½ | cup ice cubes |
| 1 | ounce light rum |
| ½ | ounce Triple Sec |
| ½ | ounce banana liqueur |
| ½ | ounce Galliano |
| 1 | orange slice |
Put all the ingredients except the lime into a bar shaker, and shake vigorously until the contents are thoroughly chilled and frothy. Pour them, including the ice, into a tall 12-ounce glass. Garnish with the orange slice, and serve.
Â
Makes 1 serving
The term rum
running
refers to the Prohibition-era smuggling of rum from Caribbean islands into the United States. Many rum-running ships depended on the favorable currents of the gulf stream to facilitate their illicit journeys.
Â
| 1 | ounce light rum |
| 1 | ounce dark rum |
| 1 | dash grenadine |
| 1 | dash Curaçao |
| Juice of 1 lime | |
| 1½ | ounces unsweetened pineapple juice |
| 1 | pineapple spear |
| 1 | mint sprig |
Put the ice into a blender. Add the rums, grenadine, Curaçao, and juice,and whirl until the mixture is frothy. Pour it into a tall glass, garnish with the .. pineapple and mint, and serve.
Â
Makes 1 serving
Every islandâin fact, every bartender on every islandâhas a unique recipe for rum punch. This is the one we use at the Sugar Mill.
Â
| ½ | cup ice cubes |
| 1½ | ounces dark or light rum |
| ½ | ounce Triple Sec |
| 2 | dashes Angostura bitters |
| Juice of ½ lime | |
| 2 | ounces orange juice |
| 2 | ounces pineapple juice |
| 2 | ounces guava nectar |
| 2 | dashes grenadine |
| 1 | lime slice |
| 1 | maraschino cherry |
| 1 | grating of nutmeg |
Put the first nine ingredients into a bar shaker, and shake vigorously until the contents are thoroughly chilled. Pour them, including the ice, into a large glass. Garnish with the lime, maraschino cherry, and nutmeg, and serve.
Â
Makes 1 serving
T
here is much disagreement among islanders about the ins and outs of cooking with rum. Some state flatly that cooking with rum is a waste of a good drink, while others consider a bottle of rum a kitchen staple. In St. Thomas, a cook might put a jigger of rum into bread pudding for her family, whereas on St. Barts a French-trained chef sets aside the brandy to flame afresh lobster in rum. Cooks vary in their opinions about rum's best uses. Some say you should never pair rum and fish, explaining that the strong liquor would overpower the delicate fish. Others wouldn't dream of cooking the catch of the day without a splash of rum. Some fastidious cooks say you should use a different rum for every culinary undertaking: a light gold for flavoring delicate dessert, a dark Jamaican for a moist, dark chocolate mousse. Others have a favorite potion they depend on for all occasions.
The one thing all experienced Caribbean cooks agree on is that rum should be used with a light hand, so its flavor doesn't overwhelm those of good fresh foods.
A pretty pink drink that mirrors the color of some of our beautiful island flowers.
Â
| 1½ | cups shaved ice |
| 9 | ounces dark rum |
| 6 | ounces white Dubonnet wine |
| 1½ | ounces grenadine |
| 2 | tablespoons lime juice |
Put the ice into a blender. Add the remaining ingredients, and blend until the mixture is frothy. Pour it into chilled champagne glasses, and serve.
Â
Makes about 6 servings
Although it's hard to improve on champagne in its unadorned state, we love the gilding of the bubbly.
Â
| ½ | teaspoon light rum |
| ½ | teaspoon banana liqueur |
| 1 | dash orange bitters |
| 4 | ounces chilled brut champagne |
| 1 | kiwi or ½ orange slice |
Pour the rum, banana liqueur, and bitters into a chilled champagne glass. Stir gently, garnish with kiwi or orange, and serve.
Â
Makes 1 serving
The pungent bite and aroma of fresh ginger make this a refreshing choice to have by your side when lounging on the beach or by the pool on a warm afternoon.
Â
| 5 | ounces gingerroot, minced |
| 4½ | cups boiling water |
| 1¼ | cups lime juice |
| 1 to 1¼ | cups sugar |
| ¾ | cup rum |
| Lime slices |
Combine the ginger and hot water. Allow the ginger to steep for about 1 hour. Pour the liquid through a strainer; discard the ginger. Add the lime juice and sugar to the ginger water, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cover the mixture, and chill it from 1 hour to 1 week. When you are ready to serve, add the rum, and pour the limeade over ice in tall glasses. Garnish with lime slices, and serve.
Â
Makes about 6 servings
T
here are those who say that Barbados is more English than England. Not long ago, for instance, employers requested that a series of cricket matches not be televised on weekdays until after the afternoon tea break, to discourage absenteeism. But even the somewhat stodgy British culinary influence couldn't quell the Caribbean desire for fiery food. The Bajansâshort for Barbadiansâare hearty eaters, with a taste for spicy dishes, such as their version of souse, a combination of various odd parts of the pig steeped in lime juice, herbs, and blazing hot peppers. It is often served with a highly seasoned pudding made from yams.
The wealth of the sea surrounds Barbados, but the creature most associated with the country is the flying fish. It is simply prepared, lightly breaded and pan-fried, and "Flying Fish Bajan Style" appears on menus throughout the West Indies.
The hills of the northern half of the island are covered with sugarcane, still an important crop on an island that produces several well- known brands of rum, notably Mount Gay and Cockspur. It is said that the first commercial rum was produced in Barbados in 1647, short ly after the island was settled. The late Vic tor Bergeron, creator of the worldwide chain of restaurants known as Trader Vic's, where rum drinks evolved into flamboyant fruit- laden fantasies of gargantuan proportions, once wrote that rum was first known as "killdevil" and later as "rum bouillon," but by 1667 the most popular drink in the islands was known simply as rum.
Barbados rums are amber-colored and have a full but light aroma that some people compare to the finesse of a fine brandy. Their clean flavor makes them very good mixers for all kinds of punches and mixed drinks.
This is a terrific Caribbean punch, perfect for a party.
Â
| 1½ | cups sugar |
| Grated zest of 2 limes | |
| 4 | ounces lime juice |
| 8 | ounces orange juice |
| 2½ | cups medium-strength hot tea |
| 2 | bottles dark rum |
| 2 | bottles dry sherry |
| 1 | cup brandy |
| 1 to 2 | bottles chilled dry champagne |
| Fruit slices |
With the back of a spoon, mash together the sugar and lime zest in a large mixing bowl. Add the lime juice, orange juice, and tea, and stir thoroughly. Refrigerate the mixture until it is cool. Add the rum, sherry, andbrandy. Stir until the contents are well mixed, cover the bowl, and let the punch mature in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. Just before serving, pour the punch over a block of ice in a punch bowl, and add champagne to taste. Garnish with fruit of the season.
Â
Makes about 20 servings
