Succulent Sundays (Riverside BBQ Series): A Weekly Celebration of My Favorite Personal Food Photography

Riverside BBQ Series

Allston, MA

Harry Parker Boathouse

Restaurants:

Hungry Mother

West Bridge

Chef Barry Maiden of Hungry Mother's chicken bbq sandwich

 

West Bridge's beautiful pickled things

One of the Bands:  

Tigerman Whoa

Cooking Class with Private Chef Jason "Irie" Herny, Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Back in January, my mother and I attended an ocean view, outdoor private cooking class at The Great House at Prospect Plantation built in the early 18th century on the outskirts of Ocho Rios, Jamaica.  

Back porch of estate.  Photo credit: http://www.getyourguide.com/

Now, those who know me are well aware that I am not one to cook.  At this moment, since moving into my new place in November 2013, I have yet to stock my kitchen with one pot or pan.  BUT...offer a private cooking class overlooking the ocean in the Caribbean, on a sprawling estate surrounded by lush gardens and rooted in history, and am an all in!

Caribbean sea view from back porch of the estate where class took place.

I suppose I'm ready to cook!

We joined a small group of tourists under what's known as the Great Mahogany tree planted by Sir Winston Churchill in 1953.  After the 950 acre (currently 400 acres) property was purchased by Sir Harold Mitchell in 1936 and featured Jamaica's first hydroelectric power station, notable guests were allowed to plant a tree to commemorate their visit. Sir Winston Churchill's mahogany remains in the center of the yard leading to the front door.

Me & Mommy

Our garden tour lead by Chef Jason Herny (aka Chef Irie) included checking out the Pimento trees from which the fragrant wood was sourced for the grill used to finish our jerk chicken, thyme, scotch bonnet peppers, and an interesting Plumeria tree (aka the Frangipani tree) with origins from West Africa.

Chef Irie underneath the Frangipani tree.

Once settled in on the back porch and armed with a cool Red Stripe, the prep began.

Chef Jason "Irie" Herny

 We began with the steamed callaloo.

Callaloo bunch

After removing the membrane from the stalks, we cut the callaloo into one inch pieces and added to a skillet with green and white onion, small amount of diced tomato, sprigs of thyme, green bell pepper, and margarine.  Chef informed us that when a Jamaican says "add two spoonful", you should add four.

Seasonings for the callaloo:

We coated a boneless, skinless chicken breast with special seasoning in preparation for grilling over pimento wood and dousing with red stripe beer. 

I was chosen to man the grill!

The spicy sent of flaming then smoldering pimento wood was intoxicating!  The flavor it imparted to the chicken was unmatched.

Chef tending to jerk chicken on the grill

Next up was the Shrimp in Coconut Sauce which was eventually plated over yellow rice.

While we awaited the chicken to be finished, we formed and kneaded Festival, a fried dough/dumpling Jamaican dish.

Festival

We then prepped the sauce for the jerk chicken:

Final products were perfect:

Overall, it was a beautiful day to learn a few classic Jamaican dishes!  Chef Jason "Irie" Herny was an amazing teacher and host.  I strongly recommend partaking in this class if ever in Jamaica.  You can sign up, here.

Swinetastic BBQ Festival, Frederick, MD

The highlight for me...smoked turkey leg!

A few of weeks ago (on Flag Day), I attended the Swinetastic BBQ Festival at the fairgrounds in Frederick, MD.  

Aside from being underwhelmed with the shabby VIP tent, I did sample a couple of good eats (BBQ ribs and smoked turkey legs) from Big Fat Daddy's BBQ and Lovey's Homemade Ice Cream.  

Smokers/Grills:

Lovey's Bacon Maple Ice Cream:

Bacon Maple Ice Cream:  Creamy with smoky bacon flavor with swirls of sweet maple syrup.

There were also a few interesting names of BBQ competition winners from the region and great root beer by Wild Bill Old Fashioned Soda Pop Co....

  

Unfortunately, I always go wrong with crab dip dishes.  These crab dip fries from Charley's were the worst.  Overcompensating for flavorless crab dip, the extra Old Bay just made it a salty mess!

One interesting vendor was Thousand Oaks Barrel, Co. offering barrels for home aging.

Funny Signage:

Snapshots of a Few Favorites in Boston's Chinatown

During one of my last Saturdays as a Boston resident, I visited three of my favorite spots in Chinatown.  Each offers some of the best of their trade. 


Great BBQ, 15 Hudson Street

This small, no-frills shop offers roasted whole suckling pig, whole ducks and chickens as well as pork and beef offal.  My favorite treats, the two that I crave the most, are the sliced roasted bbq pork and the traditional Zongzi a savory, glutinous rice and pork (most commonly) pocket.  Fillings are wrapped in large bamboo leaves, wrapped with twine, and steamed.  They are traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival also known as the Duanwu Festival, a celebration of the lunar year), but can be enjoyed all year round.
The sticky rice treat at Chinese BBQ as well as at Ho Yuen (traditional) Chinese Bakery are so good that removing the twine is reminiscent of opening a present on Christmas morning.

After a few quick bites at Great BBQ, we headed over for dim sum at China Pearl, 9 Tyler Street.  Dim sum is always exciting to me.  I love the rush of the carts as they roll by with tempting plates, bowls, and bamboo steamers.

This is the only time I actually enjoy the feeling of being rushed to make dining choices.  It's always fascinating to order something quickly, before the cart disappears, and being either pleasantly surprised, thoroughly confused, or both (the zenith).

 







On this particular day, my usually conservative-eater of a friend was open to try just about anything.  I wish I could have recommended the bbq chicken feet, but on a previous visit, I found them to be prepared more sweet than savory (my preference).

Chicken feet

 The pork shumai at China Pearl has great flavor - a punch of it, in fact.  The texture can be a bit too sticky on occasion, but on this particular day, everything worked.

After the shumai, we went pretty veg and seafood heavy, enjoying the crunch of the steamed bok choy, shreadded veggie stuffed, thin sliced zucchini, shrimp dumplings, and stuffed crab claw (the highlight of our second wind with its burst of fresh oceanic flavors and extreme crunch of the coating)

Zucchini "rolatini" stuffed with veg in a ginger soy sauce.

Shrimp dumplings

Crab claw with chili sauce

We completed our day with some sweets from Ho Yuen Bakery, one of the few traditional Chinese bakeries in Chinatown.  There, I purchased a double duck egg moon cake, sesame rolls, coconut bao, and a sticky rice dumpling.

It gets no better than days like that!