Sweet Potato Creme Brulee –from The Barefoot Kitchen Witch.

I used a single glass baking dish in a water bath. It turned out well and in the course of a day I’ve eaten nearly half of what I made. Joshua and his friend finished the rest. Our excuse is that it’s almost Halloween and we’re testing recipes.

–I hadn’t thought of it before, but I don’t think they celebrate Halloween on Barbados or T&T.
Ah, well. When SWMBO asks why you’re off your diet and it’s the only excuse you can think of. You run with it.

The sweet potatoes I bought are a pale yellow and not as sweet or strongly flavored as those I bought up north. So I bumped the sugar just a little bit and added just a pinch of nutmeg.

–This goes well with ginger-snaps.

2 cups instant couscous
1/2 cup dried chopped apricots
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of two medium lemons
Juice of one small orange
1 heaping Tbsp grated lemon peel
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground cinnamon
A small handful of chopped dates
1 cup toasted pine nuts
2 shallots -minced
1/4 cup coarsely chopped mint

In a large sauce pan, quickly saute your shallots and add 2 cups water. Bring it to boil and stir in the couscous. Take the pan off the burner cover and let it stand for a couple of minutes. Stir in the dried apricots put the cover back on and let it stand for another 5 minutes. Transfer it to a large bowl and fluff it with a fork. Mix the dates, nuts and mint with the couscous.

Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, orange juice, lemon peel, cardamom and cinnamon then drizzle this sauce over the mix add salt and pepper to taste.
Stir it well cover the bowl and let it stand at room temperature an hour or so.

For a different take try using Israeli Couscous; changing the times and amount of water according to the cooking instructions.

You can also plump the apricots overnight in water making sure there’s enough left after you remove the fruit that you can use it to make your couscous.
–I would also add a little orange zest to the water while the apricots were plumping.

2 cups instant couscous
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs -cubed
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 medium white onion -finely chopped
4 garlic cloves -minced
2 cups chicken stock
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
A small handful of toasted slivered almonds to garnish

Mix the cayenne, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, turmeric and salt. Put the chicken in a bowl and sprinkle with the spices, tossing so that each piece is well coated. Let this sit out for at least a half an hour. (an hour or more in the refrigerator)
Over a medium heat put a little oil in a heavy skillet and lightly saute the onions and garlic. add the chicken and fry until almost done then add the chicken stock and bring it to a full boil. Remove the chicken and add a little corn starch to thicken the liquid.

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil add the couscous and raisins, cover and let stand for at least 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and put a generous amount in the middle of each plate.
Make a small depression in each mound of couscous and place a serving of chicken in each.
Spoon the sauce over the chicken drizzling some over the couscous, sprinkle with almonds and serve.

If you ever wanted homemade sushi but have trouble rolling it they now offer a Sushi Tube.

You pack it with rice, use the thin part of the plunger to hollow it out, fill it, close the tube and use the plunger to press it out onto the dried seaweed.

They don’t even show you the bamboo pad that keeps the whole thing together while you roll it.

This sounds like more work than just making it by hand.

This recipe came from Stuff Magazine.
Washed down with a cold beer they make a great half-time snack.

Ingredients:
Hot dogs
Thick-cut bacon
1 can of spray cheese -I used rolled up Velveeta to stuff them.
1 can beer (It doesn’t matter what kind, but we recommend something dark. Corona probably isn’t a good idea)
1 cup flour
Oil for frying

Instructions:
This one is a little work-intensive, so be ready to buckle down. First take the center out of the hot dog with an apple corer, if you have access to one. If not, just cut out the middle with a knife. Fill the cavity with the spray cheese and use the hot dog you removed from the middle as a cap to keep the cheese in. Wrap the bacon around the hot dog and deep-fry for two to four minutes or until bacon is cooked. Dab them dry with a paper towel (so the batter will stick). Mix the beer with the flour until it reaches a thick, but lump-free consistency. Dip the dogs in the batter, coating the dog completely, and deep-fry on high heat for two to three minutes or until brown and deadly.
NOTE: Don’t fry them too long or all of the cheese will explode out into the oil. That’s very bad.