From the category archives:

Main Course

Boiled Shrimp and Cocktail Sauce

August 2, 2010
Southern-Style Boiled Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce

By the time you read this, I should be in the air somewhere between Tortola and Greensboro, North Carolina.  I’m going home to spend some time with my folks and pick up Audrey from camp.  I’m not sure when I’ll next have internet access so I’m experimenting with the advance scheduling feature on my site.  Here’s hoping it works!

Read the full article →

Bourdain, Bones and a Fish Head Curry

June 16, 2010
Fish Head Curry

I’ve always had a thing for the bad boys.  You know the type - mad, bad, dangerous to know.  I like a man who works hard and plays harder.  I’m not afraid of dirty fingernails or a dirty mind.  A man who can’t curse is no man at all.  Of course, under the bad boy exterior, I do expect [...]

Read the full article →

At the Market

May 12, 2010
A Nevis fisherman and his catch

Grocery shopping on a small island can be hit or miss at times.  I learned long ago that menus and shopping lists are only rough drafts.  Keep your plans flexible until you hit the shops and see what’s on offer.  Otherwise, disappointment looms.  Instead of planning for tagliatelle with a pork and mushroom ragu, try for pasta with [...]

Read the full article →

Sugar Apple Unplugged

April 20, 2010
Shakshuka

You may have noticed a distinct lack of activity recently here at Sugar Apple.  I haven’t been on vacation or anything exciting like that.  I’ve just been taking a little break from technology.  I can’t remember the last time I unplugged, went for days without turning on the computer.  It’s pretty refreshing and I highly recommend it.  I must admit [...]

Read the full article →

A Birthday Lasagna

March 21, 2010
Lasagna with Meat Sauce and Besciamella

I bought a book on etiquette shortly after Audrey was born, assuming that any great-grandchild of my gracious Southern grandmothers would naturally grow up to be extremely well-behaved, polite even.  Bones, on the other hand, declared loudly that he had no intention of raising a quiet, mousy, namby pamby, mealy-mouthed child with no mind of her own.  He [...]

Read the full article →

Kitchen Doodads, Gadgets and Gizmos

February 26, 2010
Kitchen gadgets

Do we really need lots of specialized equipment and gadgets to be good cooks?  I find the more time I spend in the kitchen, the less of my clever gewgaws I actually use.  I sometimes open the utensil drawer in the kitchen and wonder what I was thinking.  What compelled me to buy these things?  I have not one, but two of those weird claw-like [...]

Read the full article →

Jamaican Pot Roast

February 24, 2010
Jamaican Pot Roast

My last post on why I cook has me has thrown me into a fit of kitchen nostalgia.  I feel like the kid in The Sixth Sense, only instead of dead people, I see fried chicken, biscuits, and pork chops smothered in cream gravy.  And I see Grandmother’s pot roast.    Her pot roast was a glorious paradigm of simple home [...]

Read the full article →

Spicy Caribbean Gumbo

February 20, 2010
Spicy Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

The Caribbean, land of perpetual summer.  But we do have seasons – and not just hurricane season and tourist season (which reminds me of a fridge magnet someone once sent us…”why is it called tourist season if we can’t shoot at ‘em?”)  This time of year, the heat of the day is tempered by wonderfully cool nights when [...]

Read the full article →

Pork Stuffed with Fennel

January 5, 2010
Pork Stuffed with Fennel

A husband with a sense of humor can be a mixed blessing, especially at dinnertime.  Bones, being much louder than I am, is usually charged with the tasks of calling our guests to dinner.  This means I’ve grown used to the cry of “OKAY everybody…dead pig’s ready!  Come and get it!”  And so have our friends.

Read the full article →

Tips on Cooking for a Crowd

December 28, 2009
Antipasti

Another Christmas has come and gone and I must admit I made it through the holiday season with a modicum of Christmas spirit.  Not exactly Scrooge, but certainly not my usual self, overflowing with cheer, going overboard on the present buying, drinking gallons of egg nog and annoying Bones with an endless stream of carols on the [...]

Read the full article →

Vegetable Strata

December 16, 2009
Vegetable Strata

I’ve always liked the idea of a breakfast strata – a hearty, cheesy, eggy breakfast casserole that I can assemble the day before I need it and bake the next day.  Perfect for occasions when time is at a premium but I want to serve something a little special.  Maybe I have friends coming for brunch.  Or house guests.  Or it’s Christmas morning [...]

Read the full article →

Stuffed Christophene

December 14, 2009
Stuffed Christophene

I call it christophene.  But you can also call it christophine, mirliton, chayote, choko, chocho, chuchu, chow-chow, alligator pear, vegetable pear, sayote, tayota, Madeira marrow or xuxu.  I’m sure there are a few I’m missing.  If there’s ever an award for the vegetable with the most names, christophene is a sure contender.

Read the full article →

Trinidad Beef Curry

December 5, 2009
Trinidad Beef Curry

The Christmas winds have finally arrived, bringing cooler weather…though cool is a relative term in the Caribbean.  I jump at any excuse to make a hearty, warming beef stew and thought I’d try my hand at a Trinidad-style beef curry (or curry beef as they sometimes say in Trinidad).  Devica, being my resident expert on Trini cooking but [...]

Read the full article →

Ham with Sorrel and Sorghum Glaze

November 30, 2009
Ham with Sorrel Glaze

Last week I was delighted to come across this bottle of Sorey Sorey Soreal (a.k.a. sorrel drink), locally produced by A. Nibbs Sons and Daughters.  Who could resist the unsophisticated charm of a homemade brew and its promise to make you feel joyous and merry?  I know I couldn’t.

Read the full article →

Autumn Chicken and Vegetable Stew

November 18, 2009
Thumbnail image for Autumn Chicken and Vegetable Stew

 A big storm blew through the BVI on Monday.  Roads were flooded, trees were downed and the weather cooled off nicely.  Well, cool for us, which means the temperature dipped to below 85 degrees, at least for the day.  A day that cried out for stew. like this warm, homey Autumn Chicken and Vegetable Stew.
Autumn Chicken and [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries