Garlic/Onion/Chipotle Moomie Buns... I did it My Way!

Since this is to be a journal of my cooking and dining experiences while living in ST Thomas, I would be remiss if I didn't include what I do to the world famous Moomie Rolls.

If you have never heard of moomie rolls, go ahead and google them.  over a quarter of a million sites talk about this recipe... And for very good reason.  It is my go to recipe, at least once a week.  Cost wise, I am sure it is less than $1.50 (even at island shopping prices) to make eight hamburger buns.  Or in this case... Sausage rolls...

But, on the island, no bread machine (if you use the dough setting on a bread machine, you can whip these off with almost no effort, no mess)...  But alas, no machine here on the island.  Here is the original recipe, so easy with a bread machine...

� 1 c water 
� 2 tbsp butter or margarine 
� 1 egg 
� 3 1/4 c. flour 
� 1/4 c. sugar 
� 1 tsp salt 
� 3 tsp instant yeast 

� Place all ingredients in your bread machine. Select dough. Allow to run cycle. � Dump out onto lightly floured surface. Divide into 8 pieces. With each piece, slap into a bun shape. Usually 4 or 5 slaps will do it. Place on greased cookie sheets or your bun pans, cover; rise about 30 to 40 minutes. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes til golden. Cool on wire racks. 

And another BUT, no Kitchenaid mixer.  So, it's old school for me once a week... Mix by hand...

And get creative... I added 1 tsp of Garlic Powder
and 1 tsp Onion Powder
and 1 tsp Chipotle Powder

This is such a beautiful recipe.  Form any way you like.  I had just bought a batch of Johnsonville Brats, so I made split top sausage rolls.  Had enough dough left over to make a few "regular" buns.

I made these in the morning, had a left over Blackened pork chop sandwich for lunch...

And at night, I had mango beer braised brats that you will have to go to my "regular" site to read all about it! I posted about those today!

Blackened Tilapia

Remember yesterday???  Cajun Rub (blackening seasoning)... We made a triple batch.  Now we start using it...

Tilapia is a wonderful fish ... Taste and cheap!  Every store from Aldi to Kroger to the cheap place in St Thomas sells big bags of single fillets, individually sealed and perfect for a quick lunch...

And this recipe is quick... Freezer to thawed in the microwave to 4 minutes in the frying pan and served... total time, just a shade over 5 minutes...

While the fish is thawing ... BTW, if you plan ahead, instead of microwave, put a fillet (still sealed in plastic) in a pan of warm water for 30 minutes and it will be thawed.  OK, back to the how to... While the fish is thawing in the microwave, take an aluminum non stick pan and melt one TBS butter for each fillet you are making...

Add one rounded teaspoon of the rub to the butter and get hot hot hot... You will start to see whisps of smoke coming from the spices.  At that stage, turn the heat down just a tinge.  You like the smoke, but you do not want to burn...

Add the fish fillet.  2 minutes, and you continue to see the smoke...

Flip the fish and 2 minutes on the other side...

Filled with flavor, cooked perfect, flaky, not over cooked...

I love blackened fish.

Make your own rub - CAJUN RUB (Blackening Seasonings)

Earlier this week, I got my care package from home (Kansas City).  25 cups of various spices!!!  Click HERE to see what I got.

Now it's time to start doing something with all those beautiful spices...

No, these pork chops are not burnt... They are blackened.  Sadly, many restaurants have confused blackening seasonings with blackened.  Blackened is a cooking process, made popular by Paul Prudhomme! It is a way to infuse and caramelize spices with butter and cook meat.  The collection of spices used would be more accurately called Cajun spiced if you do not use a flash frying method followed by gentle baking... But I digress...

Soon, I will blog the recipe and technique for making these blackened chops, but today... just the rub.

A Cajun rub is very versatile.  Not as hot as it's reputation would suggest, but certainly enough to know you are eating something special.  I prefer to make my own, especially without salt.  There is plenty of salt in our everyday food.  Highly overrated (in my opinion), and more often than not, not needed.  And especially if you are trying to cut back on dangerous quantities of salt.

You can use this rub to spice up just about any cut of meat, and sprinkling some on grilled fruit and veggies makes a special dish really pop.

here's what I did...

1/4 cups Sweet Paprika
1 TBS Garlic Flakes
1 TBS Onion Flakes
1 TBS Dried Thyme Leaves
1 TBS Dired Oregano
1 TBS Black Pepper
2 TBS White Pepper
2 tsp (TEAspoons) Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Ground Bay Leaves

Go ahead, mix by hand...

Did you pay attention to the quantities?  Biggest quantity was Sweet Paprika (yes, paprika is a pepper, but not a hot hot pepper).  There is a bite to this, it is Cajun after all, but not the killer quantities that people expect.

Isn't this pretty???  I tripled the recipe, as I use this mix a lot.  From eggs in the morning, to grilled pineapple to (of course) meat... Cajun spice is very versatile.

The spices stay fresh for about 6 months.  I store in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator (cool dark place, assuming that little light bulb does indeed go out when the door is closed... Who really knows for sure???).  Mark the bag and date it.

And stay tuned to see my instructions for blackening pork chops and fish... It really is impressive!

ST JOHN WATERFRONT BISTRO

St John Island (one of the "other" US Virgin Islands (the pretty one, almost the entire island is a national park)) is home to a very charming shopping district, just to the right of the ferry exit.  Mostly locally produced artwork and beachwear shops, a few high end jewelry stores.

And this beautiful restaurant!

THE WATERFRONT BISTRO (click HERE to get to their home page) is among the most picturesque places to eat in the entire US Virgin Islands.  Located bay side, with a view of the beach and Caribbean Sea, every table is a wonderful spot to enjoy your break from the world.

Jackie and I had a snorkeling session planned, but wanted to grab a quick bite before heading to our beach.  Their VERY reasonably priced lunch menu was a fun read.  It was foodie heaven to see such a wide selection of starters and soups (chilled tomato saffron with cucumbers and creme fraiche), specialties of the restaurant (Grilled ham and cheese, with gruyere cheese and an egg battered brioche)... But Jackie and I chose to split a blackened chicken breast sandwich with a garlic Aioli...

Only $9 (a bargain on the islands, where just about any burger is over $10, let alone with the beautiful view included free).  It was cooked exactly right, very large (we were splitting to eat a light meal prior to our snorkeling trip).  It was a great meal.

We had planned a quickie meal so we would have time to enjoy the island.  Instead, we stayed for a second adult beverage, enjoyed the top quality food and the view.  It was a great start to our day in St John.

the ST JOHN WATERFRONT BISTRO is certainly on our "must do" list for dinner one night.  The view includes one of the best sunsets on the islands.  Plus their dinner time menu shows the same amount of care as their lunch menu.  Looking for a burger joint... sure, they have that.  Looking for a memorable experience... They toss that in as well.

We loved everything about the Waterfront Bistro.  If you are planning a trip to St John, include this place as one of your "must see"!

My first Foodie Care Package from the States

Christmas came early yesterday.  It took over a week for a 3 day priority mail box to arrive, but it finally arrived!

In Kansas City, there is a "spice guy" that sells spices for $1 a scoop (1/2 cup scoop).  Fresh spices here are difficult to get and VERY expensive.  I spent $8 for some dried garlic flakes I needed for a recipe and knew that I was going to take advantage of a friend and ask him to go shopping for me...

I got so many they didn't even fit in one photo...

3 scoops of Cayenne Pepper
2 scoops of a pre packaged Blackening seasoning..
2 scoop of chipotle pepper
Scoop of red pepper flakes
Scoop of onion flakes
Scoop of garlic flakes
Scoop of onion powder
Scoop of garlic powder

3 scoops sweet paprika
2 smoked paprika
2 scoops szechuan peppercorns
3 scoops mixed peppercorns
Scoop of white sesame seeds
Scoop of black sesame seeds
Scoop of Dry Mustard

2 scoops of Cinnamon
10 Cinnamon sticks
2 scoops star anise
2 scoops whole cloves
Cumin
Tarragon
Coriander
Bay Leaves
Celery seeds
Fennel Seeds
Parsley
Dill
Rosemary
Thyme

1/2 scoop of saffron threads

So, what did I leave out?  Are there any spices you could not cook without???

OK, we're cooking now!

Why so many RUM Recipes???

And remember, no tax...

Robert's American Grille

Our little home away from home is located in the Cowpet Bay area of the island.  In our bay, we share beach space with the St Thomas Yacht Club, a couple of condo developments and the Elysion Beach Resort. By far, the most developed of these is the Elysion.  Complete with rental facilities for beach toys (little sailboats, snorkeling equipment, paddle boats, etc.), Full service spa (Jakie has an appointment to get her hair done next week, and for some ridiculous reason, a manicure/pedicure), a bar with happy hour specials and best of all, a top quality high end restaurant - ROBERT's AMERICAN GRILLE!

Best way to describe Robert's is Casual beach side ELEGANCE!  Located just steps from the beach, in a comfortable spacious setting, it is a place to come dressed in resort finery... or shorts and flip flops.  But what is surprising is the high end quality of the food.

Follow the link above to see their menu.  This is no burger on the beach joint at all.

We split an appetizer, The THREE CHEESE MIXED GRILLE.  A baked combination of Brie, Grueyere and Goat cheeses; topped with almonds and an herb vinaigrette served with a delicious toasted bread.  I love cheese, and this was OUTSTANDING!

Jackie chose the Ribeye.  HUGE, and grilled as she ordered (sadly, medium well, but that;s the way she likes it).Not shown in the photo, the steak rested on a generous cheese stuffed mashed potatoes and beans.  The addition of tomato slices added a cold contrast taste to the plate that worked very well.  the wine sauce gravy was very rich and blended well with the green beans, potatoes and the meat.  It was a perfect plating.

But as good as Jackie's meal was, take a look at my Lamb Chops.  One of their specials for the night, the chops came with the same mashed potatoes (my substitute, they were offered with mashed sweet potatoes).. a diced tomato chutney and a very generous amount of button mushrooms in a very rich butter sauce.  Grilled to a perfect medium (my choice for lamb, medium rare for beef).  Beautifully plated and out of this world for taste!

My only complaint... The meal was so good, and there was so much food that we skipped dessert.

Robert's is a culinary gem. One of those chef/owner places where the quality of the food is far better than the slow paced location would expect.  Never crowded, but always top quality cooked to order specialties, Robert's American Grille deserves a repeat visit... again and again!