This dinner made it to the top three of dinners I have made so far. The flavors played off of each other perfectly. I will actually be making this again soon so that I can share it with my parents. I know they will love it too!
Once again I have put all of the recipe cards at the bottom of the post. If you don’t feel like scrolling, Jump to First Recipe
The main dish was bone-in chicken thighs cooked in the instant pot. A locally made jerk sauce, called J&E Moreland Jerk Sauce, was the only thing these were seasoned with. They were marinated in the sauce all day for optimal flavor. You only need one tablespoon of the sauce per pound of chicken. We used the “medium” version, but they also have “medium-hot” and “spicy-hot”. Check them out at http://jemoreland.com/
Thanks to the amazing Instant Pot it does not take much work or time to make these moist and delicious thighs! The first thing to do it put the Instant Pot on saute. When it reads “hot” add some olive oil into the pot. Then brown the thighs on both sides.
Remove the thighs from the pot. Pour 1 cup of water or chicken broth into the pot. Scrape any stuck bits off of the bottom, then place the trivet into the pot. Lay chicken thighs on the trivet. Close pot (making sure the valve is closed) and set to manual for 10 minutes. Once it is done, allow to naturally release for 10 minutes.
I have learned that the skin will not crisp up in the pressure cooker so I suggest removing the skin before cooking if that is the only way you will eat the skin or you can try putting them under the broiler for a minute or so to crisp up after cooking. I will be trying the second option next time and will update the post 🙂
Notes:
- If you would like to cook boneless thighs adjust your pressure cooking time to 5 minutes and allow natural release for 10 minutes.
- I only cooked 3 thighs, but feel free to cook more! Up to 8 should be fine. Just make sure to brown the chicken in batches and continually add oil as needed in the first step.
For the sides, I had Pinterest as my little helper. When I was creating my meal plan I searched for Caribbean sides and these two items popped up.
Let me tell you… Any excuse to make the Trinidad Macaroni Pie will be made so I can eat this again. The flavors are outstanding! Not like any other macaroni and cheese I have ever had before. The recipe I used was from Imma at https://www.africanbites.com
The written recipe called for macaroni, but what she had pictured looked to me like penne. I opted to use penne.
While the noodles boiled I melted the butter and sauteed the garlic, thyme, Jalapeno pepper, and smoked paprika for about 1 minute. Just this first step had me drooling from the aromas!
The onions were added next to saute for about a minute before whisking in the flour. Evaporated milk was then gradually whisked in and then brought to a boil. I continually stirred until the sauce thickened.
Remove sauce from heat and remove a small amount into a separate bowl. Slowly whisk an egg into the removed sauce, then return it back into the pan.
Add in most of your shredded cheese, making sure to save some to put on top. I always shred my own cheese. This makes for a creamier result and you avoid the extra additives in pre-shredded cheese!
This is when the drained noodles are stirred in to completely coat. I also added a splash more milk because I knew I would be baking it later (I prepped this during the day so I did not have to worry about it later) and I did not want too much liquid to be absorbed by the noodles. Ground mustard and pepper were also added during this step.
The noodles were then poured into a baking dish and topped with the remaining cheese.
Once I was ready to bake I set the oven to 350 degrees and baked for 30 minutes.
Just looking at these pictures makes me want to grab a spoon and dig in! YUM!
I have no clue how I have never cooked corn this way before, but I will be doing it again for sure. I have always boiled or grilled them on the cob. Never in the oven. They turned out perfect!
I used the recipe from Sharon at Street Smart Kitchen. Link to recipe: https://www.streetsmartkitchen.com/caribbean-style-corn-on-the-cob/
All you do is preheat your oven to 350 degrees, remove the husk and silk (you can leave a small handle on the bottom like I did if you wish), wrap each cob in foil and pop them in the oven to bake for 30-35 minutes. Mine were in for 30 minutes and then I turned my oven to warm while my chicken finished cooking.
While the corn bakes it is time to work on the aioli. The recipe says to use a pestle and mortar or the end of a rolling pin in a metal bowl to smash up the garlic clove with the salt. I only had jarred minced garlic on hand so I used a spoon to smash/mix up the garlic with some black sea salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolk with dijon mustard. Then slowlyyy whisk in the oil bit by bit until thickened. Add lemon juice and smashed garlic salt mixture, mix well. Then add the fresh parsley and mix to combine. This is where you taste and adjust your seasonings to your liking.
The original recipe says to coat all of the cobs once they have cooled a bit. We did not do that because there were only two of us eating it. We will coat as we eat them 🙂 Top with grated parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. I am proud to say our parsley was from our little garden! Yes, these taste as good as they look!!
Instant Pot Jerk Chicken
Ingredients
- 3-8 Bone-in chicken thighs
- Olive Oil
- J&E Jamaican Jerk Sauce or any other jerk sauce
- 1 cup water or chicken broth
Instructions
- Put the Instant Pot on saute. When it reads "hot" add some olive oil into the pot. Then brown the thighs on both sides. If you are cooking more than three thighs, brown them in batches. Add more oil as needed.
- Remove the thighs from the pot. Pour 1 cup of water or chicken broth into the pot. Scrape any stuck bits off of the bottom, then place the trivet in the bottom of the pot. Lay chicken thighs on the trivet.
- Close pot (making sure the valve is closed) and set to manual for 10 minutes. Once it is done, allow to naturally release for 10 minutes.
Notes
Trinidad Macaroni Pie
Ingredients
- 8 ounce uncooked Macaroni
- 2 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1-2 tablespoon jalapenos pepper minced seeded
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- ½ cup finely diced onion
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 egg
- 4 ounce mozzarella cheese grated
- 4 ounce sharp cheddar cheese grated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper I used some seasoned pepper and fresh ground
- ½ teaspoons dry mustard
Instructions
- Cook macaroni according to package directions.Be sure to salt water before cooking.
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan, sauté the garlic, thyme, Jalapeno pepper, smoked paprika for about 1 minute in 2 tablespoons butter.
- Then add onions and continue cooking for about a minute more.
- Proceed by adding the flour; whisk until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until mixture thickens. Remove about ¼ cup of the mixture and slowly whisk with the egg making sure it doesn’t curdle. Dump the tempered egg back into the pan.and mix well to incorporate all ingredients.
- Stir in more than half of the cheese (leave the rest to sprinkle on top) .
- Drain macaroni and add to sauce; stir until coated. Add mustard and white pepper .Adjust seasonings. Transfer to a greased 2-quart baking dish or 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top . Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 -30 minutes or until heated through.
Notes
Caribbean style corn on the cob
Ingredients
- 6 ears of corn
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsps fresh parsley finely chopped, divided
- Paprika and grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Make a cut around the corn husk at 2 inches from the end. Tear off the husk along the cut. Remove the hair inside.
- Wrap up each prepared corn with foil and put directly on the oven rack. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
- While the corn is baking, make the aioli. Smash up the garlic with sea salt in a pestle and mortar (or use the end of a rolling pin in a metal bowl).
- Place egg yolk and mustard in a medium bowl. Whisk until blend. Start adding oil bit by bit, stir vigorously till creamy. Make sure to blend well each time you add a bit oil into the egg yolk mixture.
- When all the oil has gone in and the mixture is thickened, add lemon juice and the smashed garlic with salt. Mix well. Add 2 tablespoons chopped parsley. Stir until even. Taste, season with more salt, pepper or lemon juice if needed.
- When corn is done, let cool for a few minutes.
- Coat 2 tablespoons aioli on each corn. Make sure that all sides are covered. Sprinkle with paprika and Parmesan cheese. To finish off, top with the remaining parsley.
