Haitian Traditional Sunday Dinners

A Haitian dinner can easily run into five to seven courses, but a traditional Haitian dinner always has a minimum of three courses.

The normal fare is a meat or sea food served with one or more boiled or fried starches like green or yellow plantains, white potatoes or sweet potatoes, breadfruits, yams or some other roots followed by a dish of grains like rice, corn, millet etc... cooked with or without peas or beans.

Appetizers or amuse-gueules, before and after dinner drinks, salads, desserts and side dishes of vegetables are encouraged and appreciated when time and economy permit, but are optional.

The Haitian dinner doesn't  end with dessert like some culture but rather with a nice cup of espresso coffee served in the living room.
Dessert is never brought to the dinner table as part of the dinner, but placed on a side table as an after dinner treat

Traditional Haitian Sunday Dinner

Seared fillet of beef

Braised carrots

Fritay  ( fried plantains,sweet potatoes, acras)

Haitian black  mushroom rice with sweet peas

Papaya juice

Coffee

Beignets



Braised carrots                                                                       Serve 6

2 lbs of carrots
1/2 stick of butter
1 tab of brown sugar
1 large beef bouillon cube
1/4 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of ground black pepper
1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
4 cups of water or  enough water to cover all the carrots completely
2 tabs of chopped parsley

Peel the carrots and cut them into 2 inch slices. In a heavy bottom pot over high heat, pour the water, place the carrots and the other ingredients except the parsley. Bring to a full boil, then cover and reduced  heat to medium, cook until carrots are fork tender about 35 to 45 minutes. Drain if there are more than 2-3 tablespoon of liquid left.
Sprinkle chopped parsley over carrots, mix well, transfer to a serving  dish and serve.


Enjoy

Traditional Haitians Sunday Dinners

Everybody's  Sunday dinner is special, there is no doubt about it,  I know that some people go to great length to accomplish this expected masterpiece by stretching their time , purses, patience and love to experience one more time the smell,  look  and the taste of a particular  dish that is relished by the whole family.
Unfortunately many  people are  giving up or losing these traditions with great pain , because of modern life, or uncontrollable changes.
 However, what matters is not how much you do  it's  knowing that you are  trying to carry on this legacy that our parents and grand-parents left us. Therefore, by practicing a little  something , may be just one thing that can fulfill the soul and defines the  identity, can bring great satisfaction.

This a suggested menu of our traditional  Sunday dinners

Baked or stewed chicken
Sweet peas puree
White rice
Boiled sweet plantain
Lettuce and tomato salad/ vinaigrette dressing
Baked macaroni and cheese
Passion fruit juice
Coconut ice cubes

Every Haitian knows that chicken and sweet peas are The dish par excellence in Haiti on Sundays  be it  a  Sweet peas puree,  Sweet peas with rice  or Creamed Sweet peas cooked with chicken  or other meats, the Sweet peas is a constant in most Haitian Sunday's dinner table.
The preferred meat on Sundays  is chicken and other  fowls like guinea hens, pigeons, ducks etc, it's also  the day for all type of rotis, fillets , et the  gratinees

And on that note I am going to  give you the Gratinee of all times, The Haitian baked macaroni and cheese.
Haitian baked macaroni and cheese


Bechamel sauce

4 tabs of butter
1 medium onion very finely chopped
1/2 of a red bell pepper finely chopped
2 tbs of flour
1- 14 oz can of Carnation evaporated milk, add enough water to make 2 cups
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
1 pinch of nutmeg
In a heavy bottom sauce pan  over low heat , melt the butter cook the onion and the pepper whitout browning stir in the flour mix well  add salt and pepper, keep mixing add milk stirring constantly until flour is cooked an sauce   thickens .Add nutmeg, remove from fire and set aside

4 cups of uncooked large ziti ( 1 pound)
1 tsp salt
2 cups of shredded cheese ( Edam, Gouda, sharp Cheddar, Emmental or Gruyere)
1cup of mayonaise ( yes  I did say mayonaise)
1/4 cup of Dijon moutarde ( yes , yes  that's what I said mustarde)
2 eggs beaten



In a large pot boil ziti with salt for 7 minutes , drain and pour in a  9"x13"  baking dish, add  grated cheese, mayo, mustarde, eggs and bechamel sauce, mix well .
Top with this mixture
Topping
1/4 cup of grated  cheese
2 tbs of bread crumbs
2 tabs chopped parsley
4 tabs of butter
Mix cheese , bread crumbs and parsley togother and sprinkle over  the macaroni and dot  with the butter 
Bake at 350o  in a pre-heated oven for about 45 minutes or until golden brown
Let rest at least 20 minutes before serving.


Enjoy

End of summer

The end of summer  is also the end of cookouts, garden parties and many other outdoor activities.
 While we can put  away patio furniture, barbecue grill and garden tools at the end of the summer, we can also prepare the house for the new season , specially the dining table for a softer and warmer ambiance.
 This can be done by dressing the table in a warmer color, some fresh flowers and  candles will surely  create a  welcoming air  in the dinning area.
This time of the year pumpkin, eggplant, okra are at their best and at reasonable prices, we can take advantage of this abundance and make  a lot of pumpkin soup, tiaka, joumounade, pigeon pea soup, pumpkin  polanta  and pumpkin  risotto among other things.
In Haiti we eat eggplants year around   in a variety of ways, but  our legumes are the best , with beef or pork or dried cod fish, it's always delicious, as well as our exquisite eggplant with crabs.
Okra is Calalou or Gumbo as it's called in some part of the country is eaten in soups, stews, cooked in rice, with ground corn meal, etc.. but the soul of the southeastern part of Haiti
is  Tom-Tom ; it's a smashed okra stew made with meat, chicken or seafood, while the northern part of the country relishes another dish of okra with chicken and Haitian black mushrooms


Pumpkin soup


For the stock
2-3 lb meat with bones (beef short ribs, chunks, neck)
1 Tab of sour orange juice*
1 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of ground black pepper
 2 cloves of garlic
1 scallion
1 tab oil
1 medium onion stuck with 5-7 whole cloves
 8 cups of water

In a large bowl, season the meat with the spices and let marinate for 1 to 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
In a soup pot, add the oil and let the meat suet until all the water  evaporates. Add  the 8 cups of water, onion and  bring to a full boil , lower the heat to medium , let cook for about 30 minutes then add the followings.
For the soup
Make a bouquet garni* with 4 sprigs of parsley, 2 sprigs of thyme, 4-5 leaves of sorrel tied up  in a bundle
3 celery starks cut into 1' pieces
3 larges carrots peeled cut into 1" pieces
1-2 small parsnips peeled cut into 1" pieces
3-4 lbs Cuban pumpkin peeled and into 6-8 pieces or
1- 10 oz frozen pumpkin
2 medium leeks cut into 1/2" pieces
2 small turnips peeled and quartered
2 beef or chicken bouillon cubes
1 scotch bonnet pepper
10-12 leaves of cabbage split in two


The starches
1 lb white potatoes peeled and cut into 2" pieces
2 malanga* peeled and cut into 2" pieces
1/4 cup macaroni ( ziti type)
1 cup vermicelli
Add  the pumpkin to the  pot  with  all the vegetables  except the cabbage and the hot pepper. Cook for another 30 minutes or until meat is tender.
Remove pumpkin from pot and puree with 1 to 1 1/2 cup of of the cooking broth then return to the cooking pot. Add 1 to 2 cups of water if needed, add the cabbage,  hot pepper,  bouquet garni*, and the bouillon cubes.  Bring to a full boil , add the starches, cook for another 20 minutes or until vegetables are cooked.

 To finish add 

1 tab of butter
1 Tab of lime, lemon or vinegar
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
 1 clove of garlic mashed finely
Simmer for another 10-15 minutes . Turn fire off, let rest for about 15 minutes before serving. Serve with buttered toast or hot bread.

Enjoy

End of summer

Weekend cook out menu

Appetizers

Fresh fruit salad
Cheese flavored potato croquettes
Boudin/ pickliz


Meats

Grilled  suckling pig
Grilled stuffed turkey

Macaroni au gratin
Corn souffle

Salads

roasted tomatoes and onions salad
Mirliton salad

Drinks

Fruit punch
Cherimoya  juice

Dessert

Cassava pudding
Guava tartlets