Reviews
Gift-worthy batch: Ten of the year's best cookbooksCooks with adventurous palates and a taste for exotic ingredients will find much to like in this revelatory volume that underscores the diversity of the Caribbean islands. Well-traveled sisters Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau include more than 100 recipes: classic and regional standards, family favorites and original creations., In Caribbean Potluck, Suzanne and Michelle share an authentic Caribbean narrative peppered with mouthwatering and exciting recipes. This is not a work to be consumed hurriedly, but instead it should be leisurely imbibed, savored and relished in a truly spiritual manner, in the manner that one would break bread around a table surrounded by family friends and loved ones., Although you may not have heard of them, Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau are celebrity chefs in their home country, Jamaica. And like many celebrity chefs, they've made their way from a brick-and-mortar restaurant and high-profile catering to TV and the Internet. "Culinary hostesses" for the Jamaica Tourist Board, the telegenic sisters have transformed themselves into virtual spokeswomen for the cuisine of the southern Caribbean, maintaining a bustling media presence that can be tracked at 2sistersandameal.com. The Caribbean pantry is not a perfect match for the New England one, and many recipes in Caribbean Potluck have to be nixed if you don't have access to ackee, hardo bread, cho cho, ortanique, and other exotica. But a good number turned out to be doable with only a bit of finessing. Bold with thyme, garlic, and Scotch bonnets (well, with habaneros, since that's what I could get), these dishes are almost confrontationally flavorful, and always surprising., I know absolutely nothing about Caribbean food or how to cook it. The Caribbean Kitchen 101 chapter likely exists for people just like me., The two well-traveled women - chefs, former restaurateurs, food bloggers and creators of the TV show "Two Sisters and a Meal" - share childhood memories that provide a unique look at the diversity of culture, race and history of Jamaica and other nearby islands. Their informative book pays obeisance to both traditional hearty and spicy Caribbean dishes (including one-pot stews as the Guyanese Pepperpot recipe below) while at the same time presents a contemporary spin on numerous regional classics. Readers will learn about staples of the Caribbean pantry, marinating meat, the Caribbean bar and a lot more. Recipes run the gamut from light soups and snacks to roasts, stews and fixings. A tasty smattering of desserts, from homemade coconut ice cream to lemon passion fruit squares, also are included., For those seeking a different flavor, Caribbean Potluck: Modern Recipes from Our Family Kitchen (Kyle Books) by Susannah and Michelle Rousseau has a section on grilling Jamaican foods., Best Recipe of 2014 #7: Red, Green, and Gold Salad with Toasted Almonds The book: Caribbean Potluck, by Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau (Kyle Books, $24.95 - here's my complete review) The recipe: Red, Green, and Gold Salad with Toasted Almonds Why I tried it: I don't test a ton of many-ingredient salads - unless the ingredients list allows me to claim it's a "dinner salad". If it's a one-pot meal, I can justify spending most of my 1.5 hours of prep time on a salad. Here the chickpeas were the clincher - "Protein!" I exclaimed, and promptly excused myself from rummaging in the freezer for some meat to defrost. Why I loved it: This one's for everyone who eats with their eyes. It's a riot of color and flavor - bright and tropical in the summer, when I made it, and festive on the holiday table. Thanks to the smooth avocado, slithery mangoes, velvety beets, crisp almonds, and crunchy onions, every bite has some kind of interesting texture effect. You'll probably still be experimenting and trying to decide whether you like velvety/crisp or slithery/crunchy better by the time you get to the bottom of your bowl., Caribbean Potluck is a fascinating read and it's not often that a Caribbean cookbook comes on the market that is not a rehash of recipes that have already been published somewhere else. There truly are some new and unique recipes in this book., Here's a chance to bring something fresh and spicy to your next potluck: Caribbean Potluck. Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau, Jamaican-born sisters, former restaurant owners and caterers, present their Modern Caribbean Cooking which, savory or sweet (or savory-and-sweet in the classic Caribbean tradition), would make a fabulous addition to any menu. Islanders have an expression for a diverse mixture and blend of things: "mix-up and blenda." If your co-hosts are willing, why not make the whole event a mix-up and blenda? You could do worse than start with Jerked Chicken and Cashew Spring Rolls with Peanut Coconut Dipping Sauce, move on to Blue Mountain Beef Stew with Stout, and wrap it all up with Lemon Passion Fruit Squares. Not a Jell-O salad in sight!, Caribbean cuisine is more than jerk chicken and patties, what Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau refer to as "brown food." With their new book, Caribbean Potluck, the Kingston, Jamaica-based sisters present a new face for island cuisine: young, sophisticated, and in tune with the region's complex history and culinary traditions. The Rousseau sisters include recipes for classics such as jerked pork and Guyanese pepper pot, and unexpected fare such as roasted pepper and pumpkin soup and smoked marlin ceviche crostini. Jerk chicken makes an appearance in a spring roll and lasagna. It's an approach to cooking that the sisters see as reflective of the "everyday luxury" of island living, where eating fresh seafood on the beach is part of daily life. As hosts and producers of the television series "Two Sisters and a Meal," and a follow-up Web series, Suzanne, 42, and Michelle, 44, have traveled throughout the Caribbean to shine a spotlight on traditional cooking and culture, to highlight the diversity of the cuisine for a Caribbean audience. With Caribbean Potluck, the chefs are looking to spread the word farther afield. "The best things you can eat is street food and the best cooks are home cooks," says Michelle., A Caribbean Potluck Needs to Be in Your Immediate Future--Raise your hand if you think Caribbean cooking is all about jerk seasoning and one-pot stews -- don't be shy! Suzanne and Michelle Rosseau, the ladies behind "Two Sisters and a Meal," say that these are a part of Caribbean cuisine. They're just not all of Caribbean cuisine. Not by a long shot. The recipes in this book are drawn from the sisters' favorite family dishes, traditional Caribbean dishes, and their own modern creations using Caribbean flavors and ingredients. The dishes are fresh, boldly flavored, and sassy -- the kind of dishes that make you pay full attention when they're filling your plate. The sisters also emphasize, through stories and photos and observations of island life, that the vast majority of these dishes are meant to be shared, family-style. In fact, the book is arranged not by seasons or meals of the day, but by gatherings great and small -- from a true Caribbean fete to Sunday family supper., Their presentation at this year's Foodie Seminar is still being lauded and their booth at the Food Awards won rave reviews. We're not that surprised really that they left an amazing impression in New York., The Rousseau sisters enter a room like a force ten gale - full of laugher, smiles, chatter, and life. That same energy is on display in their whirlwind of a book: Caribbean Potluck. The tome is more than a cookbook; it's a love letter to the Caribbean of their birth, to their family, and to their region. The book presents classic dishes like their mother's roast pork with cracklin' and rum gravy and their own island-inspired inventions like a ginger-thyme risotto. It's a must have for lovers of Caribbean cuisine and perfect for novices and experienced cooks alike., Anyone who has eaten many plates of blackened, mangy-looking jerk chicken might get the impression that Caribbean cooking is fairly limited. The cuisine of most of the English-speaking islands is often lumped under the umbrella of stews, dumplings and pineapple-strewn desserts. But Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau say there's much more to island cooking. They're sisters and cooks based in Jamaica, and their cookbook Caribbean Potluck introduces a new way of thinking about food from their homeland., When I'm looking for a way to get food on the All Things Considered menu, I'm looking for great stories--about meals whipped up with a sister, or recipes that take me far away from my sad desk lunch of lentils--or just stories that teach me something new about what I put in my mouth every day. Caribbean Potluck from Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau satisfies all three. Plus there's a recipe for Whole Roast Snapper With Lime And Mojito oil. A whole snapper can be hard to find, but the Rousseau sisters make the search worth it. After all, as Suzanne told NPR's Audie Cornish, 'Our food can be extremely sexy. It can be extremely healthy. It can be easily done.', Island eating means seafood, and lots of it -- like the fiery pepper shrimp that Jamaican sisters Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau cook up in their new cookbook, Caribbean Potluck. "Pepper 'swims,' or shrimp seasoned with chili peppers, are sold by shrimp vendors on the roadside and at stoplights in various parts of the island," the Rousseaus write. "Served at room temperature out of little plastic bags, they make for a tasty, quick, 'smoke out of the ears' snack when journeying around Jamaica." Or, in this case, journeying to the dinner table., Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau say there's much more to island cooking. They're sisters and cooks based in Jamaica, and their cookbook introduces a new way of thinking about food from their homeland. As Suzanne tells host Audie Cornish on All Things Considered, "We have a plethora of flavors and ingredients that we underutilize, and because we have prepared them for so long in very traditional ways, the world outside of Jamaica has not explored the abundance of Caribbean ingredients and flavors."This means the sisters' recipes pack a few surprises you might not expect out of Jamaica -- dishes like callaloo and ricotta ravioli, or banana and coconut crème brûlée. And when they do turn to jerk chicken, that old standby, they thrust it into unknown territories like lasagna and spring rolls. In all this experimentation, though, the style of the islands still dominates., From jerked pimento crusted beef tenderloin and banana fritters dusted with sugar and coconut rum creme, to penne pasta with ackee in coconut cream sauce, it was a mouth-watering food expedition at the launch of the Rousseau sisters' recipe book - Caribbean Potluck. The two sisters from Two sisters and a Meal, Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau, had a wide range of delicious dishes on display from their first recipe book. The intoxicating aroma had guests salivating upon entry to CPJ Market. With sangria and lemonade whetting appetites in their wake, palates eagerly anticipated savoury indulgence., The siblings have a fascinating yet typically Caribbean heritage -- they are a "mix-up and blenda" of African, French, German, Indian, Scottish, Haitian, Cuban, and British ancestors -- which they tap into as they turn out dishes that can only be defined as gourmet Jamaican fusion., Caribbean Potluck, easily one of the most well received Caribbean cookbooks in recent memory, has found new triumph after being named as one of the Best Books of 2014 by staff and critics at NPR. "We are overjoyed," said Suzanne Rousseau. "It such a thrill and honour to have our book, which was truly a labour of love, in the ranks of so many amazing books which we ourselves admire." Caribbean Potluck is one of only eight international cookbooks on the list of 250 Best Books of 2014 and the only book from the Caribbean., The Rousseau sisters enter a room like a force ten gale--full of laugher, smiles, chatter, and life. That same energy is on display in their whirlwind of a book: Caribbean Potluck. The tome is more than a cookbook; it's a love letter to the Caribbean of their birth, to their family, and to their region. The book presents classic dishes like their mother's roast pork with cracklin' and rum gravy and their own island-inspired inventions like a ginger-thyme risotto. It's a must have for lovers of Caribbean cuisine and perfect for novices and experienced cooks alike.
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