Long time since we last spoke, my friends.

We’re back from our 10 day British Virgin Island adventure, and let me tell you, I’ve never been so relaxed in my life. We spent the last week on a yacht island hopping from one gorgeous place to another, swimming and snorkeling, hiking, reading books, and of course, eating amazing food.

Caribbean Chicken and Caribbean Vacation Recap | Things I Made Today

Let me back up. This year marks Jason’s parents’ 40th wedding anniversary, and what better way to celebrate it than with a trip with the entire family? We started off with a day in St. Thomas, but then spent most of our time aboard the Nutmeg, a charter yacht crewed by a wonderful husband and wife team named Paul and Ginette.

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That’s the boat behind Jason and me.

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While there were many highlights of the trips (the unbeliveably clear water, the sunsets, the hike through the baths), I’m obviously going to focus on the food. We didn’t have just any regular old dining experience aboard the Nutmeg. Instead, our chef (and first mate) Ginette prepared three course gourmet meals for us each and every day.

We had egg souffle and eggs benedict for breakfast. We had pasta dishes and carribean wraps for lunch. Around 4:00pm each day, we were treated to an appetizer like baked brie or corn blinis with mango salsa (coming soon to a blog near you).

And then came dinner. A lovely salad appetizer, some lamb shanks or salmon or paella for the entree, and then dessert. The woman made key lime pie and mousse on the boat. No joke. This was my kind of vacation.

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Of course, every great chef gets asked for their secret recipes, and Ginette is no execption. So much so that she decided to just create a cookbook and offer it to her clients so that she didn’t need to repeat herself. I’m sure you’ve already figured out that I purchased said cookbook, and this caribbean chicken is the first dish I decided to make from it.

The dish starts out modestly enough with some tomatoes, onions, garlic, and cilantro.

Caribbean Chicken and Caribbean Vacation Recap | Things I Made Today

Add some Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar, and marinate your chicken thighs for an hour or so.

Caribbean Chicken and Caribbean Vacation Recap | Things I Made TodayThen, to make it authentically Caribbean, you melt some sugar in oil before browning the chicken. That gives the dish a nice carmelized flavor, which you then continue to develop as the sauce thickens and the chicken wants to just fall apart.

Caribbean Chicken and Caribbean Vacation Recap | Things I Made Today

Even though we’re back in Wisconsin and on dry land, we can still eat like we’re in the Caribbean.

Caribbean Chicken and Caribbean Vacation Recap | Things I Made Today

Caribbean Chicken
Author: 
Recipe type: Main Dish
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 2 large onions, roughly chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  • ½ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ cup balsamic vinegar
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 4 lbs chicken thighs and/or drumsticks
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons sugar
  • 1½ cups water
  • ½ cup organic ketchup
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, onions, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, cilantro, salt, pepper, and thyme.
  2. Add chicken, making sure to completely coat it in marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
  3. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add sugar, stirring well so sugar melts. Turn heat up to high and stir until sugar starts to brown. Be careful not to burn it.
  4. Transfer chicken from marinade into dutch oven and brown on all sides. You may need to do this in batches. Once browned, transfer to a plate.
  5. Add remaining marinade from bowl into dutch oven. Add water and ketchup and stir well. Transfer chicken back into pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, remove lid and stir, turning chicken if needed, and continue to cook for an additional 20 minutes until sauce has thickened and chicken is falling apart.

Recipe adapted from The Nutmeg’s cookbook.

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