Jamaican Me Hungry

Picture it: Christmas Day 2011. I open up one of my gifts & realize it's a cookbook I've been asking for (Perfect One-Dish Dinners by Pam Anderson). So my mother & I are talking as I'm looking through the cookbook & she goes & pulls out her own copy of Anderson's cookbook! I mean, great minds think alike blah blah, but we decided that we had to try out a recipe while I was home. We decided upon Jamaican Jerk Chili, Mango Guacamole & a spinach salad. First, I just want to say I really love this cookbook. Anderson does a good job by pairing main meals, an appetizer & a dessert together by using like ingredients. For instance, anyone who knows me knows how annoyed I get when recipes call for fresh herbs because then I use 2 tablespoons & basically have enough cilantro for 10 more batches of the same meal. Anderson uses cilantro in the main meal, the salad and the guacamole so while there was some left over, it wasn't an obscene amount where I felt pressured to make something with cilantro the very next day. As for the recipes, they were really wonderful & it was time well-spent with my parents. We were talking & joking while making a delicious meal, which then made it even more enjoyable when we were eating it because we could discuss how it came out.

The mango guacamole was really delicious & it was so simple to make. Avocados, mango, cilantro then some spices to taste. We just ate it with tortilla chips, but I think it would be great on tacos or even mixed in with a taco salad. As an appetizer, I'd happily make this on its own.

The Jamaican Chicken Chili was really an interesting dish - it had chili powder & black beans, but at the same time had cinnamon & semisweet chocolate in it. I love when recipes call for ingredients that you wouldn't think go together. This came out really well, but, unfortunately, I was so full from the salad & the guacamole that I couldn't finish the small bowl I took for myself.

Overall, I would definitely recommend buying this cookbook & making this recipe from it!