Imaginary City by Prefete Dufaut

Today I decided to celebrate Haiti by making some traditional Haitian cuisine starting with Griyo (Griot), which is a delectable dish made from pieces of pork.  I started yesterday by purchasing a 3lb pork shoulder, picnic style and had the butcher cut it into 3 inch pieces.  I added some herbs and spices to a bowl, cumin, paprika, chili, cumin, salt, pepper, cilantro, oregano, and chopped some garlic and onion then added this all to my pork pieces with a few table spoons of oil and did a thorough massage of the pieces to ensure consistent coating.  I then put in the fridge for an overnight marinading (about 12 hours).  

This morning I preheated the oven to 350 and placed my pork into a very large heavy roasting pan (Le Creuset works well) and placed on center rack.  I’ll cook this for several hours (based on the size/amount of pork) and allow it to get a nice crisp outer crust while maintaining a soft and tender juicy inside.  

Served with this will be a Haitian styled rice and beans.  This will start with a half pound of pinto beans and 4 cups of water.  I’ll cook the beans uncovered to allow the water to evaporate and add more if needed.  The beans will cook with cumin, salt, pepper, cloves, and cilantro.  When the beans are tender I’ll add  2 cups of rice to them and cover.  It takes about 15 minutes for the rice to cook completely. 

Celebration by Haitian Ludovic Simpson

I’ll also create a coleslaw that is a spin on a traditional Haitian salad chou (coleslaw).  I learned this version from a traditional Haitian woman.  I cheat by using the pre-package of coleslaw and add cut onions, bell peppers, garlic, and a very small habanero pepper.  I sprinkle salt and finish with a half cup of white vinegar.  Some call this salad Pikliz.

I’ll finish my celebration with a rum cocktail of brown sugar, vanilla, lime juice and Barbancourt dark Rum. 

One day I hope to learn how to make Tasso!

***** Update *****

Here is a picture of the results of my Haitian Cuisine.

Hungry Traveler makes Haitian Cuisine - click to enlarge

This past weekend I had the pleasure to review the Old Town Alexandria Wine and Food Festival. Like many I went for the wine more than the food. The event was headquartered at both the Holiday Inn and Crown Plaza hotels on the north end of Old Town. Both were equally jammed packed with people without stretched arms with wine glasses at the ready. These wine fests always appear to be over crowded and that is partly the reason I love to go. The crowd makes the scene and this inaugural event was no let down. After visiting each vineyards wine station several of us tasters headed down to King Street where we visited a few art galleries to again enjoy the taste of Virginia wines and see some fine art. We ended up at an Irish Pub where we consumed an assortment of burgers, chips, and lamb dishes.

This evening we attended a party where people were asked to bring an appetizer or dessert type of dish. We decided to bring pulled pork BBQ sliders because it would be easy to make, different from what others may bring (deviled eggs???), and probably something people would enjoy eating. We stared with 3lb pork butt, picnic style last night and placed it in a crock pot slow cooker along with a ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup ketchup, 2 tbsp of white vinegar, and some McCormick Pulled Pork BBQ mix. That cooked all night and most of the morning before I took out the bone and all the fat and allowed the remaining pork to cook on low in the sauce for another 3 hours. We used dinner rolls as our buns, cut in half, a few spoons of the BBQ, a dollop of Jack Daniels BBQ sauce, then a spoon full of homemade cole slaw to top it off. The cole slaw is a simple mix of cabbage with a ½ cup of mayo, 2 Tbsp of white vinegar, ½ Tsp of sugar, dash of salt and pepper to taste. It was certainly a hit as all 18 sliders were gone within the hour. I’ve included a picture here so you can see the production.

Summers in Washington DC are very friendly and enjoyable if you can get past all the tourists that come to this great city. Fridays are special for me because one, it signals the end of a work week and two, the weekend is here. At lunch on Friday I normally take a walk with Rachel to the Trader Joes in Old Town Alexandria and pick up a few picnic items like sushi, crackers, cheese, olive spread, chips and dip, etc… we store the items in my office fridge for safe keeping and around 4:00 PM we drive into DC across the 14th Street bridge where we start looking for unrestricted parking or parking that will get us through the 6:30 PM time frame…. parking in DC is a gamble as the DC government apparently hates it when people drive into their city and evidence of such is the numerous pink parking tickets that adorn the windows of just about every other parked automobile in that city. If you can park it, they can ticket it! I think a new license plate motto is in order? I digress… We make our way toward 7th and Madison where the Smithsonian’s Sculpture garden is situated. We go early, and find a spot that will be shaded for the duration of the evening as summers in DC can be brutally hot. We lay out our blanket that is obviously too large for just 2 people but soon the crowds will cover every inch of grass available go go early, get a good spot, and protect it with your flip flops. We settle in and get our sangria and chill. About 5:00 PM the music starts and runs through 8:00 PM as the sun is settling over the horizon. Visiting DC or live in the area, check out Jazz in the Garden every Friday evening in the summer. I am said to say that the last Friday of the season is upon us and I at least hope to see a full crowd. Cheers!