Dearest you,

Goodness you’re sweet to me. Sweet and sincere and, oh, just everything a girl could want in a friend.

I cannot

I will not

be able to thank you for your affection

for all the love you’ve given me in the past few days.  

So really this time,

stay for dinner?

We’ll eat the most tender chicken thighs, the ones I’ve jerked and jazzed just so.

You’ll see how sweet and spicy get married on your plate, how feistily their flavors fight.

We can lick our saucy fingers and wash tastes of Jamaica down with lime spritzers.

We’ll laugh 

We’ll stay up all night and I’ll tell you secrets and then ask you, twice, if you’d like some of the leftover jerk chicken I’m eating, cold from the fridge. 

But dear,

please stay.

Love love love,

Me

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped scallions
• 1 jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds removed and minced (or Scotch Bonnet chile)
• 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 3 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground mustard
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1bay leaf
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except for chicken in a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth and well-combined. Place chicken in a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag and pour the jerk sauce over the chicken, taking care to cover all parts. Squeeze excess air from the bag, seal, and refrigerate for 24 hours.
2. Preheat your oven’s broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil, set a wire cooling rack on top of the sheet and grease the rack well with canola oil. Lay the chicken breasts on top of the rack and broil for 15 minutes (about 5-6 inches from the upper heating coils of your oven), flipping halfway.

Tagged as: all spice, Caribbean, chicken, cinnamon, jerk, poultry, recipe, spice