SHOW & RECIPE FOR FEB. 24

This week’s program hosted by John DeMers comes to us from the beach in Jamaica – from the Grand Lido Braco Resort on Jamaica’s north coast, to be precise, between the bluewater playgrounds of Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.

YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN
The chef at the Grand Lido Braco Resort spent nearly two decades cooking the flavorful foods of his island – for the hip-happening chefs of the so-called Mango Gang in Miami, Coral Gables and super-chic South Beach. Eventually, though, he found a job that let him come home and cook Jamaican food for visitors more primed than ever to taste the real deal. We chat with him about the sea change that has taken a little-understood cuisine into stylish kitchens in the States in less than 20 years, along with what that means to a true Jamaican in the kitchen.

APPLETON RUM EXPRESS
Like every other Caribbean island, Jamaica produces some mighty fun rum. At the Appleton Estate distillery in the center of the island, however, perfectionists are mastering the distilling and blending of this colorful pirate spirit in a way that’s attracting the attention of the wider world. We enjoy a tasting of Appleton’s finest with the estate’s chief blender, learning of the miraculous ways aging in oak has of making rum not just your mama’s white lightning anymore. We learn when to pour this rum into a Planter’s Punch, Pina Colada or Mai Tai – and when to sip it like a fine cognac.

COOPERATIVE SPICE
On the shelves of Spec’s and other fine food purveyors in the States, the products of a Jamaican company named Walkerswood are surefire promises of quality. But as we hear from the international marketing director and the executive chef, Walkerswood isn’t so much a company as a rural cooperative, more like a village in which everyone has one very tasty goal. Over the past 30 years, and especially in the past five when the products have found a home in American kitchens, Walkerswood has become synonymous with the jerk seasoning and other spicy flavorings that make Jamaica famous.

JAMAICAN SMOTHERED CALLALOO

1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 Scotch Bonnet pepper, finely chopped
2 medium sized bunches fresh callaloo, or kale
1 tablespoon salt
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
4 cups chicken stock

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and sauté the onion, celery, garlic and pepper until lightly caramelized. Add the callaloo and stirfry until lightly browned, 15-20 minutes. Add the salt, pepper and chicken stock. Reduce the heat and simmer until callaloo is tender and liquid is almost gone, about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Serves 8.