I was very fortunate to be chosen for this months edition of Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24.  Its 24 meals from 24 blogs  in 24 hours.   When asked to submit a proposal I knew right away what I was going to do.  I was going to invite a few freinds over and cook some traditional Guyanese meals.   I am from Guyana and I find that our food is one of the least showcased.  Our food is a combination of Caribbean, Chinese, African, Indian and British foods.   I had a really difficult time chosing what to cook because I wanted to do it all.  I spent a few days on the menu and decided that it needed to be simple enough that one woman( or maybe two) can actually prepare all of the food.    I also took suggestions from my guests  and they all seemed to be on the same track.  The most popular request was dhal puri and curry so that had to be a part of the menu.

Together my mom and I slaved away in the kitchen to prepare this meal.  A couple of my friends came over and gobbled up the food.  We had enough to eat, take home and still have left over for lunch tomorrow–that’s because I don’t know how much is too much when it comes to entertaining.  It was a great night of food, drinks, good conversations and company.  The beverage of choice for the night was beer…does that go well with spicy foods?  I have no clue, but there were no complaints!  Thanks to foodbuzz for making this event possible and am definitely looking forward to participating in another round of 24,24,24.  I have posted most of the recipes, but for those that I haven’t posted as yet, I will do so in the up coming week, so stay tuned!

My menu is as follows:

Guyanese style Beef Patties

Bake

Sauteed Saltfish

Chicken and Potato Curry

Dhal Puri

Rice and Cheese Loaf

Baked Custard

 

beefpatty11Guyanese Style Beef Patty

 bake21

 Bake and Saltfish

curry3curry1Chicken and Potato Curry with Dhal Puri

Curry is a very popular dish in Guyana.   More than half of Guyana’s population originate from India, so our culture and cuisine reflects that.   Any vegetable or meat can be made into a curry,  I used the very popular chicken and potato combination.  It is served with Dhal Puri, and Indian flatbread.

 

cheeseloaf11Rice and Cheese Loaf

This is a dish that I grew up eating, it was always part of the sunday dinner menu.  Rice is a large part of our diet, so its only fitting that our Mac and cheese is made with rice instead of pasta.  Cooked Rice is covered in a warm cheese sauce and baked until golden and bubbly

 

 

 

custard11Baked Vanilla Custard

Baked Vanilla Custard

3 cups evaporated milk

1/2 can condensed milk (14 oz can)

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

nutmeg

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat milk, do not allow to boil.  Beat eggs and add warm milk gradually to eggs.  This is called tempering and prevents the eggs from scrambling when added to the warm milk.  Add egg mixture to remaining milk and add vanilla.  Pour into greased baking dish and sprinkle grated nutmeg over top.   Place the pan in a larger pan filled with water and bake for 40 mins.