So I’m making a menu from all the wonderful ideas I got over at Bahama Breeze.

CREOLE BAKED GOAT CHEESE
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon garlic, minced
½ cup Vidalia onion, diced small
4 ounces fresh goat cheese
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced small
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
¼ teaspoon Frank’s Hot pepper sauce
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Roasted red pepper cups
Garlic crouton rounds

• Heat olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat, then add the garlic and onions and sauté just until the onions become translucent.
  
• Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• Transfer the onion-garlic mixture to a mixing bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Mix to thoroughly blend.
  
• Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste.
• Fill roasted red pepper cups with goat cheese mixture and bake in a 350 ºF preheated oven for 10 minutes.
• Now, place the garlic crouton rounds in the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
  
• Remove from the oven and transfer the pepper cups to the center of a serving platter and arrange the baked croutons in a circle around the pepper cups.
  
• Serve with a fresh tomato salsa on the side.

Note: When eating this dish, we recommend cutting the pepper cups into wedges for the full experience of eating the filling with the red pepper.

ROASTED RED PEPPER CUPS
1 medium red bell pepper
1 Tbsp Olive oil as needed Salt & pepper

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut red pepper in half to form a top and bottom.
• Remove and discard the seeds and trim the stem to allow the top half pepper cup to stand up.
  
• Rub the inside of the pepper cups with olive oil and season them lightly with salt and pepper.
• Place them in a pie plate, cut side up, and bake them for 5 minutes.
  
• During this roasting step you will be just slightly softening the pepper. The final cooking will take place after the pepper cups are stuffed.
  
• Allow the cups to cool upside down to allow the excess juice to drain out prior to filling with the goat cheese mixture.

GARLIC CROUTON ROUNDS
½ loaf French baguette, cut into ¼” slices
4 tablespoon butter, softened
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cut the bread crosswise into 16 ¼” thick slices. Set aside.
  
• In a small mixing bowl, blend the garlic, chopped parsley and softened butter until thoroughly mix.
  
• Spread the top and bottom of each slice of bread with about ½ tsp of garlic butter on each side.
• Place the buttered croutons on a cookie sheet.
  
• Bake for 5 minutes.

JERK CHICKEN PASTA
4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into small strips
1/2 cup butter
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
fresh chopped parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
8 ounces bowtie or angel hairpasta

• Melt butter in skillet over medium/low heat and add garlic.
• When garlic becomes fragrant add cayenne pepper and chicken (already cut up into small strips/slices or whole), increase heat.
• Cook until chicken is cooked to preferred tenderness. Remove chicken from pan, leaving the butter/garlic/cayenne mix.
• In a separate deep pan, cook pasta according to the package directions. Set aside.
• In a cup whisk together half-and-half, chicken broth, and corn starch.
• Pour into skillet with the garlic mixture. Add mushrooms.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat, then simmer for 3-5 minutes over LOW heat, constantly stirring.
• Stir in the parsley, marjoram to heat through and allow flavors to blend.
• Add chicken to heat through.
• Add pasta and stir to heat through.

When I decided to bring some Chocolate pineapple upside down cake I scoured the net for recipes. I couldn’t find one that I was completely happy with (though the above one from Bahama breeze was a total inspiration) so here is my compilation recipe that incorporates all my favorite ingredients:

CHOCOLATE CHERRY PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling
1 can pineapple rings, well drained
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup safflower oil
1 teaspoon blackberry extract
1/4 cup vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spread pie filling into a well greased 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
• Strategically lay the pineapple rings on top of the cherries.
• Sift together the flour with the sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
• In a separate bowl, combine water, oil, vinegar, blackberry and vanilla extracts.
• Add the liquid to the dry mixture and stir just until moistened; pour into the pan over pie filling.
  
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
  
• Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
  
• Invert pan onto a plate.
• Cool completely.

Now we have to also have a fruity foo foo drink. I mean it is the islands after all! Here is the recipe for:

BREEZE RUM PUNCH
1 jigger Malibu Rum
1 jigger Bacardi Rum
1 jigger DeKuyper Peach Schnapps
1/4 cup mango juice
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup guava juice

• Mix and serve Ice Cold!
• Garnish with pineapple slice, orange slice and maraschino cherries.

If you have the time make ice cubes ahead of time using fruit juices so as they melt they meld into the drinks.

Or perhaps you’d like a

BLOOD ORANGE MAI TAI
1 oz Dark Rum
1 oz Silver Rum
1 oz Coconut Rum (I used Bacardi Coco)
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/4 oz Amaretto
1/2 blood orange, juiced
1/2 lime, juiced

• Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
  
• Add all ingredients above and gently shake to combine.
  
• Strain into a glass filled with ice and garnish with slices of blood orange and lime.

And here is another fun site for lots of other rum punches.
Jerk Cooking suggestions.