It's a Great Texas Cook Off...With A Jamaican Twist!

I went to Dallas last week to visit my nieces and nephew...oh and my sister. But it was a lot of fun seeing those kiddies. We live so far apart, and I hadn't seen them since the twins were babies and my niece, Alexandra, was 4. The twins are now 4...so you can do the math. They were just excited to have another Aunt there with them...but when I told them that I was their mother's sister...well...oh em gee. That changed everything. It's funny how kids react when they realise they have more family than they thought originally. I wasn't just some random chick who they were supposed to call Aunt because their mom told them too...I was AUNT Nikki. It was nice though to see their little faces light up when they made that connection.

My parents flew down too, so it was a nice little family bonding thing. And with family bonding comes....that's right, COOK OFFS! Yeah. So my mom and Paul (that's my sister's husband) decided they'd each cook their own jerk recipes for chicken and pork. Paul went all out and smoked his for hours on the BBQ and made his less calories...so something to that effect. My mom wasn't into that at all. She just baked her chicken and pork in the oven and then threw it on the BBQ (because it takes too long just on the BBQ...and you have to stand there and junk...according to my mom). But her's had one thing that Paul's was lacking...GRAVY. Oh yeah. Nice seasoned gravy with the spicy jerk flavouring. Boo-Yeah. I did like the smokey taste of Paul's chicken and pork...which funnily enough, is the traditional way Jamaicans cook their jerk. I think Dad says they put it into a smokey pit that's in the ground...which is then covered with palm tree leaves. And seriously...I've tasted the authentic Jamaican jerk seasoning...and it's awesome. But when you're eating all of this with rice and peas (another traditional Jamaican dish), you want some gravy!  So in my books, my Mom totally won the cook off. Haha...there is something about Mom's good 'ol home cooking.

Funnily enough, I didn't have something more Texan...like steak...or cowboy boots (okay...it occurs to me that I have no idea what Texan food is. When I go down it's usually Paul cooking for us or we'll have Mexican). I did enjoy watching the World Series while down there...it's always fun to root for the home team, and I even went out and bought a cool Texas Rangers baseball hat. Oh, and if you want to be popular while traveling, just wear a Rangers hat in the middle of the World Series in an airport. I've never received so many smiles before. And to tell you the truth, when asked if I thought the Rangers would win, I thought for a second that they were asking me about the NY Rangers hockey team. Oh well. I managed to fake a, Oh Yeah. Fo sure they'll win. Go Rangers! 

Best thing about Texas though...the accents. Talk about infectious. And a Canadian speaking like a Texan ain't pretty (see how I did that? That's totally my Texan accent right there). I'll be back again. Texas is loveable. And you know, I've got the nieces and nephew to visit.