A Merry Caribbean Christmas

Plan to celebrate Christmas on the water? Read through some great recipes that combine Caribbean flavors with the comfort of traditional favorites!

White Mojito

“Oh, how I wish this sand was snow,” said no one ever! But if you are looking for something to remind you of a little bit of a snowy Christmas while you have your toes in the sand, this drink combines the best of both worlds!

It's white and festive and looks a little bit like eggnog, but it's packed with sunny Caribbean coconut flavors. Top it off with some fresh mint springs, cranberries or pomegranate arils and just try to imagine that there even is such a thing as a cold Christmas!

Because this drink is such a crowd-pleaser, I am giving the measurements for a single drink and a large pitcher.

Single Drink

Ingredients:

• Juice of 1 Lime, about 2 Tbsps.
• 8 Fresh mint leaves
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp White Rum
• 1 Tbsp Coconut Rum
• ¼ cup unsweetened coconut milk
• Splash of sparkling water to top it off

Method:

In a glass, muddle the lime juice, sugar and mint leaves until the leaves are crushed and fragrant. Fill the glass halfway with ice.

In a blender or shaker, combine white, coconut rum and coconut milk. Pour over the ice, stir to combine, top with sparkling water and drink up!

Pitcher

Ingredients:

• 1 cup lime juice
• ¼ cup packed fresh mint leaves, plus more for serving
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ cup white rum
• ½ cup coconut rum
• 1 cup canned coconut milk
• Sparkling water to top

Method:

In a large pitcher, muddle the lime juice, sugar, and mint leaves until crushed and fragrant. In a blender or shaker, combine the remaining ingredients besides the sparkling water. Pour into pitcher and chill until ready to serve.

To serve, divide ice among glasses, fill halfway with mojito mix, top with sparkling water, mint and pomegranates and enjoy!

Chipotle Pineapple Jerk Glazed Ham

Now that those Caribbean Christmas mojitos have done their magic and put you in the holiday spirit, it’s time to tackle the main Christmas dinner attraction: A juicy tropical Christmas ham!

I specifically chose ham as the star of my Caribbean Christmas dinner, as they are easily available almost anywhere you find yourself in the Caribbean. This recipe has a Caribbean kick to it, and it takes almost no time to prep, and there is zero stress about it not turning out juicy or crispy in all the right places like a turkey.

Just a little warning, this recipe does have a bit of a spicy kick, which everyone in my family absolutely loves! But if your taste buds are more on the mild side, feel free to scale back on some of the chili powders or even completely leave them out and substitute with a little bit of jerk spice instead.

This recipe takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes from start to finish, with only about 15 of those minutes being hands-on time! Which means there’s more time for you to get your hands on those Caribbean Mojitos you slaved away on!

About 8 Servings

Ingredients:

• 10lb ready-to-eat cooked ham
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp ground thyme
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp chipotle powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp all spice
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 2 cups chopped pineapple (fresh or canned)

Glaze:

• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup bourbon or rum
• 1 or 2 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce, finely chopped
• 1 cup pineapple juice

Method:

Remove the ham from the fridge a few hours before you want to start cooking it so that it can come up to room temperature, which usually doesn’t take very long when you are in the Caribbean!

Preheat oven to 325 F and place ham in a roasting pan. In a small bowl, combine all the dry ingredients for the spice rub mix. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the ham and rub it generously with the spice mix. Depending on the size of your ham, you may or may not need to use all of the spice mix; save the leftovers to rub over some BBQ shrimp or chicken later in the week!

Cover the ham tightly with foil and bake for 1 ½ hours.

While the ham is cooking, prepare the glaze. In a medium saucepan, combine all of the glaze ingredients and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer until reduced by half. Remove from heat and set aside until the ham is done.

Once the ham is done, remove it from the oven and increase the temperature to 400 F. Generously brush the ham with glaze, and place chopped pineapple in the bottom of the dish. Return to the oven and bake uncovered for about 25 minutes or until the ham is browned and caramelized.

Let sit for 5 minutes before serving warm with the rest of the sweet sticky glaze! Enjoy it with all of your favorite Christmas sides!

Impossible Coconut Custard Pie

This is another one of those fantastic go-to holiday recipes, as it uses pantry staple ingredients and requires 10 minutes or less of hands-on time! This recipe magically makes its own crust, and everything gets mixed in a blender and then poured into a pie dish, so there are almost zero dishes too!

This pie is not overwhelmingly sweet, and I tend to like my desserts more on the ‘if it doesn’t give me diabetes, I don’t want it' spectrum of sweetness. So, I sometimes add ¼ cup sugar to the recipe to sweeten it up. Still, it is perfectly sweet enough without the added sugar.

Makes one 10-inch pie

Ingredients:

• 1 (14oz sweetened condensed milk)
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 1/3 cup Bisquick baking mix
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup softened butter
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• ¼ cup sugar (optional extra if you like your pie a little sweeter)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350. Pour all ingredients, except the coconut, into a blender. Blend on high for about 3 min. Pour into a greased 10-inch pie dish. Let the mixture settle for 5 minutes before topping it with the coconut.

Place in the oven and bake for about 35 to 40 min. You want the coconut to be slightly golden and crispy on top and a knife inserted near the edge to come out clean. The pie should still have. Bit of a wobble to it, as it is a custard pie, and it will firm up more while it is cooling down.

Serve warm or chilled with cream or ice cream!

We would love to know what you are cooking up this holiday season! Leave a comment below on what you plan for your Christmas Feasts onboard and where you will be cruising!