A friend of mine goes into a mode I call “Martha Stuart by proxy” every year on her child’s birthday. She signs up each of her friends to do what we do best, and she always has some amazing craft she’s doing for the gift bags. As an example, this year she’s decided to do a West African theme, and is *making grass skirts by hand *for reach of the invitees.
Let me stop here long enough to say that she is a wonderful friend, would give us each the shirt off of her back, and in various ways has earned our annual indulgence of this insanity.
So: My job is always to contribute to the feast. What West African foods do you know of that would work well for kids at a party? I’ve found several recipes but they are all either too spicy, or involve large plates of rice. (Rice + four-year-old + paper plates? No.)
Yams are very West African, so yam/sweet potato “fries” or wedges should be both kid-pleasing and reasonably authentic.
Peanut butter rings, made out of kneaded peanut butter (to get some of the oil out and make the peanut butter more solid) and deep-fried, also sound like something kids would like. Although with peanut allergies so rampant these days, it might not be a good idea if you don’t know all the guests’ allergy status.
They show meat on skewers and mention chicken wings. Both could be fun. Rice OR breads so you could do corn bread, for example. Get paper plate “bowls” instead of plates and give them spoons. Then they list vegetables such as collard greens. Potato salad. And plaintains–everybody likes cooked bananas, don’t they? You could go easy on the spices or use milder ones like nutmeg. The kids won’t know…
Wow. West African food is not the most palatable to American tastes, even for adults. I’d suggest sliced fried bananasas a kid friendly version of plantains, perhaps some flat bread, grilled chicken or chicken kebabs and sweet potato fries.
It’s not entirely authentic, but I don’t see stewed goat and fufugoing over too well!
Yam and peanut stew. Everybody loves this stuff, even kids. You’ll need bowls.
2 pounds chicken meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp salt
1 15 oz. can whole tomatoes in juice
¼ cup water
2 TBSP tomato paste
¼ cup peanut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced and mashed into paste with 1 tsp salt
1-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
½ cup smooth peanut butter at room temperature
1-3/4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 lb sweet potato or yam, cut into 1 inch chunks
Sprinkle chicken with salt and let stand for 30 minutes.
Pulse tomatoes with juices in a food processor until finely chopped.
Stir water into tomato paste in a small bowl until smooth.
Pat chicken dry. Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high until hot, then brown chicken. Remove from pan. Pour off excess oil, leaving about 2 TBSP, then add onion and cook over medium heat until lightly golden, about 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken, tomatoes, tomato paste mixture, garlic paste and cayenne to pan (or use a pot, if needed).
Whisk together peanut butter and one cup broth in a bowl until smooth, then add to chicken along with remaining ¾ cup broth, stirring to combine well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, about 30 minutes. Add yam chunks and simmer until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Serve over rice, if desired.
I’m totally stealing that recipe, Chefguy! It looks fantastic, and I’ve been itching to try a dish similar to my Tanzanian Spinach and Peanut Curry as my fiance can’t have that much spinach for medical reasons.
But I’ll echo the warning above: with peanut allergies so rampant with littles these days, it’s a good idea to check your guests’ allergies before serving peanuts at a kid’s party.
I would not substitute garbanzos; they lack the deep flavor of roasted peanuts. I’d suggest either checking with the hostess (who has hopefully considered such an issue–I think of peanuts as integral to West African cuisine, from the very little I know of it), or substituting another nut butter, e.g., almond.
In any case, it’s always up to the allergic party to check on such matters, and I cannot imagine a parent with a severe peanut allergy-- especially after hearing about the West African theme–wouldn’t ask questions.
Huh. Everything I’ve ever heard of West African food makes me…not want to eat West African food. (A friend of mine who was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali has horror stories.) Your friend is a brave woman.
Oh, come now! Surely a birthday pinata just ain’t a pinata without the fried caterpillars raining down on the eager cheering faces of the guests!
(Does that link really need a warning? Probably. Yes, it goes to a picture of fried caterpillars, enjoyed throughout much of West Africa as a tasty snack food.)
Yes, I prefer mine with chunky, too. And oddly, I prefer it with processed commercially prepared peanut butter, rather than homemade or “natural” styles. hangs head in shame
I think if I was to substitute in another nut butter for the recipe I’ve made, I’d do a mix of almond and sunflower butters, about 2 parts almond to 1 part sunflower. I think that might give it an acceptable flavor combo, but it will be very different from peanut.
I was thinking maybe garbanzos for texture and a dollop of dark sesame oil for flavor? I have both almond and cashew butters (yes, my pantry is an interesting place! LOL!) Maybe if I roasted or fried the cashew? I’ve never seen sunflower butter, but now I need to find some. . .
::wanders off to Amazon::
I have a feeling I’ll be spending some quality time at Penzey’s tomorrow!
Oh god. Fufu looks and tastes exactly like library paste. Hell, I don’t even know what library paste tastes like, but I’m imagining tasteless plaster. I guess if you’re starving you might eat it. Even the Malawian villagers who served us a local meal had the sense not to serve it.
