Popular Posts

Good and Lovely Christmas Ice Cream

Last night I had the great fortune of not only seeing The Good Lovelies in concert during their Christmas tour , but making dessert for the band. I wanted to make something holiday-ish to fit with the theme of the night and came up with this. The word is that the band loved the ice cream, hence the name. The method for the ice cream is from Homemade Vegan Pantry , and the method for sugaring the chestnuts comes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World . The recipe works best with a high powered blender like a Vitamix. If you don't have one, just make sure your cashews are nice and soft before blending INGREDENTS Ice Cream - 1 cup whole raw cashews - boiling water - 1.5 cups non-dairy milk of your choosing - 1/2 cup packed brown sugar - 1 tsp cinnamon - large pinch of salt - 1 can coconut milk (light, or regular) - 2 tsp vanilla Sugared Roasted Chestnuts - 1 cup chopped roasted chestnuts (about 3/4 lb whole chestnuts) - 1/3 cup sugar - 3 tbsp maple syrup - pinch of salt METHOD Ice C...
Image

Jewish Cookbooks 2015

Are you suffering from an overload of everything Christmas? Shabbat Shalom! Here are a few books worth taking a look at, whether you are Jewish or not. The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen   is the book that could make anyone fall in love with Jewish food. Amelia Saltsman  has Iraqi and Romanian heritage and manages to take the best from both of those cuisines along with her own wonderfully creative ideas and California sensibility to craft a cookbook full of “keeper” recipes. The photography is fresh and modern.  The crazy good recipes in this book make me think I could actually give up my beloved pork and go kosher! I mean we’re talking about things like Lamb Kebabs with Parsley, Mint and Tahini Sauce, Yemenite Pumpkin and Carrot Soup, Curried Roasted Cauliflower, Freekeh with Kale, Butternut Squash and Smoked Salt. Recipes like Tunisian Lemon Rind Salad condiment and the Blood Orange and Olive Oil Polenta Upside Down Cake are reason enough to treasure this book.  Food, Family and Tradition...
Image

Bison Rib Roast

For a big celebratory meal, a rib roast is very impressive, especially with the bones in. While beef might be a common choice, bison is also available in a rib roast. I’ve shared my experience cooking several different cuts of bison and how much I enjoy it. I like the texture and flavor but also really appreciate how environmentally sustainable and how healthy it is, particularly when compared to beef. It's lighter and less fatty so I find I'm able to enjoy it more. When Durham Ranch offered me the opportunity to try one of their products I decided to go with a rib roast. Durham Bison Ranch is one of largest bison operations in the US, with a 55,000 acre ranch in Eastern Wyoming with around 3,000 bison. Unlike some producers, the bison from Durham is not completely 100% pasture raised. It’s finished on a feed lot where it is fed mostly grass based silage and very little grain, since it is not part of their natural diet. Why are their animals finished this way? Drought condition...
Image

French 75 Cocktail Recipe

Whether you are saying goodbye to the previous year or hello to the new one, Champagne or anything bubbly is traditional for New Year’s Eve. It’s light, refreshing and pairs well with many kinds of festive meals from briny oysters and caviar to rich and creamy cheeses and just about anything fried. Should you happen to have a splash of Champagne leftover or better yet, a bottle, consider a Champagne cocktail for brunch the following day. While the classic mimosa is fine, I am a big fan of the French 75. The French 75 dates back to World War I and is named for the French 75mm field gun, the “Soixante Quinze” thanks to it’s kick from gin. It’s as simple as can be, just gin, lemon juice, sugar or simple syrup and Champagne or another sparkling brut wiine. There are some other versions of the drink and some prefer cognac or brandy, but I think gin is really the way to go. The gin you use is important. I am particulary fond of London dry gin, and Plymouth in particular although you are wel...
Image

Unusual Cookbooks of 2015

Looking for something different? These are some of the more unusual cookbooks I came across this year.  The Food of Oman  is one of the most exciting cookbooks I saw this year, because I am so unfamiliar with the cuisine and the influences are so varied. The book includes Bedouin meat and rice dishes, South Asian curries, East African vegetable dishes and Indian style tandoori seafood as well. There are recipes for quickly made flatbreads, Sweet Vermicelli with Salty Egg, Yemeni Style Roasted Chicken and Saffron Rice, Swahili Coconut Shrimp Curry, some hot tea-like beverages, and plenty of snack foods like Chile-Lime Chickpeas and Chili Spiced Potato Chips. For the cook who seems jaded and world weary this is the perfect book to inspire.  Who’s it for? Anyone looking to cook something different, but expecially fans for Southeast Asian and African food. Do you need a book about what to serve on toast? No. But  Better on Toast  is a really fun book loaded with cool ideas for snacks, ap...
Image

New Dessert Cookbooks Winter 2015

This holiday season there are several new dessert cookbooks, here are some of my top picks. Home Baked isn't strictly a dessert book, it also contains savory baked goods, but the vast majority of the recipes are for sweets with just one section dedicated to breads (and a few recipes for dog biscuits). This book is mammoth! It has over 150 recipes for everything from Viennoiserie to cakes, cookies, pies and patisserie.  What sets the book apart is that the instructions are incredibly clear and well written and for the most part feel very easy to accomplish. The photographs are appealing as are the creative flavor combinations like Zaatar, Carrot Banana Cake, Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Grapefruit, Peach and Berry Tarts with Buttermilk Custard and Fig, Apricot, Stilton and Goat Cheese Tart. Who's it for? Any baking enthusiast or as the author says, "domestic adventurer."  Marie Asselin the author of  Sweet Spot : Modern Better-for-You Dessert Recipes, with Clever Tips...
Image

NOMA: My Perfect Storm movie review

Even after reading the NOMA:Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine cookbook and going to see chef Rene Redzepi speak , I am still curious about the restaurant and the chef. Short of flying off to Copenhagen and dining at the restaurant (it’s on my bucket list!) I really enjoy reading anything I can about this restaurant that has been chosen “ #1 in the world ” four times. The latest attempt to dig deeper into the Noma phenomenon and psyche of chef Rene Redzepi is the feature length documentary, Noma: My Perfect Storm. Towards the beginning it’s easy to fall under the spell of the chef and his concept for the restaurant. It’s a concept which has had and will continue to have a ripple effect. Because really, this is more than just about one chef or one restaurant, it’s about a philosophy that is changing food, cooking and how we approach it everywhere. It's about creating a cuisine that reflects time and place in the most authentic way possible. Not surprisingly, it’s also about the proc...
Image

Moringa Chia Pudding with Raspberry Recipe

A current food trend is the emergence of exotic superfood ingredients such as elderberry, aronia, haskap and moringa. Moringa is a plant native to South Asia and grown throughout the tropics. It's considered a superfood because the powdered leaves provide protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Peace Corps volunteer Lisa Curtis discovered it when she was living in West Africa and suffering from malnutrition. Now back in the US, she is the founder of  Kuli Kuli Foods , a company that sells moringa based product in the US and helps to improve the lives of women like the ones she worked with, in Africa. When I met Lisa I was inspired by her story and also curious to try experimenting with moringa, which comes in a powdered form, looking a bit like matcha but tasting more herbal with a slight bitter but not unpleasant edge. Aside from adding it to smoothies or using it bars, I thought it might be good in a chia pudding.  Lots of chia pudding recipes use coconut or almond milk ...
Image

Lattice Top (and other Ways to Make a Funky Pie)

Last pie post (for now!).  I had a great deal of fun exploring the world of pastry, and I mean to do it again when the crisp autumn weather demands that I bake something savoury in a crust.  As I mentioned in my last post , fruit pies follow a pretty standard formula.  And, once you have your crust down, you are off to the races.  With the basics perfected you can work on making your pies as pretty as possible.  That's what this post is all about. LATTICE TOP A lattice top is a great idea for juicy pies like peach and cherry, and it will impress all your friends. 1. Roll out the dough for the top crust into a square, large enough to cut into at least 16 strips of about 1/2" width (for a 9" pie).  Cut into strips with a knife or a pastry cutter. 2. Lay 8 strips across the pie, leaving some space in between.  Fold back every other strip halfway (i.e. strips 2,4,6,8).  Lay one of your remaining eight strips across the middle of the pie, perpendicular to the first eight stri...
Image

The Three Must Buy Cookbooks of 2011

I always write a series of "best of" cookbook posts around this time of year. I've recommended a lot of cookbooks in 2011*, but there are three, you simply must add to your collection. They are written by three amazing women who I admire tremendously and feel honored to have gotten to interview or at least meet. They are not just wonderful cooks and writers but cultural anthropologists who dig deep into how people cook, preserving traditions and making food from other places accessible. These books would make great gifts, but really, I recommend buying them for your own collections, that's how good they are. There are lots of books about Spanish food. I know, because I have plenty of them, but The Food of Spain is truly the mother of all Spanish cookbooks with over 600 pages. It has stories, history--it's a true treasury that took years of work to complete. I know this because Claudia Roden told me about the work that went into the book when I interviewed her las...
Image

Random Post

About

≡

Favorite Foods of Hawaii

During the plantation era workers in Hawaii sat together at lunch and ate a bite of whatever their co-workers brought. It might have been adobo, fried rice or teriyaki. Call it potluck, Hawaii style. Trying new flavors has long been part of Hawaii's heritage and something you should do too when you visit. Trying local specialties and discovering new (and old under-the-radar) places in Hawaii is one of my favorite vacation activities.

Everyone has their "must try" things to eat in Hawaii. Here are just a few of mine and where to find them on Oahu. Each one of these dishes tells you a little something about the culinary history of Hawaii.

poke title=
Poke (pronouned po-kay)
Where to find:
Everywhere, but Alicia's Market has a big selection

This is perhaps one of the most "authentic" dishes from Hawaii. It's primarily raw fish and it comes in many varieties such as wasabi, tobiko, and Maui onion, but traditionally it was just chunks of fish such as ahi, salt, seaweed and a bit of toasted kukui nut, all native ingredients.

manapua title=
Manapua
Where to find:
Royal Kitchen in Chinatown

These filled buns look like cha siu bao, but the version you find in Hawaii is larger and a little sweeter and much lighter. The dough seems a bit more Portuguese than traditional Chinese. You can also get it filled with Kalua pork which you definitely won't find outside of Hawaii.

pork hash
While at Royal Kitchen don't miss the "pork hash" Hawaii's version of siu mai. It's unique and succulent with less ingredients than siu mai, but it's very tasty all the same. Both the manapua and the pork hash are very inexpensive.

taro chips
Taro ChipsWhere to find:
Everywhere but for freshly made chips go the Hawaiian Chip Factory Outlet

You may or may not appreciate poi, but you are sure to enjoy taro chips. The Hawaiian Chip Company opened in 1999 and makes very popular vegetable chips served at restaurants, on Hawaiian Airlines and they are widely available in stores. But at the factory shop you can get a freshly made hot bag of chips and season them yourself. You can also get a snack, like the killer sliders they serve on Saturdays.

malasadas title=
Malasadas
Where to find:
Leonard's Bakery

These Portuguese donuts are a must. The big neon sign at Leonard's letting you know when they are fresh will lure you in. I don't know anyone who doesn't love these hot, yeasty, moist-in-the-middle pillows of love, better than any Krispy Kreme, that's for sure.

shave ice
Shave IceWhere to find:
Many places, but I like Tats the best

Better than a snow cone, more like a snowball, the best shaved ice is super fluffy. Shave ice first appeared as a cooling treat on the plantations, and was brought to Hawaii by the Japanese. Get it flavored with something tropical like lilikoi. It's sweet and cooling which is the perfect combination when temperatures rise. Favorite spots are widely debated. It's often said the older the shave ice machine, the better the shave ice.

My thanks to the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau and especially local girl and Oahu writer Catherine Toth for introducing me to some (but not all) of the items featured here
shamila
writer and blogger, founder of The kitchen table .

جديد قسم : Hawaii

Comments: 0

Post a Comment