Hawaii Farmers Market on Oahu

One of the most refreshing and visually interesting activities in Honolulu is a morning visit to the local farmers market.  Offered several days per week in various locations around town, the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation sponsored Farmers Market is a feast for all the senses.   On Saturday Mornings in Honolulu just around the back side of Diamond Head at Kapiolani Community College the market is a fantastic way to start the weekend. Work up an appetite with a run along Diamond Head Road and take in the early morning surf action at Light House, a popular local surf spot at the base of Diamond Head. Then head on around to the Farmers Market.  The Culinary Institute of the Pacific has some great chefs on hand cooking up a broad assortment of good eats for Breakfast or Lunch.  From 'Plate Lunch Specials' to gourmet delicacies, there is something for every taste.  .After you've sated your hunger pangs, shop for organic veggies and beautiful flowers to help you prepare for your 'cocktails and pupu' partry or to dress up your dinner table.  This farmers market is also co-sponsored by both the Department of Agriculture and the Culinary Institute of the Pacific, so you are certain of discovering unique and unusual preparations of fresh, green and sustainable foods.  

Beautiful Sun ripened fruits await you ....delicious gourmet foods.

Plate Lunch heaven, your gourmet choices are all extraordinary

Cooked to your liking, or prepped for you to take home and cook later, 

it is literally a 'one stop' shop.

Fresh cut flowers or blooming orchids......exotic, colorful and this is every week!

Check out the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, a group founded in 1950 that includes over 22oo island farmers and supports sustainable farming and local produce growers throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Their website features each weeks schedule and vendor information as well as information on the other Famers Markets on Oahu and on the neighbor islands throughout the week.  This is one weekly event not to be missed!

Elegant Recyclable & Biodegradable Dinnerware So...Don’t feel Guilty about NOT doing the dishes tonight…..

 

Form, texture and ease of use AND eco-friendly,  WASARA paper tableware uses the underlying concept of Japanese aesthetic and values. WASARA combines this pleasing aesthetic with the use of reed, bamboo and bagasse pulp (sugarcane waste) as its bio-degradable and compostable material. It is suitable for hot or cold foods and beverages, and it is oil and water resistant.

This line has just recently become available in the US and is available at Branch.

Guest Post by Tamara Wallop

5 Minute Gourmet Breakfast

Here is a healthy Saturday morning favorite in our house, a blend of color and textures, simply prepared, nutritious, and FAST.  This meal looks so good, it could go down in front of great chefs or entertaining in-laws, and they could not help but enjoy it.  The design of this plate is simply beautiful, and this is a great ‘fitness’ brunch meal.

A Perfectly Poached Egg should be just slightly running...31/2 minutes...

Ingredients:

4 Fresh eggs, Perfectly Poached

2 Sourdough English Muffins

2 cups of Mache or Frisee Blend Salad Greens

1 Satsuma tangerines

Herbed Salad Dressing

Fresh Cracked pepper and salt

Tools:

Egg Poacher

Toaster

Preparation: For Two

Simply put, tpoach the eggs in a poacher for 3 to 4 minutes, or more traditionally fill a sauce pan with about 3 cups of water, break each egg into a teacup, drop into the sauce pan after the water has boiled, and let them poach. 3-4 minutes

Meanwhile, toast the muffins to your liking, and dress the plates with the Frisee or Mache greens.  Arrange the muffins on the plate, lightly dress the salad and arrange the tangerines atop the salad or next to it. 

Drain the eggs now, place gingerly on the muffins and sprinkle generously with pepper and a dash of salt. 

All in under five minutes, couldn’t have designed a  faster or tastier meal…

A Decadent Holiday Brunch, Lobster with Chipotle Mac & Cheese, Caviar and Melon & Prosciutto

One of my favorite things to do in Santa Barbara in the wintertime,  especially around the holidays, is to host an afternoon Lobster Brunch as Pacific Lobster is in season. We recently did this to celebrate Gregg's December birthday. We prepared Barbecued Lobster with Chipotle Macaroni and Cheese. This is a fantastic combination as the Chipotle in the Mac and Cheese really offsets the Lobster nicely. Just forget about calories and cholesterol  for the afternoon! Throw in some Caviar while your at it.

Make sure to prepare a beautiful Green Salad with lots of colorful veggies, it will plate beautifully by providing contrasting color and give your guests the illusion that there is actually something healthy on their plate.

Even if you don't live in Santa Barbara find a great Shellfish company in your area that will prepare lobster for you to take away, cleaned and prepped ready for cooking because it takes all the work out of the preparation. Just be careful not to overcook the Lobster. Use a large spoon to "baste" the lobsters while shell side down on the grill. Squeeze lemon over the lobsters as well. Flesh side down for only a couple of minutes and use tongs to rotate them back on their shells careful to not pull flesh out of shell because it may stick to the grill. More butter and lemon then when done, serve hot.

Start with a really nice prosciutto thinly sliced wrapped around a ripe slice of melon. This makes a beautiful preparation that can be prepared in advance and set on the table prior to quests arriving. It takes patience to pull the slices of prosciutto apart without tearing them, but it will make for a more pleasing "wrap" on the cantaloupe. 

If you really want to be decadent and generous with your friends prior to seating, serve Champagne and Caviar with appropriate condiments. We like to serve caviar with diced onion, sour cream (or creme fraiche) egg yoke diced, egg white diced and blinis to pile it all on to. Everyone plows through this elegant presentation in about 30 seconds. Please make sure that you purchase Farmed Caviar, this is a link to a great New York Times article sourcing farmed caviar for us in the Dining & Wine.

My day started out at the The Santa Barbara Shellfish Co., on Stearn's Wharf where I had called in an order for 10, 1.5lb lobsters to be cleaned and prepared for grilling. They always give you clarified butter and lemon wedges to go as well, this saves so much time. The city had erected a beautiful Christmas tree on the wharf. 

A stately  California Brown Pelican just outside the restaurant.

The Pioneer Woman Cooks - Great Gift Idea A Cook Book by Ree Drummand, The Accidental Country Girl

We a have a section on our blog called "You Wowed Us" (in the Links on the Right Column). Ree Drummand is definitely one of those people. She has created a blog that is inspirational and ingenioius, ThePioneerWoman. Ree has combined her brilliant photography, the intriguing lifestyle of a city girl / country girl and her culinary skills into a brand. It is fascinating, creative and Gorgeous! Wow!

The Pioneer Woman Cooks link to the book on Amazon. This book was promoted on the "Today" on NBC today. Good for you Ree!

Ruby's Sweet Potato Recipe with Ginger Pineapple and Walnuts

This is my Grandma Ruby's fantastic recipe. I have been making this recipe ever since Ruby taught me "a long time ago", it is always requested at the holidays, and is always a hit with new friends holiday when brought to their parties. It also re-heats beautifully for leftovers.

Sweet Potatoes with Ginger, Pineapple and Walnuts:

This recipe serves about 10

10 Large Sweet Potatoes Baked at 375 for 1 1/2 hours then cooled, peeled and put in mixing Bowl.

Or, 3 - 14 oz cans of Sweet Potatoes or Yams, Open, toss into a mixing bowl.

Toss the rest of these ingredients into the mixer on top of the mashed up sweet potatoes:

1 raw egg

3/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup fresh orange juice

1  cup crushed pineapple

2/3 cup chopped walnuts

1 tsp ginger spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 cup rum

Mix vigorously in a Kitchenaid Mixer on medium for 1 minute. 

Butter a casserole dish and bake in a preheated oven to 350 for 45 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of the casserole.


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The Perfect Lychee Martini Depends on Your Mood

Two of our favorite restaurants in Honolulu that serve great Lychee Martinis are Indigo for eurasian / Dim Sum and Mongolian food and Alan Wong's Restaurant (click link for menu) for Hawaii regional cuisine.


Lychees on Line is the perfect place to decide what type of lychee you want to prepare for a martini recipe, fresh, frozen or canned. For two very different recipes check out these two at foodnetwork.com, or at epicurious.com. If your in the mood for something a little more labor intensive but delicious, the epicurious  recipe is the same served at Kittichai at 60 Thompson in Manhattan. We love Kittichai, the hotel and their martini, however we honestly prefer our abbreviated version which we have perfected over and over again when we are in Honolulu.
Our Martini:
Martini Shaker
Ice
8 0z Belvedere Vodka
1/4 tsp White Vermouth
1/4 tsp lychee syrup (from the can) or 1/4 tsp powdered sugar
Shake...pour and garnish with 2 lychee fruit skewered on a great toothpick.   Note:  Lychee may be found in the asian food section of the grocery.
This is a great drink, not sweet, but very flavorful and the essence of the tropics....Aloha!


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Crazy for Coconut ! Halekulani Coconut Cake with Chocolate Sauce

We are going to the Halekulani Hotel tonight to see  Kanoe Miller Hula Dance at House Without a Key. Then we are having the Hotel's famous COCONUT CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE!!!!  Tomorrow I'll be climbing Koko Crater for a butt burner, but it will be worth it. I called the hotel and Chef gave us the recipe, included below.

I found this great article by the by the New York Times 36 Hours in Honolulu and this beautiful photo of Kanoe MIller by Cory Lum for the New York Times...

HALEKULANI COCONUT CAKE 
with Chocolate Sauce


8 Servings

INGREDIENTS AND METHOD FOR THE SPONGE CAKE:
3/4 cup Cake flour
1/3 cup Sugar
1 tsp Baking powder
1 pinch Salt
2 Tbsp Salad oil
1 each Egg, large, whole
2 Tbsp Water
4 each Egg whites
1/4 cup Sugar
1 pinch Cream of tartar


- Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, sift together the cake flour, 1/3 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Reserve.
- In a separate bowl, combine salad oil, whole egg and water. Add to sifted ingredients to form a batter, and mix until a smooth consistency is obtained.
- In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and continue to whip until a stiff meringue is formed.
- Fold meringue into the batter and mix thoroughly.
- Pour the batter into an ungreased 9" spring form pan and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan, cool upside down on a cooling rack.


INGREDIENTS AND METHOD FOR THE PASTRY CREAM:
1 1/2 cups Milk
1 each Vanilla bean, split in half
1/3 cup Sugar
3 tbsp Flour
4 each Egg yolks
1 1/4 cups Coconut flakes


Method:
- Bring the milk and the split vanilla bean to a boil. Reserve and let cool.
- In a mixing bowl combine the sugar, flour and egg yolks, whip together.
- Remove the vanilla bean from the cooled milk and add 1/3 of the milk to the egg mixture, mix well.
- Pour the egg mixture into the pan of remaining milk. Over medium heat, continue stirring until mixture begins to bubble and thicken.
- Remove from heat, cover with aluminum foil and stir occasionally to prevent crusting. When completely cool, add coconut flakes.


INGREDIENTS AND METHOD FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:
1 ½ cups Whipped cream
3 tbsp Sugar
1 ½ cups Coconut flakes


- In a mixing bowl, combine the whipped cream, sugar and 1/2 of the coconut flakes.


Half of this mixture is to be folded into the pastry cream and the remainder is to be used to frost the cake. The remaining half of the coconut flakes is to be used for coating the frosted cake.


INGREDIENTS AND METHOD FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE:
1 cup Milk
3/4 lb Chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup Heavy cream
1 tbsp Butter
1/4 cup Sugar


- In a sauce pan, combine the milk and chocolate, bring to a boil. Add the cream, butter and sugar and again bring to a boil. Remove from heat and keep warm.

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TO ASSEMBLE & SERVE:
- Cut the cooled cake into 3 layers.
- Spread pastry cream atop the bottom two layers, assemble the cake.
- Frost with the whipped cream and sprinkle with coconut flakes to finish.
- Slice the cake into desired portions and serve with warm chocolate sauce.

Fast and Fancy Filet will Green Peppercorn Sauce

One our favorite fall / winter dinners thats easy to prepare for 4-6 people is Filet Mignon with a creamy peppercorn sauce. It's fun to prepare on our Wolf range stovetop with friends hanging out in the kitchen with a glass of wine during the prep. We alternate recipes sometimes using black crushed peppercorns and Madeira Wine or Green Peppercorns in brine and Cognac, both with heavy cream. We usually serve  this with Haricots Vert on the side.

Next time I going to try this dish with Cognac and White Wine as posted by Graham on Cookbook.ca.za.

Last nights preparation for four:
1 3/4 cups beef stock or canned beef broth

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4 6- to 8-ounce filet mignon steaks (each about 1 inch thick)

• 1/4 cup chopped shallots
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
• 2 tablespoons drained green peppercorns in brine

Boil stock in small saucepan until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 7 minutes. Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Season steaks with salt and pepper. Cook steaks to desired doneness, about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to plate (do not clean skillet).

Add chopped shallots to same skillet and sauté 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add reduced beef stock, 1 cup whipping cream, 3 tablespoons Cognac and green peppercorns. Boil until mixture thickens to sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. Season sauce to taste with pepper. Spoon sauce over steaks and serve. Check out more recipes on Epicurious.com.


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A Kitchen Design that is Modern, Hip, Glam...Oh and Functional!

    We wanted to create a 21st Century look in this mid century modern house. A professional style kitchen that would be "eat in" intimate but also accommodate a staff for larger catered events as well.

The Floors are Italian Silver Travertine. This gray (silver) and brown marble has exactly the perfect warmth and depth of color to coordinate nicely with the quarter sawn oak cabinets and stainless steel appliances and countertops. We used Italian Statuary marble, white with heavy gray veins to contrast  and offset the other materials in the room. Note that the Statuary countertop on the island is one very large piece and it is book matched with the vertical end panels. 

The elliptical table is 1960's Milo Baumann and the Oak Chairs are 1950's Hans Wegner. 1950's' Italian blue gray Glassware.  

The Light Fixtures are from Boyd Lighting in San Francisco. The Professional Dual Fuel Double Oven Range is a 48" Wolf Range with Six Burners and a Griddle.

The kitchen cabinets were built by Henrybuilt in Seattle. We worked closely with Henrybuilt to create a look that blended the modern with the authentic appeal of this mid century home.  We achieved a look for this kitchen that is both sophisticated, modern and technically advanced. We combined horizontal and vertical grained quarter sawn oak panels with stainless steel countertops and appliances. We used linear full length steel pulls that added just the right punctuation. We made custom oak doors with frosted glass panels that concealed the pantries. All built out of oak to be cohesive with the kitchen design. 

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I'm craving Salmon and Eggs

I'm craving Salmon and scrambled eggs this morning! Check out this beautiful presentation of a Silver Salmon we caught in Alaska this summer at Winter Lake Lodge. The very talented chef new we were leaving the next morning so she prepared our big Silver for breakfast. She presented the fish on a platter with salmon mouse AND individual servings of Salmon Hash with scrambled eggs and spinach. I thought it was brilliant to make a visual presentation of our gorgeous fish and separately prepare each serving. Talk about a visual feast for the Table!

Dropped in by Heli for Fly Flishing. Great way to go when there are NO ROADS! Naturally, most of our fishing was Catch & Release. Our Fishing Guide demonstrates his very soothing and compassionate method! I guess he was calming the big Silver down before releasing. We used special "no barb" hooks to allow for easier release

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