Eating in Paradise

Back in business soon...

2006-01-17T14:04:00.000-10:00

Hi everybody,
As you can see, it's been a while since I posted anything. I started a new job last week, and have been REALLY busy! I will be back very soon with lots of eating in paradise--check back this weekend.

Thanks!

S

Aloha Friday Cookery Book Review

2006-01-06T09:11:00.000-10:00

Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook: Strategies, Recipes, and Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking
by Anthony Bourdain

Ok, by now you will have noticed that I really like Anthony Bourdain. Well, I got this cookbook for Christmas from my parents, and I've been poring over it ever since.
Basically, Bourdain presents the classic bistro dishes that are served at Les Halle (the restaurant at which he is chef) and demystifies them. Scattered throughout are helpful tips and a healthy amount of Bourdain's signature smarta** style. I knew that this would be a winner when I pulled it out of the wrapping paper and found that the dust jacket is made of paperbag paper--cool!

The recipes here are far from groundbreaking--they are, in fact, classics that might seem intimidating to the average American cook. I am eager to try out a few, particularly the extremely approachable cassoulet recipe ( I have long longed to make a cassoulet, but have been scared off by the huge ingredient lists and labor intensive instructions in most French cookbooks).

Bourdain delivers yet another awesome book!

Zach's mom's Christmas cookies

2006-01-04T10:50:00.000-10:00

Our sojourn to the UAE and Zach's xmas vacation continues today with a little sample of his mom's homemade Christmas cookies...
They include:

1. Sugar cookies
2. Mint cookies (with the 3 layers)
3. Peanut Butter Blossoms (with the Hershey's kisses)
4. South African Crunchies
5. White chocolate chip and almond cookies.

Yum! Thanks Zach and Cynthia!

Word from our Abu Dhabi Correspondent

2006-01-03T07:18:00.000-10:00

Today we have a special treat here at Eating in Paradise! Zach has reported from his vacation! Read on...

HNL Airport - Burger King

Living the modern jet-setting lifestyle--slave to the clock, recently herded through the security-screening cattle chute, and soon to be whisked to the other side of the world (plus a little more) in a "mere" 39 hours--always puts me in the mood for some fast eating. That, and I had still had two hours to kill before my flight.

After contemplating the new triple whopper (dear God!), a chicken club (my old standby), and a $6.50 Whopper Jr meal (ah, airport prices), I decide I wasn't that hungry. I settled for a cheeseburger kids meal. I chose fries over applesauce for my side; and the 10oz apple juice box over the milk or soda for my drink. I found it interesting that kids were offered even many more choices than adults, who are usually limited to the simple "You want fries with that?" My camera was in my checked bag, so no picture of this one. The apple juice was cold and good. It probably had as much sugar and calories as the soda, but I believe there was still some redeeming nutritional value left in my filtered rehydrated multi-national apple concentrate.

The burger was pretty standard: a patty, very melted yellow-orange cheese, a dab of ketchup and mustard, and 2 pickles. I think the pickles are the magic ingredient. The burger was a bit dry overall, and I felt a little sorry I hadn't gone with the Whopper Jr. after all for a juicier, onion-ier experience.The fries were very standard BK fries. Kids meals are the only way to get small fries at BK. The staff is so used to dishing up large sides that I had as many overflowed "bag fries" as I did in the fry bag itself, effectively providing me a fry-size upgrade. (This seems to be a common occurrence http://cockeyed.com/inside/fries/fries.html.)
Added bonus: 2 onion rings at the bottom of the bag!

Normally, I ask them just to keep the toy, but I suffered a lapse today. As expected, the toy sucked. It was a bright green "TV" with a yellow knob allowing the Little Tyke to scroll between two (2) pictures of the quality and content normally found on the front of a refrigerator: a house and a dog. I believe this is intended to teach youngsters the value of finding what else is on. If the child has a sufficiently short attention span, he may not remember the first picture by the time he gets to the second, thereby providing hours of enjoyment! After twiddling the knob through the plastic wrap, I left the toy on the corner of a large planter in the hopes that some under-supervised child might snag it and eke at least a few minutes of enjoyment from this lame waste of Earth's resources. More likely it'll end up in a landfill, still hermetically sealed in its plastic wrap.

As so often with fast food, I was left only partly satisfied, yet, irrationally, still craving more junkfood. Sucking the sweet mash of fried potatoes from my back teeth, I was compelled to consume the head of a chocolate Santa from my bag. Without this quick palette cleansing, I may have been driven to return to BK in search of something fried with a sugary fruit-filling, or perhaps even that juicier Whopper Jr. experience! As it was, the compulsion passed, and I was left simply un-hungry.

Conclusion: An over-priced, semi-disappointing meal symbolizing modern civilized life; yet strangely addictive. I know I'll eat here again.

Abu Dhabi - Kwality (Delivery)

A few nights after arriving in Abu Dhabi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Dhabi, we ordered Indian food. Kwality is my favorite Indian restaurant in the whole world. I've been to the restaurant itself a few times--it has a very nice ambiance, and you can see into the kitchen through a large plate-glass window. But usually we just order delivery. We order when the restaurant opens at 7pm; it usually takes 60 to 90 minutes for the food to arrive.

We ordered:
Vegetable samosas
Vegetable buryani (rice)
Daal Tarka (lentils)
Dum Aloo Kashmiri (potatoes in Kashmiri sauce)
Kebab-e-Afghani (chicken)
Naan bread

The one drawback of delivery is that it doesn't include the sauteed onions of the Afghani chicken found on the sizzling hot platter at the restaurant. I usually make do with a few onions from the little salad plate. The price is great--we ordered enough for 3 of us (and I still ate leftovers for lunch for two days after) for less than $20.Conclusion: Top-"Kwality" flavor at a great price. Wonderful!

Aloha Friday Cookery Book Review

2005-12-30T07:20:00.000-10:00

A Moveable Feast
by Ernest Hemingway

Although A Moveable Feast is not strictly a foodie book, food plays a big part in it. A sort-of-memoir, the book deals with the years 1921-1926 when Hemingway lived and wrote in Paris. It the book, Hemingway spends a great deal of time describing cafes he frequented, and what he ate (and didn't eat) there. Hunger plays a big part in the narrative, because Hemingway was very poor at the time and often went without meals so that he could feed his wife and small child. In the book he says that hunger "sharpens all of your perceptions...". That said, however, he also spends a great deal of time talking about how often he walked far out of his way to avoid streets with good food smells on them, and describes in detail what wonderful things could be found on those streets.

The thing I like most about Ernest Hemingway is the simplicity of his prose. He writes sparely, economically. There were times, as I read A Moveable Feast that I was reminded of MFK Fisher because of the simple but powerful descriptions of France, and of the writer's small culinary adventures.

A Moveable Feast is a rich, wonderful book that shows the reader a different side of Ernest Hemingway.

Aloha Friday Cookery Book Review

2005-12-23T07:43:00.000-10:00

Christmas with Martha Stewart Living : The Best of Martha Stewart Living
By Martha Stewart

Ok, Martha Stewart is the ultimate domestic goddess. I worship her from afar and only dream of pulling off the kinds of things that she seems to regard as simple. This book pulls together Christmas planning tips from her magazine, Martha Stewart Living, and presents them as a challenge to us mere mortals.

Most of this stuff is pretty over-the-top, but it IS inspiring! I like to just look and dream about someday doing a country Christmas for a party of 200, or whatever. If you like daydreams (or if you are that ambitious!) this is a great book to peruse and, perhaps, use.

Coming soon...

2005-12-21T09:59:00.000-10:00

The rest of December promises to be busy for Eating in Paradise. My parents arrived yesterday, and we will be dining out a lot while they're here. This should provide me with lots about which to write.

In addition, Zach has gone home to the United Arab Emirates to spend Christmas with his family. While he is there, he will be my foreign correspondent--reporting his culinary adventures. Stay tuned for news from him.

Keep checking back--I should have lots to share!

Christmas, Christmas time is near... Honolulu Chocolate Company

2005-12-20T07:44:00.000-10:00

Well, as the Christmas season gets underway, the opportunities for new culinary experiences become almost unlimited. I have determined that the number one workplace gift is candy.
At my place of business we have received so many boxes of candy that we cannot possible eat them all. This being Hawaii, they are all filled with macadamia nuts. Hm.

I find this season to be a perfect time to indulge my own taste for premium candy, while also buying nice things for loved ones. I went to the Honolulu Chocolate Company the other day to get something sweet to adorn Zach's gift, and ended up buying a package of Gray Salt Caramels for me. They are small, rich caramels covered in dark chocolate and then sprinkled with gray sea salt. The salty and sweet tastes meld together in a most wonderful way to create a transcendent taste sensation!
Zach didn't like them. La-di-da! More for me.

The Honolulu Chocolate Company also sells chocolate covered Oreos (in milk, dark, and white), and I bought a package for Zach. He liked those, and I'll admit that they ARE nice. I realized, as I was chewing my little bite of the milk chocolate covered one that the cookie part of the Oreo is only vaguely chocolate flavored. I can't exactly place what it really is, but covering it with real chocolate adds a new dimension that is appealing. It makes a rather mundane, kiddie treat something special. Plus they come in a cute golden box.

There were so many wonderful things at The Honolulu Chocolate Company, that I was dazzled. The colors and smells and sounds are overwhelming to a candy fiend like me, and the high-end nature of the "chocolate boutique" (very expensive, but very high quality) appeals to my inner food snob. Bottom line? A wonderful place to go. I would like to live there.

The Honolulu Chocolate Company
Victoria Ward Center
1200 Ala Moana Blvd.
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814

Aloha Friday Cookery Book Review

2005-12-16T17:09:00.000-10:00

Candyfreak: a Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America
by Steve Almond

Candyfreak is a fascinating, delicious look at the history of candy in America. Steve Almond uses a memoir format to describe the inner workings of several of few remaining small (not big three--Nestle, Hersheys, Mars) candy companies left in the United States. His loving descriptions of candy and the part it's played in his life (and, to go a step further, our lives) made me want to run out and buy a Goo Goo Cluster, or a Big Hunk, or a Kit Kat Dark. I devoured the book in one day, and wished it wouldn't end!

Mochi--a sweet, rice treat

2005-12-14T07:26:00.000-10:00

Mochi is a lovely sweet treat that is a distinctive part of life in Hawaii. By definition it is a rice cake (originating in Japan) made from glutinous rice. Traditionally, the rice was pounded and pounded until it was a flour. Today you can buy it in a box, ready to go. Mochi itself is a bit bland and can be used in savory dishes, but it is very nice when sweetened.

The way we eat Mochi in Hawaii is as an (often) filled dessert. Lightly sweetened mochi is wrapped around a sweet center--sometimes ice cream, sometimes peanut butter, often An (red bean paste). In it's virgin form mochi is white, but it is often colored with food coloring. It is then rolled in potato starch to add a bit of powdery goodness to the outside.

My favorite mochi flavor is An. The red bean paste is smooth and lightly sweet. The mochi is glutinous and chewy. The potato starch gives the whole thing a nice silky finish.

There is an interesting article at the Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mochi

Mochi is relatively easy to make at home, but I prefer to buy it since the quality is better when it is done RIGHT. In Hawaii you can get it at any grocery store, but I like the brand carried at Times.

One caveat: When I went home (Alaska) for Christmas a few years ago, I took some mochi with me. It didn't travel well, because mochi does not like extreme cold. I freezes badly. Alaskans look askance.

Sweet mochi is difficult to find outside of Hawaii, but if you get a chance to try it, do. It's marvelous.

Aloha Friday Cookery Book Review

2005-12-09T14:01:00.000-10:00

Foodie Mystery Series I Like

This week, for the book review, I have decided to discuss a few food-related mystery series I like. A few weeks ago I wrote about the Gourmet Detective series, but that is certainly not the only series that involves food and cookery. Here are two more that I very much enjoy:

The Faith Fairchild Mysteries by Katherine Hall Page
Beginning with The Body in the Belfry, the Faith Fairchild mysteries follow the life and adventures of Faith Sibley Fairchild, once a big city (Manhattan) caterer who finds love with a small-town, New England minister. Faith, like most amateur detectives, has a knack for stumbling over dead bodies at every turn. The novels include recipes from Faith's cookbook-in-progress.

The Nero Wolfe Mysteries by Rex Stout
Nero Wolfe is a completely different type of detective from Faith Fairchild. Weighing in at one seventh of a ton (almost 300 pounds), Wolfe is a serious gourmand with a love of good food, copious amounts of good beer, and orchids. Immense in size and agoraphobic, Wolfe tends to stick to his very carefully maintained routine inside his New York Brownstone, sending his right-hand-man Archie Goodwin out to do the leg work (Archie also narrates). Wolfe is provided impressive meals by his cook, Fritz.

There are so many foodie-related mystery series out there that it would be impossible to track them all--it seems that people who appreciate good food tend to appreciate mystery stories too. A strange phenomenon. I hope you will stumble across a series YOU like.

Yummy Candy

2005-12-08T15:46:00.000-10:00

I have a decided sweet-tooth. This is rather troublesome since, if I'm not careful, I'll end up eating candy for dinner instead of opting for real food.

My all-time favorite candy is Peanut M&Ms,

followed closely by Chick-o-Stick. As you can see, I am fond of that salty-sweet peanutty taste!

Peanut M&Ms are fun to eat in the bathtub. I like to take a good book, a bag of lovely candy, a bottle of Diet Pepsi (my drink of choice), and soak until I look like a raisin.

Besides my M&Ms and C-o-S, I am rather partial to marshmallows and nougat, and I would trade my left leg for really good dark chocolate.

Sweets are funny, because they seem like a guilty pleasure, unless you pack them with vitamins and call the result a "sports bar"! I feel much more virtuous eating a sports bar than a candy bar, though they are pretty much the same for all intents and purposes. Weird. Right now I'm all about Caramel Coconut Promax bars--they taste SO good, yet they offer lots (20g) of protein, some fiber, and lots of vitamins and minerals.

If you are interested in reading about candy in-depth, try CandyBlog at http://www.typetive.com/candyblog
The reviews are useful and insightful, but I love just looking at the photographs!

Yum!

Aloha Friday Cookery Book Review

2005-12-01T16:53:00.000-10:00

The Physiology of Taste: Or, Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy
By Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, translated by M.F.K. Fisher

I received this, arguably the bible of gastronomy, from Zach for our anniversary last week. I was very pleased because it has been out of print, and was difficult to find in this translation.

As anyone who has followed my blog thus far knows, M.F.K. Fisher is my very favorite writer, so the glowing, adoring, quality of my review should be of no surprise. This is a wonderful book, written by a man who lived for gastronomy, and who knew his stuff, and translated by his spiritual twin. Fisher considered this to be her magnum opus, and it was the only English translation of Brillat-Savarin's French text (1825) for many years. Fisher adds her own insights to the end of each chapter, and infuses the entire book with her own unique writing style and sensibility. There have been translations since, but they are inferior to this one (in one girl's humble opinion ;->) If you are interested in experiencing it, brook no substitutes.

Needless to say, this was a marvelous gift, and one I will enjoy and cherish far into the future.

Thanksgiving update

2005-11-28T12:27:00.000-10:00

Well, we had our Thanksgiving dinner, and it turned out very well.

Our turkey breast was nice and moist, and the potatoes were good. Zach made the gravy and the stuffing and did a great job.

I spent many weeks planning this meal, and was chagrined at how quickly we were able to eat it, rub our tummies in satisfaction, and do the dishes! It was worth it, though, because we spent the day together.

After our dinner we played Scrabble, and Zach smoked me! That's ok, though, because I kicked his butt the next day at Trivial Pursuit.

I hope everyone out there had a pleasing and laid-back holiday. Now back to our regularly scheduled meals (until Xmas!)

Aloha Friday Cookery Book Review

2005-11-25T15:30:00.000-10:00

The Cook's Tour
by Anthony Bourdain

In The Cook's Tour, Bourdain chronicles how he sold his soul to the Food Network and traveled to every corner of the globe in pursuit of the "perfect" meal. His travels take him to Vietnam, Cambodia, France, Portugal, Mexico, Russia, Japan, and points in between. He eats things most people wouldn't even want to look at while they're alive, and regularly drinks to excess. A good time is had by all (including the reader!).

I really enjoy Anthony Bourdain's books. He is irreverent and crude, intelligent and profound, and always, always entertaining. If you're a daring foodie who wants a different kind of travelogue, this is the one for you!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2005-11-24T15:29:00.000-10:00

Have a safe, joyful, well-fed holiday!

Thanksgiving is on its way

2005-11-22T07:57:00.000-10:00

Thanksgiving is just two days away, and I am in a frenzy of planning. Since there is just two of us, it is always a challenge to have a nice, traditional dinner without making more food than we can eat in left-overs by the end of the year.

This year I have decided to buy a breast of turkey (foregoing the whole bird!), and we will have potatoes, stuffing, and gravy on the side. We'll also have pumpkin pie and one other dessert, though I haven't reached a firm decision on what that will be.

When I was a kid at home, Thanksgiving was always a fun, festive time for me. My family loves to eat and, because we all like each other and enjoy one-another's company (most of the time), we never had the holiday-time angst that you read about in women's magazines. Our dinner was very traditional--Turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, etc.

Zach and I have created our own traditions. Thanksgiving is our anniversary of being a couple (four years this year!) which makes it that much more special. Up until very recently I have been vegetarian, and this will be the first year we'll get to share a turkey dinner. I'm excited about that.

As with most big feasts, the excitment is in the preparation, and the joy is in the company we keep. I wish you the best and the happiest, and much for which to be thankful!

Aloha Friday Cookery Book Review

2005-11-18T07:22:00.000-10:00

Garlic and Sapphires: The secret life of a critic in disguise
by Ruth Reichl

I have really enjoyed Ruth Reichl's books, and eagerly awaited this one. In Garlic and Sapphires, she tells about her job as the New York Times food critic, and how it impacted her life.
Reichl's writing style and literary voice is pleasant, and she is self-effacing and likeable. I liked this book, though it did not touch me as much as her two previous memoirs did. I found it fascinating to learn about the hoops a critic of her stature has to jump through to keep from being recognized. This was a very interesting book for anyone who is interested in food and restaurants, and how a critic works.

Top of Waikiki

2005-11-17T11:51:00.000-10:00

For our Wednesday evening out, Zach and I went to Top of Waikiki this week. Because ToW is a restaurant that I consider to be "fine dining" we have never gone, but I received a coupon for $20 dollars off of food and beverages recently, so we decided to give it a try.

We arrived for our 5p reservation and were checked in and told to wait to be called. A hostess acted as shepherdess and moved parties like sheep into the restaurant with impressive rapidity. We were soon called and led to our table.

Top of Waikiki is 20 stories above Waikiki and revolves slowly so that you get an impressive view of the city. The outlook is really spectacular! We sat and gazed out the window and waited for our waiter. Meanwhile we were served one little piece of bread each by a bus-person. The waiter soon brought our drinks menus and left us again. Service was rather slow, but the restaurant was crowded, and we weren't really in a hurry, so it didn't matter all that much. We were inclined to just order a few appetizers and decided on:

Spicy Ahi Poki Stack ($10): Raw tuna with an avacado creme and papaya vinaigrette slaw on crispy wonton wrappers. This was my favorite! The flavors were lovely and the fish was really fresh.

Coconut Shrimp ($8): Three medium sized prawns coated in a crispy coconut and macadamia nut crust with pineapple salsa and pineapple syrup. This was very good, though it was pretty skimpy for 8 bucks!

Cheese Platter ($8): Brie en croute, blackberry-pear-Merlot jam, Bleu cheese, walnuts, greens, poached pears. This was a really nice assortment. The Brie was perfect, and the jam and pears were really nice--the flavors were reminiscent of Christmas-time.

When the food arrived, we were brought Chicken Cordon Bleu instead of the cheese platter and had to send it back. It took about half an hour for the cheese platter to actually finally arrive. All around us people were being served more bread, but we were pretty much ignored with the exception of the waiter coming occasionally to tell us that the rest of our order would be up shortly. When it did come, we needed more bread for the cheese, and spent the next 15 minutes trying to flag down someone to bring a piece.

The bus person was good about taking away used plates, but the waiter was pretty lax about offering other menus, more drinks, etc.

I finally asked for the dessert menu and we decided to order the Chocolate Fondue for Two ($12). It was a dark/milk chocolate mix warmed over a candle. There were strawberries, kiwi, bananas, mandarin orange sections, and raspberry flavored spongecake croutons all on a raspberry sauce. The cake was nice--sort of crisp on the outside and soft inside. The only complaint I have about this dessert is that the fruit was sliced too thin, and was difficult to keep on the little fondue skewers.

The waiter was very quick to bring us our bill, and immediately informed us that our coupon was not good for appetizers. I was a bit annoyed by this since I was very careful to check all the fine print, and there was no mention of any such limitation. I had also printed a coupon from the restaurant's webpage for a $40 credit for our next visit, and this was ignored completely. I had that slightly un-clean, "bringin' a coupon to a posh restaurant" feeling, and didn't argue. As it happens, though, we were rather expecting to get the shaft, and were prepared to pay full price.

All in all it was a really pleasant experience, and we enjoyed ourselves. The view alone is worth the trip.

Ambience: ***
Service: *
Food: ***
Value: *

Top of Waikiki
Waikiki Business Plaza
2270 Kalakaua Avenue, Top Floor
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815
(808) 923-3877

New restaurant review format

2005-11-17T11:46:00.000-10:00

I have decided to rate the restaurants I write about here. I will give a rating of 1-4 stars based on Ambience, Service, Food, Value.

This is, of course, just my opinion. If you find, however, that you have similar taste to mine, perhaps it will be helpful. I welcome any and all comments.

Star Fruit

2005-11-16T15:04:00.000-10:00

Star Fruit (otherwise known as Carambola) is a very lovely domestic fruit (never found in the wild) of the tropical variety. It is found all over India, Southeast Asia, and most importantly, Hawaii!
There is a tree very near to my house, and part of it hangs over the road. The other day, when I was coming home from the coffee shop, I was overtaken by the need to pick one. This tree is seemingly untended and most of the fruit ends up rotting on the ground, so I didn't feel too bad (bad form, I know!). I brought it home and let it ripen a bit, which means leaving it on the counter until it goes from green to golden yellow. This morning I cut it up into neat little star shapes and brought it to work for lunch--it was lovely!
Star fruit has a flavor that resembles a cross between a sweet apple and a pear (to me at any rate) and is nice all by itself or added to fruit salads.

As an Alaskan, I find it really amazing (still, after 15 years in Hawaii) to pick fruit and eat it (berries don't count). Hawaii is a fruit lover's dream!

Comfort Food--Matzo Brei

2005-11-14T07:45:00.000-10:00

You know how it is when you just crave something warm and simple and comforting? Well lately I've had a yen for Matzo Brei. It is really simple to make, but is very satisfying to eat I've seen many different variations, but here is the one that I like:

Matzo Brei
1 Matzo cracker
1 egg
3 T butter

Break Matzo cracker into small pieces in a colander. Run water over the cracker until it is damp. Drain. Move cracker pieces into a bowl and mix in one egg until all the pieces are coated and the egg is beaten a bit.
Heat butter in a frying pan over medium heat until the foam subsides. Add cracker/egg mixture and fry, stirring until the egg is cooked and the mixture starts to brown a little. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
Pour on a plate and serve immediately.
Serves 1.

Aloha Friday Cookery Book Review

2005-11-11T08:30:00.000-10:00

Poet of the Appetites: The lives and loves of MFK Fisher
by Joan Reardon

In this biography, Reardon sifts through the half-truths and outright lies in MFK Fisher's depiction of her own life to find some truth and closure for Fisher fans. Fisher was notorious for keeping her life in a veil of shadow while seeming to bare all, and she was not above changing the "facts" to make a better story.

I am a big admirer of Fisher, and enjoyed this biography, though much of it is old stuff fleshed out a bit. Reardon presents perspectives from the people closest to Fisher (her sisters, nephew, children) and from acquaintances with unique view points. Overall I think that it is a well-written, lovingly-rendered, and well-itentioned work, but I wondered throughout what Fisher would have thought of it, and I felt ever-so-slightly dirty reading what I know she would have considered a deep invasion of her fiercely guarded privacy.

Pae Thai

2005-11-10T11:59:00.000-10:00

On Wednesday night Zach and I ate dinner at Pae Thai, which is our favorite Thai restaurant. We arrived at 5p--just as they were opening for the dinner shift--and were the only people there for most of the time. We knew just what we wanted, and ordered immediately. Zach and I shared green chicken curry and sticky rice, and Zach had an order of vegetarian spring rolls. We also wanted Jasmine tea, but they were out. We settled on green tea instead.
(sorry for no pictures--I forgot to take them!)

The spring rolls arrived first. They were nice and crispy, and good--not too greasy. They came with a sweet sauce that Zach didn't much like, but I thought was good. There was also a little bowl of crushed peanuts, though we didn't use them.

The green curry was great! It was filled with eggplant and lean chicken, and the sauce was very tasty. The chicken was a little bit dry, but that is often the case with really lean meat. It had a nice flavor.
The only thing that was really disappointing was that the waiter assumed that we wanted mild sauce and we didn't notice until it was too late. It would have been better if it were medium.

For dessert I had a cup of coffee and a dish of Tapioca. The tapioca was good--not too sweet and just right after a heavy entree. It is served with palm fruit and is very light.

Pae Thai is in our neighborhood and is a nice place to go for a change from the ordinary. The prices are reasonable (our whole check was $23) and the service is friendly and efficient.

Ambience **
Service ***
Food ***
Value ***

Pae Thai
1246 S. King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
(808) 596-8106

Grocery Nirvana

2005-11-09T09:03:00.000-10:00

I really love to shop--in grocery stores! I like to wander up and down the aisles looking at all the wonderful products I could buy if I wanted to, thinking about the things I could cook. I especially like the "ethnic" aisles. At night, when I can't sleep, I mentally wander the bakery instead of counting sheep.

I have a membership to a grocery store in Honolulu called Marukai. It is filled with products (mostly) from Japan and requires a card--rather like Costco--to get in. The products there are sometimes wonderfully strange to me and I've learned alot about Japanese cuisine from my window shopping trips.

Although there are lots of great things about Marukai, the most wonderful department is the fish market. The fish there is SO fresh and good--much of it is sashimi grade--and the price is quite affordable. As an Alaskan girl from a fishing town, I have despaired at the poor quality of fish in Hawaiian grocery stores. At Safeway most of the fish is frozen, and expensive, and poor quality. This seems so strange for a place surrounded by ocean! Whenever I want a nice piece of fish, or some calamari, or roe, I go straight to Marukai!

There are many other good grocery chains in Honolulu. I like Times for the local flavor, Star Market for their gourmet offerings, Foodland for good prices, and Safeway for convenience.

You can keep those boutiques at the mall--for window shopping, give me a grocery store every time!

The Fig Bar Debacle--an utter failure

2005-11-07T07:20:00.000-10:00

This weekend I decided to make a new dessert, so I dug up a recipe for fig bars in Cooking Light magazine and proceeded to put it together. It is a fairly simple recipe with a pastry crust, a fig layer, and a cream cheese layer. The trouble began with the crust. I had a feeling that the recipe called for too little butter, and was disturbed to find that it was very grainy. I continued anyway, and put together the fig layer. This was quite easy and turned out well. Unfortunately, I made a mistake with the pan, choosing one that was too big. By the time I realized that the fig was spreading too thin, it was too late. I soldiered on and put together the cream cheese layer.

By the time the thing was ready for the oven I knew that it would be a failure because it was all spread way to thin. I put it in the oven and watched it cook, despairing when the edges got too done but the center failed to brown properly.

The final result was extremely disappointing. The crust was quite awful, though the other layers were ok. I felt like a culinary failure by the end of it all, and went to bed.

I had planned to sweep this episode under the rug and try to forget and move on, but I decided that I should be as willing to share my failures as my successes. To redeem myself, I baked a cake the next day, and it was beautiful. So there!

Aloha Friday Cookery Book Review

2005-11-03T17:21:00.001-10:00

Escoffier Cookbook
by Auguste Escoffier

When I arrived home last night I found a package from Amazon on my doorstep. Inside, among a few Christmas presents I'd ordered, was the Escoffier Cookbook. This is the granddaddy of them all--the French cookery bible!

The Escoffier Cookbook comes right out and says that it is NOT designed for beginning cooks--it is aimed at the truly serious, and features 944 pages of dense, sometimes simple but more usually complicated, recipes.

I love this book! It is really fun to just read, and to imagine the meals that will come out of it. The format is rather difficult, though, because the recipes tend to build on one another (some reference two or three earlier recipes) and they are written in paragraph form, rather than listing ingredients and then detailing instructions. The ingredients and amounts have been interpreted for the American cook, so conversion is not necessary.

I am really looking forward to cooking from this book. I hope that I can live up to the lofty expectations of the great Escoffier!

Bale Sandwich Shop

2005-11-03T13:47:00.000-10:00

Although I mostly work in Kaneohe (a neighborhood a few miles out of Downtown Honolulu), I spend at least one day a week at our downtown branch. Usually I eat sushi when I'm downtown, but this week I felt like having something different. I wandered around Fort Street for a while, browsing the myriad of restaurants, before deciding to stop at Bale Sandwich shop. Bale is a chain restaurant of which there are many in Honolulu. It is sort of French/Vietnamese and has really, really good bread and lots of different kinds of sandwiches.

On this day I settled on the Summer rolls. I got two rolls and a can of soda for a little more than four dollars.

For those of you who are not familiar with summer rolls, they are rather like spring (aka "egg") rolls except that they are not fried. They are made up of various vegetables and sometimes meats wrapped in rice paper. Bale's version is filled with mung bean sprouts, lettuce, a little mint, vermicelli noodles, and shrimp. They come with a peanut dipping sauce and a little hot sauce.
This is a really light yet satisfying meal. The dipping sauce is rather heavy, but it comes on the side so you can have as much or as little as you want. All-in-all I was very pleased with my choice and will probably return for more one of these days!

Ambience **
Service **
Food **
Value ***

Bale Sandwich Shop
1154 Fort Street Mall
808.521.4117

Foodie Movies

2005-11-02T07:39:00.000-10:00

I am quite a movie buff, and there are a number of food related films that I think are essential viewing for any foodie. Here are a few that I love:

Like Water for Chocolate
based on the book by Laura Esquivel (also a great book). A young, upper class Mexican woman embues all the food she cooks with emotion and magic.
Chocolat
based on the book by Joanne Harris, starring Juliette Binoche and Lena Olin (among many others). A mysterious young woman and her child arrive in a provincial French town and open a Chocolaterie, impacting the lives of the very proper townspeople.
91/2 Weeks and
Last Tango in Paris
Starring Kim Basinger & Mickey Rourke and Marlon Brando respectively. You know the scenes I mean ;->.
Babette's Feast
from the story by Isak Dinesen. The mysterious Babette arrives in a small Danish town, influences a pair of sisters to venture away from their usual plain food, and scandalizes the townspeople.
Mostly Martha
A shy, absorbed chef unexpectedly gains custody of her young niece, and begins to venture out of her shell.
Apocalypse Now
from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Starring Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen.
Chef's description of the army's disposition of a load of perfectly marbled beef is classic!

This is just a few--there are many many more. If anyone has anything to add, feel free to let me know! I'm always eager to see a new film.

Happy Halloween!

2005-10-31T07:38:00.000-10:00

Well, it's that time of year again! That day when we all harken back to yesteryear and yearn for sticky, sweet, gooey candy--stuffing ourselves until we want to hurl. That day when we dress in silly costumes and revert to childhood. This is the only time of year that I have a candy corn craving!

I really love Halloween, but living in Hawaii makes it rather strange. In Alaska, when I was a child, the end of October ushered in winter. We would go trick-or-treating on a dark cold night, the scent of wood smoke in the air. A tropical night just isn't the same.

My man and I spend every Halloween in Waikiki, wandering around and watching people. The streets are packed with happy, inebriated adults acting like kids, and a good time is (for the most part) had by all.

I hope you all have a great, safe night, filled with sweets and bereft of guilt!
Happy Halloween!

Aloha Friday Cookery Book Review

2005-10-28T07:22:00.000-10:00

The Gourmet Detective series
by Peter King

I am a lover of mysteries. I am a lover of good food. The Gourmet Detective series by Peter King is a perfect blend of both.

King's series begins with The Gourmet Detective, and features an un-named gourmand whose enviable profession is to seek out hard-to-find food items, investigate alternative ingredients, and undertake any other kind of food/wine related research. The "detective" is quick to note that he is not a licensed investigator, but that doesn't keep him from tripping over bodies and getting himself involved in murder mysteries on a regular basis. In the midst of the excitement of the case, he still manages to eat and drink well, and to appreciate the mobs of beautiful women who seem to throw themselves into his path. The Gourmet Detective always solves the mystery (sometimes in spite of himself, it would seem) and manages to stay well fed.

I really like this series because the protagonist is a very likeable, self-effacing person who is able to solve his mysteries without taking himself too seriously. I also LOVE the food descriptions that are scattered throughout each volume. The detective is able to consume 3 square (and often elaborate) meals a day no matter how busy he is!

King's series now includes 8 volumes, all of which should be available at your local library. (sorry, I 'm a librarian and I have to throw that in).

Happy reading!
Happy eating!
(Hey! Quit drooling on that library book!)

International Market Place food court

2005-10-27T11:33:00.000-10:00

Last night my boyfriend Zach and I met in Waikiki for dinner. We decided to go to the food court at the International Marketplace so that we could do some quality people watching, save some money, and hang out.

It's really fun to go to the International Marketplace in the evening because there are so many different things to see and do. The people come from all walks of life--from prostitutes and drug dealers, to locals having a night out, to tourists trying to soak up the Waikiki night life. The vendor's stalls are filled with every kind of shiny object imaginable.

Zach decided to eat at a Mexican restaurant he favors. He had the veggie quesedilla. His quesedilla was very fresh and nice. It came with a side each of Spanish rice and refried beans.

I was torn. I walked around and looked at all the food places, but nothing sounded great. Finally I ran over to 7-Eleven and bought a Char Siu Manapua and a bottle of soda.

The Manapua was perfect! The bun was nicely steamed but not soggy (I hate that!). It had nice flavor, and the Char Siu was really good. I enjoyed it very much. For dessert I had a small dish of vanilla Dolewhip.

We sat and digested for a little while, and then headed home. For a 7-Eleven meal, it was quite satisfying.

Updates:

2005-10-24T21:40:00.000-10:00

Sourdough
Well, I halved the sourdough starter and let it sit again for 12 hours. The weather has been cooler and the kitchen more drafty, so the starter's growth slowed a bit after the initial boom. I am not yet ready to make bread, so I put in an airtight container and put it in the fridge. It looks good at this point, and will have an opportunity to prove itself on Sunday when I bake bread. We shall see...

Race for the Cure
As I mentioned, I ran the Komen Foundation's Race for the Cure on Sunday. It went really well and I was happy with my performance.

It is interesting to note the kinds of food that are given to runners after any running race. Depending upon the sponsor it can range from the very simple (a banana and a bottle of water) to the elaborate (cookies and cakes and piles of fruit). One of the local sponsors of this race was Safeway, and they had a huge tent filled with baskets of food. They handed out plastic shopping bags and the runners were invited to line up and fill their bags. They gave away huge bagels with cream cheese, yogurt, apples, big cartons of orange juice, granola bars, and water--enough for several meals! Very generous, certainly, but a bit much to my mind (especially for a mere 5k race!) I am never hungry after running--endorphins act as natural appetite suppressants for me--but I can never resist free stuff, so...I have been working on my booty for the last two days.

After a race I like to watch people refuel. Many people vastly overestimate the number of calories they burn during a run, and feel the need to carbo-load afterwards. These massive food give-aways don't help much! I suppose this is why so many people wonder how they can exercise and exercise and never lose weight!

Soon it will be time for the Honolulu Marathon. The post-race bounty there should be interesting--along with the people watching.

Race for the Cure

2005-10-23T05:00:00.000-10:00

This morning I'm running the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's Race for the Cure. It is pouring rain at the moment, and blowing hard--fun! Still, it is a great cause and I'm pleased to be participating.

I ate my pre-race meal: A cup of Key Lime Yogurt (I prefer vanilla, but Safeway was out) with 1/8 cup cereal (Fruity Pebbles) mixed in, and topped with cool whip. A little protein, a little carb. Afterwards I'll have a Cookies and Caramel Pria bar.

Sounds like the rain's letting up. Wish me luck!

If you're interested in running in the Race for the Cure in your area, or would like to donate, go to www.komen.org

Aloha Friday Cookery Book Review

2005-10-21T07:27:00.000-10:00

Girl Cook by Hannah McCouch

I must preface this, my first Aloha Friday Cookery Book Review, with a disclaimer. I normally avoid what is cutely called "chick-lit" as if it were a particularly noxious variety of bacterial infection. When I saw a review for Girl Cook, which described the heroine as a cross between Anthony Bourdain and Bridget Jones, though, I had to give it a try.

I was pleasantly surprised. The protagonist, Layla Mitchner, is a likeable though flawed cook who aspires to the saute' station but has been relegated by a chauvinistic chef to creating tall salads. She has no money, no boyfriend, and a rapidly expanding bottom (thanks to an ice cream addiction). Layla must, of course, choose between two men. She must, of course, take a giant leap to make her dreams come true. The plot is actually pretty standard, and just so-so (including the requisite gay best friend who says "you go girl" periodically).

It is Layla's voice and the authentic feel of the portrayal of the life of a professional cook that makes this novel worthwhile. The author attended Cordon Bleu, and has worked as a cook. She is in the know, as they say, and her experience shines through.

I would recommend Girl Cook to anyone who has a few hours to kill, and is looking for something lite and fluffy.

Sourdough starter, continued

2005-10-20T17:27:00.000-10:00

Well, after significantly fewer than 72 hours my starter was bubble-y, and sour, and ready to be fed. The heat and humidity here really speed up the process. I added another cup of flour and a little more water and mixed it up. It's back on the counter now, continuing to brew.

It's almost like magic--the idea of something living and breathing coming out of such mundane ingredients as flour and water. I feel rather like an alchemist--hopefully my bread will end up as gold, and not a great big chunk of lead!

Sourdough Starter: It begins!

2005-10-19T17:25:00.000-10:00

I love to bake bread, though my results have, in the past, been mixed. Last weekend I made a simple French bread--just yeast, salt, flour, and water--and it turned out quite well, though perhaps a little too light on the salt. I baked a little bit of dark (70%) chocolate into two little loaves and they were lovely!

My success inspired me to try my hand at sourdough next. I have begun to cultivate a sourdough starter, though I've never had much luck with them in Hawaii. I think that it's too warm--they always turn TOO sour.

I'm using a pretty standard, simple recipe: 1 cup flour mixed with 1/2 cup water (I boiled it to make it more pure). It must sit on the counter, covered with a damp cloth for 72 hours and then be fed another cup of flour. I'll let you know how it goes.

My new toy--thanks George!

2005-10-19T10:41:00.000-10:00

Last week I opened my mailbox and found a Macy's sale flier. It featured an ad for a kitchen appliance that I have (I'm sorry, I can be a kitchen snob) scoffed at in the past--the George Forman Grill. I don't know why it caught my eye. I can only think that I was either
1. caught at a weak, hungry moment, or
2. needing to buy something (anything) with my Macy's card.

Whatever the reason, I went to the downtown Macy's the next day and took a look. The price certainly was right, so I bought the thing! I was sceptical. I took it home and read the manual with a leery but open mind. I put together the fixins for a grilled cheese and tuna sandwich and followed the instructions.

Wonderful! The sandwich was perfectly grilled and rather panini-like! Encouraged, I grilled a salmon filet for the following evening's dinner. Yummy! Perfectly cooked, yet moist and flaky.

I am a convert. I have been using that darn grill almost everyday for a week, and the first blush of love has yet to wear off. The grill has its faults, admittedly. It is small, which is fine for someone like me--I cook in fairly small batches, but takes up a lot of room on the counter. It cleans up easily, though, and is aesthetically pleasing, so the pluses and minuses balance each other out.

I'm eager to try the grill on steaks and fattier cuts of meat to see if fat draining feature works. Like any enamoured lover, I am confident that it will stand the test.

Thanks George!

Aloha Sushi Pensacola

2005-10-18T19:22:00.000-10:00

Tucked in between two barber shops in the kind of oddly eclectic strip mall that can be found all over Honolulu sits a tiny specimen of the Aloha Sushi franchise. From the outside it looks like any of the dozens of such places that dot the state of Hawaii. Walk inside, and it is far less imposing than any other Aloha Sushi I have visited. There is no fountain soda machine, no stack of pre-made sushi. The seating is minimal and the decor as austere as a monk's cell. Plastic sushi samples fill a small glass case and poorly spelled picture menus paper the wall behind the counter. A curtain separates the kitchen from the rest of the shop.

The place is family-run. Most days the proprietor--a polite middle-aged gentleman--or his daughter staff the front counter. A small female child can frequently be seen lurking under the table or behind the counter. Last time I was in she was playing happily inside an otherwise empty cardboard box.

Several things set this Aloha Sushi apart from the rest. First and foremost, it is in MY neighborhood. It's MY place--they know me there, and the words "one kanpyo maki, one shinko maki, one ume maki (no cucumber)" no longer need to be spoken. I just walk in and my order is called up. I have eaten at Aloha Sushi Pensacola for my Christmas and New Years dinners for two years in a row. It has become a place of comfort and safety for me. The sushi is always the same, and can be relied upon to satisfy.

Another special feature of this particular shop is that they deliver. If I'm feeling lazy, or when I stay home sick, I call them up, make my order, and it is delivered--usually in less than 30 minutes! That's service.

I always order the same thing--kanpyo, shinko, ume. I also buy a package of that Korean roasted nori. My sushi eating technique is very strange--I admit it. I have one Hawaii-born friend who has actually sneered at my style. What I like to do is take each little maki roll and eat it in two bites, including a little bit of the crispy nori with each bite. I can't eat it any other way! This is weird. It's so good, though!

Maybe one of these days I'll walk in and feel like ordering something else, but right now I am content to order the same old thing and eat it the same old way. Aloha Sushi Pensacola represents consistency, quality, and comfort--a home away from home.

Aloha Sushi Pensacola
1021 Pensacola St.
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
(808) 591-0050

Cookery books I love

2005-10-17T08:56:00.000-10:00

As a librarian and an avid foodie, I have (of course) lots of cookery books and books about food that I love, and am always eager to share.

Anything by M.F.K. Fisher. Fisher's style is spare and beautiful, and she makes even the most mundane meals seem extra special. A good place to start is The Art of Eating, which includes several of her books in one volume.
Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour by Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain is raunchy and raw, but also an incredibly articulate person who knows his stuff, and isn't afraid to say so.
Tender at the Bone, Comfort Me With Apples, and Garlic and Sapphires: the secret life of a critic in disguise by Ruth Reichl. through stories of the foods she's eaten, Reichl, now the editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, unfolds her life history.
Mastering the Art of French Cooking (vols 1&2) by Julia Child. This is where it all begins!

There are many, many more and I could list them for days. This little sample represents all of the reasons why the culinary arts are so important to me.

Cupcakes--don't hold the mayo

2005-10-14T07:14:00.000-10:00

You know how it is when you suddenly just crave a comfort dessert? Something from childhood that is simple and good? Well last week I was craving white cake with chocolate frosting (what my grandpa calls "chocolate cake"). Safeway was having a sale on white cake mixes AND on tubs of frosting, so I figured that fate was craving cake as well, and I'd just as well heed the call.

I decided to use this weird recipe I found in a mayonnaise advertisement. It boasted an extra moist cake using a box mix, water, eggs, and a cup of mayo. The mix was supposed to be chocolate, but I used the white instead. To be honest, I was rather sceptical about how it would be, and braced myself for failure. It turned out GREAT. The cupcakes are moist and a bit dense--they don't really even need the frosting. Since I used non-fat mayo and egg whites, they are also a lot lighter on fat and calories than the mix would have been.

All-in-all I am pleased and will save that recipe. If you're curious about the wonders possible using mayo, go to www.bestfoods.com/recipes.asp

Taking the plunge--my new cookbook

2005-10-13T17:31:00.000-10:00

Today I did something very unusual for me--I bought a new cookbook. New. Not secondhand. This is unusual because, as a librarian, I always favor using library books if I can possibly help it. And I'm cheap.
I have been scouring my little collection of cookbooks lately, finally realizing that I have very few decent seafood recipes. This is rather shameful for a person who loves seafood of all types and eats it regularly.
Like a good librarian I went to the library first and figured out which book I wanted. I then went to Bestsellers and took the plunge. From Sea to Shining Sea: The Great American Seafood Cookbook by Susan Herrmann Loomis is a recipe-packed and informative book that includes recipes from all over America. Loomis obviously loves seafood and she lovingly presents the information clearly and succinctly, with lots of illustrations and nice instructions for those who might not be familiar with some of the techniques of seafood handling.

About Me

2005-10-13T07:30:00.000-10:00

Greetings and welcome to my food paradise. I know, there are lots of food blogs out there! There are so many that I admire, so many that give me ideas, and I want to contribute to that world. So...here I am. My name is Stacy and I am, by profession, a librarian and I live in Honolulu, Hawaii, though I am an Alaskan by birth, upbringing, and attitude.
Here I am with my man, Zach.
I love food and hope to share my culinary adventures with as many people as care to read them.