Hana Bay Banana Cream Pie

We do have a Hana here in Hawaii, on the island of Maui, however this is a Carabbean Hana, as in the rum, used in this pie for flavor.  Don't worry you tee totallers, it's cooked out.  Totally.  Trust me.

The trick with my version of Banana Cream Pie is actually not the rum, but lies in caramelizing the bananas first in butter and palm sugar.  Then you set that aside and make the custard, into which you stir all those lovely bananas.  The cream is in the custard and extra goes on top.  Yum.

Curried Chicken Salad on Watercress for Cook the Books Club

Our latest (Aug/Sept) Cook the Books Club selection was the lovely, and entertainingly intimate, foodie memoir by the late Laurie Colwin, Home Cooking.

The book reads like an extended, laid back conversation between a couple of good friends. You won't agree with everything anyone says, but the dialogue is never boring.  

For instance, I happen to love stuffing.  (She hates it) Prefer it to the turkey, in fact.  And a rolled stuffed flank steak, can be delicious, albeit like anything else, if done correctly.  Not haveing had a "gray and stringy" or overcooked one, perhaps I'm biased.  Still, reading that chapter gave me the impetus to try it her way, marinated and grilled fast, then sliced paper thin.  An excellent idea, especially as it is a much easier way of treating a good inexpensive cut of meat.

The chapter on "Repulsive Dinners" was especially reminiscent of that give and take sharing of experiences, between a few close friends, each outdoing the others with their most horrid dinner experience.  So freaking funny.  It begins:

"There is something triumphant about a really disgusting meal.  It lingers in the memory with a lurid glow, just as something exalted is remembered with a kind of mellow brilliance.....My life has been much enriched by ghastly meals..."

"For dessert we had a packaged cheesecake with iridescent cherries embedded in a topping of cerise gum and light tan coffee."

Spanish Paella with the Daring Cooks

Do you know, Paella is one of those dishes that has been on my cooking "bucket list" for a long time.  And, I finally got the kick in the pants that was needed to go ahead with the program..

Our Daring Cooks’ September 2012 hostess was Inma of la Galletika. Inma brought us a taste of Spain and challenged us to make our very own delicious Paella!

Being as Bob does not care for shellfish, a typical Paella was not on the menu, neither was I into doing a strictly vegetarian version. So I went out into the wilds of the interweb and did a bit of Spanish Paella researching.  It seems the original Valencian recipes didn't have fish, but did include rabbit, snails and beans. Ooookay, snails are plentiful here but again, Bob won't touch them, and doesn't much like rabbit either.  Beans are good, and some folks say rabbit tastes like chicken, so we are submitting a version of our own.  Based on what is available that Bob will eat.  Don't worry folks, I eat out often enough to get in my quota of all that other good stuff.

Paella is a bit like Risotto, except that the liquid is added all at once.  The rice is, ideally Calasparra or Bomba, similar to Arborio.  You want a nice starchy variety and Arborio, which I used, works fine.  Also it is briefly sauteed in olive oil first, as you would for a risotto.  I caramelized some onion, added lots of garlic, the diced chicken and ham, then the rice, before adding tomatoes, veggies and finally stock and herbs.  That, in brief, is the procedure.

The Daring Cooks Get Corny, Chalupas and Crusty Soft-centered Spoon Bread

 I have been looking into new ways of using cornmeal this past month.  Yes we like cornmeal pancakes a lot, waffles, tamales and even Corn Dodgers, polenta is a favorite, as well cornbread.  Still, we need to get out of our boxes.

Rachael of pizzarossa was our August 2012 Daring Cook hostess and she challenged us to broaden our knowledge of cornmeal! Rachael provided us with some amazing recipes and encouraged us to hunt down other cornmeal recipes that we’d never tried before – opening our eyes to literally 100s of cuisines and 1000s of new-to-us recipes!

The first recipe I tried was for a Crusty Soft-center Spoon Bread, which I had heard of and considered making in the past.  It sounds so yummy, I guess I just needed the impetus of this challenge to forge ahead.  Turns out to be a combination of cornbread  and pudding.  I added some grated cheese to the top, and we thought it was great.

The recipe, which was from my old Joy of Cooking, will follow. 

Next came Chalupas, a fairly obscure Mexican specialty, at least where we live, and I thought they would make a good entry for this challenge.  A type of tostada from south-central Mexico, particularly the states of Puebla, Guerrero and Oaxaca, they are much easier to make than tortillas (unless you are an accomplished tortilla maker), so tortillas for the amateur.  

Death by Darjeeling, and Tea-smoked Duck Breasts for Cook the Books Club

Our current read for Cook the Books Club is the cozy tea shop mystery, Death by Darjeeling, by Laura Childs.  If  death can be considered "cozy."  I've always wondered about that murder mystery appellation, though the tea shop and cafe she describes is certainly cozy enough to make me long for one in our town.

I've read others of her delightful books and come away with that same longing, as well as enlightenment on the subject of tea, the multitude of types with their unique flavors, from all around the world - India, Africa, South East Asia and China to a tea plantation in South Carolina, and, yes Hawaii.  We do have our own tea estates outside the town of Volcano, on the "Big Island."

I was so fascinated with the whole subject, thanks to Childs' book, that for purposes of burgeoning interest and research, I made an appointment to tour a local tea plantation,  Tea Hawaii, with hostess Eva Lee.

Eva Lee and her husband, Chiu Leong, founders of Tea Hawaii,  grow most of their tea in the understory shade of ohia trees.  I discovered that tea will thrive in shade or sun, and at various elevations.  Though, apparently the finest teas grow at higher elevations, due to the slower growth caused by a cooler climate.  Several cultivars  have been planted, and are kept pruned to just below waist height.

Golden Cauliflower with Penne, Prosciutto and Gruyere Mac 'n Cheese

I saw this lovely veg, sometimes referred to as a cheddar cauliflower, in a produce bin and, as occasionally happens to me in markets, it emitted a come and get me siren call.  I visualized colorful florets mixing and mingling with pasta in an upscale Mac'n cheese, with prosciutto and grated Gruyere cheese.   Luckily, the cheese aisle was right near, and I had the prosciutto.  Doesn't that  make you happy when an idea comes in time.  Not at home with ingredients missing.

According to an article in the Daily Mail, about the bright colored cauliflowers, "Some scientists have even claimed that they are healthier for you.  Andrew Coker, a spokesman for the plant company Syngenta - which is developing the plants in Europe - stressed that the colourful cauliflowers were not the result of genetic engineering, but came after decades of traditional selective breeding....

Tests of the orange cauliflowers in America found that they contained 25 times the concentrations of beta carotene in normal cauliflowers."

Saffron Scented Lobster, Sweet Potato and Green Beans, Baked En Papillote

Our July 2012 Daring Cooks’ host was Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie! Sarah challenges us to learn a new cooking technique called “Cooking En Papillote” which is French and translates to “cooking in parchment”.

Several years ago, baking in parchment became one of my favorite cooking methods, still it was good having the opportunity to expand upon it..  I wanted to try some new takes on the fabulous En Papillote.  For instance, I realized from the given recipes that various oven temperatures and cooking times were possible.  Previously I'd just stuck to a basic formula, with variations only in the ingredients, herbs, etc., on the theory that if it works, don't mess with it.

Fish seems to lend itself perfectly to this method of cooking.   So, for my first reprise it was salmon with sweet potato slices in a dressing of seasoned olive oil, paired with blanched kale, salted lemon and a few pats of butter.  I used fresh ginger in the sweet potato dressing, but those garlic chives got eliminated.

There is an element of fun in opening your mystery (to anyone else at the table) packet, aromatic steam puffing out, and dinner revealed.  They had just the right amount of moisture from the blanched kale, butter and sweet potato marinade.  Scoop it off the paper onto your plates and enjoy.

The next take involved a pair of overpriced lobster tails, saffron (they deserve each other), sweet potato again, just because it was so good, green beans and butter.  I sprinkled those garlic chives and blossoms on top after we opened the packets.

First cut out your 12x17" rectangles, then make a heart out of them by folding in half and cutting.  Now get all your ingredients ready.

I tossed the raw veggies separately in a mixture of melted butter, saffron, salt and pepper, then put the potatoes on the bottom, followed by green beans, and lobster tail, topping it all off with slivers of salted lemon and pats of butter.

You just make a nice little stack on one half of the heart.  Pretend you're a fancy chef plating up your creation.

And, remember the butter is good for you.  Everyone needs some healthy fat in their diet, to make sure all those fat soluble vitamins get utilized.

Now fold the other side over so the edges meet, make a seam, turning up a 1/2 inch or so to close the opening, then crimp little pleats to secure the edges.  Before closing off the top I added a tablespoon of white wine into each of my packets.  Bake at 400F for 15 minutes.  Let the packets sit for a few minutes before opening.

Just fabulous, decadent and so delicious with the saffron, butter and lemon scented lobster, the sweet potatoes and green beans done to perfection and then sprinkled with chopped chives.  Make yourself some and enjoy!

I still want to make the prosciutto wrapped asparagus, which was one of the recipes provided by our Daring Chefs hostess .  I'll add the directions for it after the break, as it is a bit different, being slow-roasted.  Our markets were out of asparagus, so my trial on that one may have to wait.

Salad Burrito with Green Olive Tepenade and Feta

Continuing with the salad variations for summer theme, this is a salad  burrito, which was inspired by a salad pita I saw online recently.  Pita, burrito, sandwich, breadlike thingy you put stuff in.

I have a long history of rutlike things I do.  One of which was only buying corn tortillas.  Recently I broke the mold, went hog wild and bought some flour tortillas.  So, we had a few.

This is not a recipe.  You don't need one.  It's just a thought.  Something you might like to try and then say, wow, so glad I did!  Many variations are possible.  I used feta, but you could lay some Mexican cheese on the hot tortilla, let it get a bit melty and then add on a bit of salsa and the salad.  I used Green Olive Paste or Tepenade, and that was quite tasty.

Crab Salad with Colorful Pasta Swirls

Going with the proposition that one can never have too many salads in the summertime, (and yes, you can be too thin - think anorexic) we have found another winning combination.  One with crunchy things, savory crabby notes, some green, some red, a carb or two (got to love those colored spirals), a hit of salty capers and a bite of daikon dice.  Just what your day needs to finish in a satisfying manner.  The actual elements can be varied according to what's available. 

The dressing has its own thing going with mayo and mustard, kefir, squeeze of agave nectar and lemon. It aims to please.  I think we need jolts of high intensity flavor when the weather is warmer.  Not to mention HOT.  It's not really here, but I know some of you are enduring real scorchers.   On the other hand, you folks in Australia and NZ might be more in the mood for hot stews.  With a side of Crab and Pasta Salad