A Hawaiian Dive is a Good Thing

By Somer

When I was 7 months pregnant with my son, my husband and I took a last vacation as a couple to Hawaii.  To be perfectly honest, we weren’t all that impressed with all of the cheesy tourist-y stuff, but we did get a chance to taste some really great food.  The pineapple there was so ripe and juicy and sweet (nothing like the stuff we get here in the mainland), and the things they do to pork over there is so good I’d dare call it “naughty”.  When we came back home, it wasn’t long until we started really missing the food.  Luckily, we live in the age of information and a quick search on the internet pointed us to a little Hawaiian place called L&L Hawaiian Barbecue.  Boy am I glad that we found this little gem because they have THE BEST Kalua Pork and even my 20 month old baby loves it there (at that age, toddlers refuse to eat just about everything but this kid thinks that Kalua Pork is the best thing next to chocolate).

My local restaurant is located in an old strip mall.  It’s actually funny that it’s located next to a Curves because their food isn’t exactly *ahem* figure friendly.  That’s ok because it’s really good and totally worth the splurge.

The decor in this place is beyond cheesy.  But, if you’ve ever been to Hawaii (Waikiki in particular) it’s not that far off base.  That whole town was cheese-tastic and this restaurant reflects that perfectly.  Every time I have been in this particular restaurant the floors have been very dirty and the red booths are so smooshy, you sink down so that you are nose-level with the table.  The food is so good that these things are easy to ignore.

The serving sizes of the meals are simply enormous.  I have a hard time eating a full serving, and that’s rare for me.  Listen, I’m not one of those tiny super skinny people that tries to brush off my super skinny-ness by saying I eat a lot.  I really do pound it back when I sit down to a meal.  I’ve actually frightened people by how much I can eat.  There’s a reason that I can’t fit into a size 2 pants, folks.  And yes, that’s my son trying to dig into the food.  He loves it so much that he couldn’t wait 2 seconds for me to snap a picture.

This place serves Spam Musubi.  As you may or may not know, Spam is a very big thing on the islands.  Under normal circumstances I don’t really care for this stuff.  Maybe it’s the novelty of having what is basically a Spam sushi, but I really like this stuff.  It’s salty, savory, and the dried seaweed goes perfectly with the Spam.  I like it, so shoot me.

This is what my meal looked like.  Smokey Kalua Pork, rice, and a delicious pasta salad.  Maybe it doesn’t look all that intimidating here, but all those carbs really can weigh a person down.  It’s a delicious meal, I adore every aspect of it.  They serve a Kalua Pork with or without cabbage but I just don’t care for the texture of the option that comes with cabbage (and with Irish and German ancestors, I’ve had cabbage many many ways).  I like my pork straight up.  I’d like to think that the afterlife is fully stocked with Kalua Pork.

The first time I came to L&L, I found the side of pasta salad a little odd, but I went with it.  I’m a sucker for any carb smothered in a mayonnaise sauce so the pasta salad and I made quick friends with each other.  It goes oddly well with the intense smokey flavor of the Kalua Pork.  It’s weird, but it works.

I urge you to please visit the website and see if there is a franchise near you.  It’s still a small restuarant chain so if you are left without one of these little gems close to you, my sympathies go to you and your families.  You’re missing great food in a total dive.

Creamy Quickie Pasta

By Somer

I think that it’s important to stress the creative aspect of cooking.  Once you have the hang of the art and you are familiar with what combinations work best, a cook will find that a cookbook and recipes are not always necessary when throwing together a week night meal.  Sometimes a cook will use the knowledge that they have accumulated and make a quick and savory meal simply from throwing a bunch of stuff together.  It’s something all cooks should strive for when the decision is made to become prolific in the art of cooking.

Tonight I needed something quick and something made from accessible ingredients available in my pantry and freezer.   I had penne pasta, ham, and the usual staples.  I decided to make a ham-y pasta with a savory bechamél sauce.  Obviously a pancetta or prosciutto would have been better, but the ham did quite well.

Just cube up some ham.  I made two servings so I only used about 1 cup of cubed ham.  Throw the ham in a dry skillet (i.e. no oil) and sauté until the ham starts to brown slightly.  It will look like this:

Remove the ham from the skillet and prepare to make your bechamél sauce.  Don’t be intimidated, it’s an easy sauce that you can use all the time.

Simply use equal parts of butter and flour (I used 2 Tblsp. of each) and cook the two for about two minutes.  This is to cook the raw flour taste out and it makes a slightly nutty taste.  Now you add milk or cream.  Milk is perfectly fine.  I used about 2 cups of milk and stirred vigorously until the sauce started to get thick.  At this point, turn the heat down and start adding seasoning.  A very traditional spice for a bechamél is nutmeg.  It adds a warm and spicey taste to the sauce and I highly recommend it.  You only need a tiny bit (1/4 tsp.).  There was no need to add any additional salt since ham was going to be a part of the dish but I added black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder (1 tsp. each).   About 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese went in last for a little zing (and more salt).   I then added the pasta and stirred to coat.  Then I tossed in the ham and served warm.  I served it with a side of green vegetables (green beans, but spinach would have been delicious too).  This was a quick, and lovely dish that I just kind of threw together.  And you know what?  It was awesome.

Don’t be afraid to experiment.  Not every delicious meal made in your kitchen needs to be a big event right out of a cookbook.  Give yourself a little bit of credit and allow your skills to grow by playing around with food and flavors.    Enjoy!

Peach Pie

By Somer

When I lived near family, I used to make this peach pie for my in-laws.  My brother-in-law loved it so much that it was a constant request from him.  It’s possible that he was just being nice and trying to make me feel relevant by requesting a certain desert from me, but the fact that he always ate at least two slices in one sitting says otherwise.  I love making this pie and I also love eating it.  It has a little touch of almond extract that adds this wonderfully sweet taste.  You wouldn’t think that a touch of almonds would compliment peaches so well, but it does.

This pie recipe is a crumb top so you only need to make enough pie pastry for the bottom of the pan.  I know you might be tempted to buy one of those frozen pie crusts in the little aluminum pan, but please don’t.  Stop buying mass produced foods that are overly processed when making homemade couldn’t be easier.

I used to demolish homemade pie crusts.  Cook books really don’t give enough direction to indicate to readers that a homemade pie crust needs to be made using a couple of simple tips and it’s easy and quick.  I wish I had video enabled on here so that I can show you how easy it is (video is an idea I am currently toying with on certain procedures).  Just follow my easy tips and I promise you it is so easy.

I use the pie pastry recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (the beginner’s cookbook).  I’ve tried the Alton Brown way where you use both butter and shortening, I’ve tried just butter, and I’ve tried just shortening.  I’ve got to say that the best pie crust (in my opinion) is one that is made with butter (not margarine, but butter!).  The flavor and consistency are just better with butter.  Here’s the recipe and my tips will follow.

Pastry for Single-Crust Pie

Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book

-1-1/4 cups AP flour

-1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup shortening (butter)

4-5 Tblsp. cold water

I’m going to spare you the long tedious directions shown in the cookbook and make it short and sweet for you.  Do you have a food processor?  I hope you do.  That kitchen must-have will make this process quick quick quick.  If you don’t have a food processor, you might want to think about getting one!  No seriously, this will take a bit longer for you.

Secret #1:  Make sure that the butter is COLD.  Put the flour, salt, and cold cubed butter in your food processor.  Pulse until the mixture looks crumby.  Like this:

Now, to make sure that everything stays cold, get a measuring cup, and put ice water inside.

You’re only going to use 4-5 Tblsp. of this water, but you want it COLD.  Put the lid back on your food processor, turn it on low, and add the water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough forms into a ball.

Now, lay out some plastic wrap and plop the dough onto the plastic.  Don’t knead the dough or mush it around too much or you will activate the gluten in the flour and your crust will be tough.  Just smush it into a ball really fast, wrap it in the plastic, and refrigerate it for 30 minutes while you make the pie filling.

Speaking of pie filling, I believe I owe you a kick ass peach pie recipe.  Here you go:

Crumb-Topped Peach Pie

An Easy Everyday Cooking Recipe

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/8 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

½ tsp. almond extract

6 cups sliced, peeled peaches or 2 (28 oz.) can peaches, drained

1 unbaked (9-inch) deep-dish pie crust

TOPPING:

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup packed light brown sugar

½ cup AP flour

¼ cup butter

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix 1 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl.  Add egg and almond extract; mix well.

Add peach slices to bowl; toss gently to coat with sugar mixture.

Arrange peach slices in pie crust.  (Do you know how to roll out a pie crust?  Just take it out of the fridge and don’t let it get warm.  Lightly flour a clean and dry surface and roll the pastry by starting from the center and working your way out to the edges making sure to keep the crust moving so that it doesn’t stick.  Roll it out until it is about 1/4-inch thick.  Place it gently in your pie pan making sure not to stretch it and cut the excess dough from around the edges with a butter knife.  If any of this is unclear or you need me to elaborate please feel free to ask.  It’s why I’m here.)

For topping, combine ¼ cup sugar, brown sugar and flour in a small bowl.  Cut in butter using a pastry blender or 2 knives, until crumbly.

Sprinkle topping over peaches.  Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Serve pie warm or cold.  YIELD:  6 servings.

You can use fresh, frozen or canned peaches in this recipe.  I warn you, if you use canned peaches, the pie will be a little runny, but no less flavorful and delicious.  I almost always use canned peaches and the pie is always a little runny.  It’s not photogenic, but it’s yummy yummy.  Also, call me crazy, but I have a hard time cutting up a beautifully fresh peach and putting it in a pie when it is best going straight to my face-hole.

Enjoy!

Potato Salad and a Picnic at Home

By Somer

Happy Memorial Day!  Today is the day that rings in the summer season and we all try to celebrate this day with camping, lake trips, or picnics.  My family is preparing for a cross-country move at the end of August, so our time (and money) is at a premium right now.  Since we took advantage of this long weekend by packing and purging, I decided to bring a little bit of festivity to my family by having a little backyard picnic.  We live in a townhome and our backyard basically consists of a slab of concrete (we don’t allow our son to play in the surrounding grass because of a-hole neighbors who don’t clean up after their dogs), but I still wanted to try to have a little bit of fun tonight.

We had steak grilled on our tiny charcoal hibachi, a traditional potato salad, and peach pie.  I’ll share the recipe for the peach pie tomorrow (and believe me, you WANT that recipe) but we’ll talk steak and potato salad tonight.

As a food enthusiast, I feel that it is my duty to explain a few things to you all about steak.  A good cut of steak (ribeye is my favorite, but it’s really a personal choice) needs only salt and pepper as a seasoning.  Don’t be seduced by those “grill seasonings” because they are mostly salt and all crap.  I notice that people who eat their steaks overcooked tend to want “seasonings” or steak sauce and it really is a shame because those things ruin a perfectly good piece of meat.  If a rare steak scares you, try a medium or medium rare steak.  The meat is very juicy and very tender.  Once you taste one that is cooked just right, you understand why a bunch of bells and whistles destroy what should be the dominating flavor.  If a little bit of pink in the middle of your steak grosses you out or scares you, you shouldn’t be eating steak at all.  Stick with chicken, you chicken.

The potato salad recipe I’m going to share with you is a very traditional and very old potato salad.  I see a lot of recipes for potato salads that have vinaigrettes and are light and healthy.  I would love to try a few of these recipes because they really do look delicious.  But when I want to have a picnic, I want REAL potato salad.  I want it cold and hearty and rich.  It’s just what I crave.  It’s not something that I indulge in more than a few times a year, but when I do make it, I make HUGE batches of it so I can munch on it for lunch during the week.  I’ll warn you, though:  if you have heart problems or high cholesterol you probably shouldn’t read on.  If you’re a flavor freak with a healthy ticker, please read on!

Traditional Potato Salad

(This is my recipe)

-6-8 cups potatoes cut into large cubes

-5 hard boiled eggs

-1 cup mayonnaise

-1 cup salad dressing (Miracle Whip)

-2 Tblsp. yellow mustard

-Green onions for garnish (optional)

I used Yukon Gold potatoes and I peeled them.  I have seen people use Russet potatoes and leave the skins on, and that is perfectly fine.  I happen to think that the Yukon Gold is potato perfection and I use it almost exculsively.

Cut your potatoes into fairly large cubes so that they don’t fall apart in the boiling process.  Put the cubes in a dry pot and add cold water to the pot.  This will ensure even cooking.  Also make sure that you salt the water really well because potatoes don’t take in salt after they are cooked and you want that flavoring.

Make your hard boiled eggs.  Surely you kow how to do that, right?  Eggs in pot, water in pot, boil.  You want these cooked all the way through..more so than how you would make them if you were to eat them straight up.  That yolk needs to be cooked to death!  10 minutes at a full boil should make sure that the eggs are properly cooked to death.  Ok, I’m stupid.  I’ll move on.

Peel the eggs and cut them in half.  With some gentle manipulation, the yolk should come out of the white part.  Put the yolk in a medium sized bowl and chop the whites roughly.

Put the mayo, salad dressing, and mustard in the bowl with the egg yolks and mash together so that it’s well combined.

Yes, this is a heart-stopping mixture but if you’ve had it before, you know how good it is.  And hey, this is how it’s made!  Try to not think about how bad it is for you….kind of like when you eat a big hamburger with a large side of fries.

When the potatoes are fork tender, drain well and gently toss with the dressing.  Toss in the egg whites.  The dish will be thick.  Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and garnish with the green onions.  This dish is very yellow, so a little green is needed if you like.

Instead of the usual close-up picture of the finished product, I decided to showcase the people who eat my cooking the most.  This will be changing hopefully since we are moving closer to family, but these two are always more than happy to be my taste testers.  Happy Memorial Day and enjoy!

Crab Cakes

By Somer

When I was in college, my boyfriend (now husband) picked me up from one of my night classes and brought me home.  When I walked through the door, I noticed that he had music playing.  Low ambient light provided a warm glow to our crappy little domicile and there was a small feast spread out on our kitchen table.  He had spent the last few hours researching and making crab cakes and oysters on the half shell for us as a romantic meal.  Of course, the oysters were astounding, but I was surprised at how good the crab cakes were.  On our tiny college-student-budget, he had managed to put together a proper meal.

If you research crab cake recipes online (and even if you use the recipe I will be providing), you will notice that almost all of these recipes will call for lump crab meat.  While it is a fact of life that lump crab meat makes much better crab cakes and require less filler (like bread crumbs), lump crab meat is really expensive.  It’s more than I’m comfortable paying for an everyday meal, in fact.

I use canned crab meat when I make crab cakes as a small family meal.  Obviously it is not as good as lump crab meat, but it’s still crab meat and crab meat is good….so shut it.  This stuff is so cheap and affordable that if you stop listening to the people who tell you that the only good food is expensive food, you can have a perfectly delicious meal for pennies a person.  I still use the recipe my husband used all those years ago (maybe I’m a sentimental fool) and it’s still as good today as it was then and it’s still budget friendly because it uses ingredients that most people already have in their pantries.  I’ve revised the recipe a little bit (of course) so here’s the original recipe and I’ll list my revisions below.

Mrs. Duvall’s Crab Cakes

Mrs. Duvall of the Rail Stop, The Plains, VA

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup onion, minced

2 eggs, lightly beaten

½ tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

½ tsp. dry mustard

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 lb. lump crab meat, picked over

1 cup soda crackers, finely crushed

2 Tblsp. unsalted butter

¼ cup vegetable oil

Lemon wedges

In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, onion, eggs, Wocestershire sauce, dry mustard, salt and cayenne.  Fold in the crabmeat and ¼ cup of the cracker crumbs.  Shape the mixture into 16 cakes about 1-inch thick.  Coat the crab cakes with the remaining cracker crumbs and transfer to a baking sheet lined with waxed paper.  The crab cakes can be refrigerated overnight at this point, if needed.

In a large skillet, melt 1 Tblsp. of the butter in 2 Tblsp. of the oil.  When the foam subsides, add half the crab cakes and cook over moderate heat until golden and crisp, 2-3 minutes pre side.  Drain the crab cakes on paper towels, then keep warm in a low oven.  Repeat with the remaining 1 Tblsp. of butter and 2 Tblsp. oil and cook the remaining crab cakes.  Serve with lemon wedges.

YIELD:  4 servings

-If you are using canned crab for this recipe, use two 6 oz. cans.  I know that doesn’t quite equal a full lb., but for canned meat, it is the perfect measurement.

-I use 1 Tblsp. of Dijon mustard and 1 Tblsp. of coarse grain mustard instead of that piddly amount of dry mustard called for in the recipe.  It adds wonderful zing to the dish.

-I have this awesome tiny-sized food processor that I use for dishes like this that call for finely minced onion and garlic.  You want a very fine mince (almost like a paste) because big chunks of onion or garlic in this are not very appetizing.  Oh yeah, I also use garlic in this dish even though it isn’t called for.  I have yet to meat a seafood that doesn’t benefit from a little garlic.  2 cloves minced is a good measurement.

-Instead of soda crackers in this, I use Saltines.  Everybody has Saltines in their pantries and they add a nice saltiness to the dish.  You’ll use an entire sleeve of the crackers in this dish.  Just crush them up as finely as you can.  A few chunks here and there are fine.  Use 1/2 cup of the crumbs in the mixture and the rest for outer coating just as in the recipe.

-When it’s time to fry these babies up, make a little assembly line for yourself.  Crab mixture, cracker crumbs, skillet.  It makes the process a lot easier, trust me.

In between batches, put these on cooling racks over a baking sheet so they can drain and put them in a warm oven until you are ready to serve.

A simple, affordable, and lovely dish.  You can even mini-size these things for appetizers.  I’ve been making them for about 6 years and will continue to do so for many more.  Enjoy!