Seafood and Waterfalls

I decided when I found out we were coming to the islands for our vacation that since we were staying in a condo and eating most meals in that we would treat ourselves to a wonderful tropical dinner for our first night and last night here.

Our first night here we enjoyed an "appetizer" dinner at Tommy Bahamas.  Truly the best of island cuisine. You can't go wrong with their menu for a wonderful tropical experience.

Tommy Bahama's Famous Coconut Shrimp

Their amazing blue crab cakes with chili sauce.

Creamy crab bisque that will amaze.

The next day we went to the other side of the island for waterfall hikes and tours. We started with the Akaka Falls Park and hike in the rain forrest and then headed 30 minutes south to Hilo and the Rainbow Falls Park.

At Akaka Falls we had a really fun and sunny tailgating lunch with some of our rations that we picked up at Costco when we arrived.

After a long hot afternoon we of course had to stop at Komet Kones for a blended ice cream treat for the ride back to Kohala.

Akaka Falls

Hiking through the rain forest.

Rainbow Falls

In the spirit of our seafood fest we made lobster ravioli that we picked up in town....delish!!

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my honey.  Seventeen years ago today, I married my best friend in Indian Wells, CA on the most beautiful setting around lakes and waterfalls with 125 of our family and closest friends.

The greatest gift ever, this morning I woke up in our beautiful condo at Mauna Lani on the Kohala Coast for my anniversary, along the Pacific Ocean with my husband and girls.

I have always been drawn to Hawaii ever since my mom brought us to Maui when I was younger.  My mom was born in Hawaii and it is told that her grandmother was a seamstress for the Royal Family.  I always knew I came from royalty.

The Big Island Of Hawaii, as it is known, was first introduced to us by JoAnne and Dick, my brother and sister-in-law 12 years ago when they graciously included us in their summer vacation to the Mauna Kea Resort.

The famous Mauna Kea Resort.
One of the world's top rated beaches.

They brought us back the following year and we were hooked ever since.  We have not been here for 10 years but the minute I stepped on the Mauna Lani private beach with my girls, it was like a day had never passed.

View from our Master Bedroom lanai - breathtaking.

In the beginning.....

I am still drooling looking at this photo and
remembering the sweet morning.

We went to the resort market and found this darling coffee shop that served hot Coconut Mochas and Chocolate Chip and Coconut Scones - oh dear heaven I have never had such an amazing breakfast (if you can call it that).

A beautiful day to remember...

The Mauna Kea famous "Frederico" that we
created for tonight's happy hour.

Tonight's incredible sunset from our patio.

Best party ever....photos courtesy of my scrapbook from GGMa.

We made a wonderful dinner for our family anniversary...grilled up some Spencer steaks, roasted purple potatoes, sauteed mushrooms and ceasear salad - better than any steak house could make up.  Here is the bigger question...why does food taste so much better when you are on vacation?  We have made this same dinner a hundred times, but tonight's meal was exceptional !!

Pork Wellington...This Too Shall Pass

I am still on my week of packing, prayers and patience...they are all a process.  Whenever I am feeling weighed down (and I don't mean from the constant ice cream sandwiches), I just tell myself, "this too shall pass".

The towers of boxes are getting bigger and the available walking floor space throughout the house is getting smaller.  In my ever quest of being a neat freak, you can imagine that moving a house and office and packing is starting to wear thin on my ever bubbly personality.

Not to worry though, in 12 hours I will be sitting on a plane with a Mimosa in one hand and a Mai Tai in the other...for the next 10 days!!

Before the kitchen was packed up I tried out this creation with a sheet of puff pastry that needed used in the freezer.

Pork Wellington

1 pkg. pork tenderloin (2-3 pounds)

For the marinade:
4 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T. country dijon mustard (whole grain mustard)
4 T. honey
2 T. fresh orange juice
1 T. finely chopped fresh rosemary OR herbs de provence
freshly ground pepper to taste
3 T. olive oil

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry (thaw 30 minutes before ready to use)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Take tenderloin out of package. Rinse and pat dry.

Place in a 9×13-inch Pyrex sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

In a measuring cup or in a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients except for the olive oil. Then slowly drizzle the olive oil while still whisking.

Pour the mixture over the tenderloins and put into preheated oven. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, basting after 15 minutes.

After the first 30 minutes have passed, remove the pork from oven (continue to keep oven at 350 degrees.)

Place puff pastry on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Transfer the pork from the Pyrex dish to the puff pastry and wrap completely. Reserve the marinade for sauce.

Return pastry covered pork to oven and bake another 30 minutes, until pastry is cooked through.

While pork continues to bake, pour the marinade from the Pyrex to a sauce pan and simmer until reduced by half.

Once pork is  removed from the oven, allow to rest on a cutting board for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Spoon the pan sauce over the tenderloin medallions and enjoy!

** I served this with Parmesan Risotto.

Loaded Hasselback Potatoes...Hassle of Packing

There is a wonderful saying that I have been reiterating to myself over and over and over again lately...   "God does not put anything in front of you that He thinks you cannot handle."

This has been a very interesting past week, to say the least.....

We learned two weeks ago that the owner of our house wants to take advantage of the strong housing market here and sell the house we have been living in for the past 18 months when we arrived in Colorado.

Oh, and we have 30 days to find another house and move (did I mention the insane real estate market right now - houses are selling and renting in about one hour after they hit the market)...and all of this is going down as we are trying to take our first family vacation in ten years together, this week...oh, and did I also mention that my company has decided to move our offices and accomplish a complete tenant improvement remodel in 30 days and I have to move both my house and office the same weekend.

That being said we are juggling packing for a trip, packing a house and I get to add in packing up an office as well, just to add to the fun.  Breathe in....Breathe out.

Can I just say one thing...there will be many adult beverages consumed for 9 days while I am laying (or passed out) on the beach in Hawaii.  I will also be on a zipline for the first time in my life and since I am terrified of heights, I can scream out all my tension and packing stress throughout the rain forrest.

These potatoes practically cook themselves if you find yourself trying to squeeze in preparing dinner while packing.

Loaded Hasselback Potatoes

4 russet potatoes
1/4 cup unsalted butter, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 slices bacon, diced
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Using a sharp knife, make crosswise cuts in each potato, about 1/8-inch apart, stopping about 1/4 inch from the bottom. Add butter slices to between the cuts; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Transfer potatoes to a baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until the outsides are browned and crisp, about 1 hour. Top with cheese and bake until melted, an additional 5 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Serve potatoes immediately, topped with sour cream, bacon and chives.

**  I served these with beef fillet medallions, sauteed mushrooms and a portabella demi-glace sauce.

Happy Mother's Day Brunch with German Pancakes

Happy Mother's Day!

Today has been an amazing day.  Started with a dozen, beautiful mixed colored roses and a giant balloon.
I have never had a giant balloon before - very sweet.

My husband and the girls made me a phenomenal breakfast...better than any brunch buffet you could order up.  The very impressive menu included freshly made fruit salad, cinnamon muffins, German pancakes, bacon, hash browns and finished it off with Eggs Benedict.  Absolutely delicious at every level.  The best part was I didn't have to cook or do any of the dishes.

After breakfast we watched Frozen in our pajamas, which was fitting since it started snowing last night and hasn't stopped.  Then it was a full relaxing day of even more movies, snuggling in blankets, 2 naps and a little bit of laundry to get the week started.  All in all, a terrific Mother's Day that couldn't have been better.

On special weekends back in California we had a favorite restaurant that served German pancakes.  I was so grateful when my grandmother gave me a recipe for the exact pancake...love these treats!!!

German Pancakes
Dedicated To All The Moms, Grandmas, Aunts, Sisters and Wives

1/2 cup all purpose or unbleached flour
2 Tbl sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
2 Tbl margarine or butter

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off.  In medium bowl, combine all pancake ingredients, except butter.  Beat with a wire whisk or rotary beater until smooth.

Place butter in 9 inch pie pan; melt in oven just until butter sizzles, 2 to 4 minutes.  Remove pan from oven; tilt to coat bottom with melted butter.  Immediately pour batter into hot pan.  Bake at 425 degrees for 14 to 10 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.

Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar.

Kentucky Derby Menu

I had all the best intentions to finish up this post and publish yesterday for our celebration of the Kentucky Derby menu that we did this weekend...always a day late and dollar short, as they say.  However, given that we were still in school project mode, I had to supervise Shakespeare's Globe Theater construction, get the house ready for dinner guests and that pretty much summed up the day - gone in the blink of an eye, while my husband continued with the BBQ island construction and three more trips to Home Depot.

This dinner totally hit the spot after a long, hot and very errand filled day.  I would definitely make this dinner a few times again, before next year's Derby.  The girls and I were everywhere gathering up the last minute project supplies, grocery shopping, searching for a few summer clothes pieces and the inevitable girls outing luncheon which gives us some girl talk time and gets me caught up on all the goings on with them, their friends and classmates, because I try to be an "in the know" mom like that.

Kentucky Hot Brown Panini 

Panini:

roasted turkey breast (enough for 2 large sandwiches)
4 slices thick hickory smoked bacon, cooked
4 slices Heirloom tomatoes, lightly salted and peppered and broiled in the oven
Mornay Sauce (recipe below)
4 slices thick brioche bread (pullman style, if possible)

Mornay Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup grated, good sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper, to taste
Dash Worcestershire Sauce

For panini:
Preheat Panini Grill. Put the heat on a lower setting at first.

Assemble the sandwich layering the bread, turkey, tomatoes, bacon and finally topping with a little Mornay Sauce and the bread.

When the grill is ready, place sandwiches on the grill for a few minutes until sandwich is warmed throughout.

Turn up the heat for a few minutes, checking to make sure the bread is nicely browned and toasted. Remove and serve with additional Mornay Sauce, if desired.

For Mornay Sauce:
In a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the roux is pale, about 1 minute. Do not allow it to brown. Slowly whisk in the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce thickens and comes to a boil, about 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and whisk in the grated cheeses until they have completely melted. Add salt, freshly ground white pepper and Worcestershire Sauce to taste. Serve immediately.

Bluegrass Salad
Courtesy of Southern Living Magazine

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
3/4 cup walnuts
2 heads romaine lettuce, torn
2 pears, chopped
1 cup asparagus tips*
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Whisk together first 4 ingredients. Chill at least 1 hour.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat; add walnuts, and sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove walnuts with a slotted spoon.

Toss together lettuce, pears, asparagus, and toasted walnuts. Sprinkle with cheese and cranberries; drizzle with dressing.

Derby Pie Bars
Courtesy of thekitchn.com

For the shortbread crust
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed

For the filling
12 tablespoons (1 + 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons bourbon or whiskey (or more to taste)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 350°.

To make the crust, combine the powdered sugar, flour, and salt In the bowl of a food processor. Add cubes of butter and pulse until it resembles coarse cornmeal. (You can also use your fingers or a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter. Whatever is easiest for you.) Firmly pat the mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Bake the crust for about 20 to 23 minutes until just lightly golden.


To make the filling, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, flour, salt, and bourbon and continue to mix until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour batter over partially baked crust. Bake until filling is set and the top is light golden brown, approximately 25 minutes. Allow bars to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into 2-inch squares (or desired size). 

Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Margarita Cupcakes

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!  We celebrated yesterday with Heather and Matt with Beef Fajitas, Homemade Guacamole and Mexican Rice and Beans.  I was so happy to have found my authentic Mexican dishes to serve the salsa and tamales in.  My sister-in-law and I were in Mexico about 20 years ago and our group came upon this tiny restaurant on the beach with the most unbelievable food and drinks.

The little grandma let Jodi and I tour her kitchen and because we were (and still are) dish fanatics, she actually let us buy some of her dishes right out of the kitchen.  Great memories of that day and these dishes always bring me back to it.

Needless to say, we had food coma by the end of the night, but certainly made enough room for Key Lime Pie and Margarita Cupcakes.

Margarita Cupcakes
Courtesy of Brown Eyed Baker, May 2011

For the Cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
Zest and juice of 1½ limes
2 tablespoons tequila
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk

To Brush the Cupcakes:
1 to 2 tablespoons tequila (I prefer Patron Silver).  
**I believe you should only cook with something that you would actually drink.

For the Tequila-Lime Frosting:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2¾ cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoons tequila
Pinch of coarse salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. In an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugar together until pale, light, and fluffy (about 5 minutes).

4. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at at time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.

5. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the lime zest, lime juice, vanilla extract and tequila. Mix until combined. (The mixture may start to look curdled at this point, but don't worry, it will all come back together, power on!)

6. Reduce the mixer speed low. Add the dry ingredients in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk in two batches. Mix only until just incorporated, using a rubber spatula to give it one last mix by hand.

7. Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until just slightly golden and a skewer shows only moist crumbs attached, rotating the pan at the halfway point.

8. Allow cupcakes to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, and then remove to a cooling rack. Brush the tops of the cupcakes with the 1 to 2 tablespoons of tequila. Set the cupcakes aside to cool completely before frosting them.

9. To make the frosting, whip the butter on medium-high speed of an electric mixer using the whisk attachment for 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, and gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing and scraping the sides of the bowl until all is incorporated. Give it a mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the lime juice, tequila and salt mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and fluffy. If the frosting appears a bit too soft, add some additional sugar, one spoonful at a time until desired consistency is reached. Frost cupcakes and garnish, if desired, with lime zest, an additional sprinkling of salt and a lime wedge.

*Note #1: If you would prefer to not use liquor in these cupcakes, you can absolutely omit it from both the cupcakes and the frosting with no problem. If you do omit it, I would add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract to the frosting.

White Pizza and Marky's Mark

As if we didn't have enough projects going on in our house, which is not unusual at any given day, my husband has decided to build us a custom island / eating bar for our BBQ.  This means two things:  my patio is very messy and will look like a construction zone for a few weeks and in those few weeks that also means no grilling from my husband....very unfortunate on both of those points.

Really missing our BBQ right now.

I have made it a lifelong goal to never learn how to grill, because if I learn how to grill then I too will be grilling.  I have enough going on typically inside the kitchen, let alone trying to deal with watching what's going on outside.  Besides, if I learn how to grill, then I would probably start showing up my husbands grill'n skills (we tend to get a little competitive around here).  As we know, he can get a little distracted, especially while with his brother..

His only saving grace is he invented a new summer drink for us.  We were both too tired to venture out to the store for beverages, so we did a pantry/refrigerator purge and came up with a really great new cocktail.

Marky's Mark
Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, Welch's Passion Fruit Juice and
a splash of Cranberry Juice

Since the BBQ is on hiatus, we fired up our pizza stone and recreated one of our favorite pizzas from back in the day when we first met.  On special occasions we would frequent a restaurant called Paoli's.  The most unbelievable White (Alfredo Sauce) Pizza you could possibly imagine.  Trust me, once you have had alfredo pizza you will never want red sauce again.....

Alfredo Sauce
Courtesy of Pioneer Woman

1 stick butter
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan

In a saucepan or skillet over low heat, warm the butter and cream. Season with salt and pepper.
Place half of the Parmesan into a large serving bowl. Pour the warm butter/cream mixture over the top.
Add the other half of Parmesan cheese as desired to taste.

Taco (Tortilla Bowl) Salad

Once again it is a non-stop week for all of us here.  We just finished our last competitive volleyball tournament and are starting high school open gym again, in preparation for August try-outs.

Three weeks left of school and the final projects are starting to filter in.  Luckily, the girls are giving me a little more warning than they did for "The Pit and The Pendulum".

So, on the docket this week has been Romeo and Juliet play, make backdrop scene for their play that shows a World War I tank, one had to make soldier patches and this weekend will serve up one of them making a model of Shakespeare's Globe Theater.  Needless to say I have already made 3 trips to Hobby Lobby this week.  I'm sure I'll be visiting there at least a few more times before the weekend is over.

All I can say is thank The Lord that I majored in design and can work my way through these projects and help guide the girls through discovering their creative sides.  More importantly though is that I married the right man who has all the cool tools and tricks of the trade to make the projects happen, along with my endless drafting, scrapbooking and art supplies we have collected through the years.

Due to our crazy schedules, not a lot of time this week for experimenting with new recipes and gourmet tastings. I needed quick, easy and hopefully satisfying and tasty dinners to get us through the late night art endeavors.

I am not normally one to get drawn in to buying those "As Seen On TV" items, but taco nights were getting boring (as I have been told by some family members), so I thought I would try my hand at homemade tortilla bowls and make taco salads this week.

I have to admit these great little oven ready molds are awesome for a quick tortilla bowl in just 7 minutes.  I think we'll try fajita salads for Cinco de Mayo with margaritas and key lime cupcakes next week!!

Tortilla Bowl Taco Salads

Prep and bake flour tortillas per packed directions from Perfect Tortilla Pan Set.

Layer the following, starting at the bottom:
Prepared Refried Beans
Cooked Ground Beef or Ground Turkey with Taco Seasoning
Prepared Mexican Rice
Shredded Mexican Blend Cheddar Cheese
Shredded Lettuce
Freshly Cut Diced Tomatoes
Sliced Avocados
Spoonful of Sour Cream
Top with Seasoned Tortilla Strips

Pizzette, Soup, Naked and Afraid

My husband and I have decided to go on the Naked and Afraid diet.  We have become addicted to the Discovery Channel television series and cannot stop watching it (the kids are even hooked).

I have all the respect for any woman that can just get dropped off into a remote jungle, go bare naked (with maybe not the best figure) and then spend three weeks with a complete stranger, eating termites and making her own bikini out of palm leaves, (all while being filmed on national television and on the internet) - yes, that is a very brave woman.  The best part of all, is they are losing anywhere from 25 - 40 pounds in just three weeks!!  That's the kind of results I would love to have...and they come out of the competition completely tan - it's like an instant makeover!!

Here is our question though....if the man and woman are naked, fending for their own food, shelter and making fires from dried grass and a stick...what are the camera crew, medics and producers doing at the same time?  Are they across a stream living it up in a 10-person Coleman camping adventure tent with built-in shower and a bonfire and grilling up some ribeye steaks?

Or, is the whole thing really filmed in some Burbank, California studios backlot?  Hmmm......

Well at any rate, I'm sure eating this pizza schmeared with herbed cream cheese spread will not help my diet cause, but it sure tastes amazing.

My go to kitchen staple that is always in the refrigerator.

I cannot take any credit for this creative recipe.  My friend Toni in Alaska ( A Taste of Alaska  ) taught me this trick with a simple pre-made pie crust dough and I have been hooked ever since.

I always start with one of the Alouette flavors and build it from there with different veggies, cheeses and toppings.

Served it with a figure friendly minestrone soup to keep it light.

Alouette Pizzette
Courtesy of Toni

(1) Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust (unbaked) and brought to room temperature
3 ounces (1/2 of container) of Alouette cheese spread
4 ounces of button mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
3 ounces of prepared black olive tapenade
4 Tbl. finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out pie crust on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Spread Alouette cheese all over pie crust.  Fold over edges of pie crust (about 1/2" all around) to frame the crust.

Spread tapenade over cheese spread, add mushrooms and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake approximately 30-40 minutes or until pie crust edges are golden brown and cheeses have melted.