FrogPrincesse

Here is a picture of a meal we had a few days ago. These are scallops with a lime-ginger beurre blanc, sprinkled with sesame seeds. The scallops were really outstanding. I bought at Bay Park Fish which is a small fish shop and restaurant.

Katie, I assume that you are referring to a cherimoya/custard apple, not a papaya, right? You could make Audrey Saunders' Soursop Sour! It's delicious.

Regarding the Cruzan line, I am just finishing up a bottle of Cruzan aged rum that someone gave me. While it's not something I would normally buy, it was a decent rum that was suitable for mixed drinks.

In Costa Mesa, I recommend Marche Moderne. It's a French bistro strangely located inside the South Coast Plaza shopping center (but that has its own patio so you quickly forget that you are in a mall). The chef Florent is French and his wife Amelia is the pastry chef. Their food is very creative, a combination of classic dishes with interesting twists. I remember having an impeccable foie gras au torchon there, and also a delicious tajine with local vegetables. Honkman posted a detailed review of the restaurant here.

Thank you for your recommendations, EatNopales. I did not realize that you had lived in Kailua! It's really too bad that there aren't more "real" farmers at the farmers' markets on Oahu. Since we arrive on a Thursday, we will go to the Kailua market and buy whatever local produce we can find, and eat there as well. Then the following day we will most likely go to one of the local farms that you mentioned in your post (Nalo or Waimanalo Country), or to the big Saturday farmers' market at KCC, if we are in that area. Thank you for the information about the road side stands too. I am excited about the salicornias. I have not had them since I lived in France, and they were pickled I believe. Anyway, it's something I would love to experience again. How do you use them when they are fresh? Young jicamas sound good too; they would be great in a salad. I am familiar with the tomatoes from Kamuela, we had them on the Big Island. I will look for Manoa lettuce (I assume that this is the name of the variety?). Tamashiro's Fish Market sounds wonderful. And we will make sure to go to Ahi & Vegetable for lunch if we are in the area. Regarding restaurants, we were planning to avoid Kailua. Since we are renting a house, our plan was to dine in most of the time anyway. I will look into Mavro, however the prices seem quite high ($100 per person without wine, according to Zagat, so I would expect close to $200 per person...). It's too bad to hear that Alan Wong has gone downhill. I had many memorable meals there.

I vote for the guanciale! I think I have the same fridge magnets - from Alton Brown's I am Just Here for the Food, I believe? It looks like you have been REALLY busy this week. Your blog is a lot of fun to follow! I hope you don't die from exhaustion when the week ends.

I will be in Oahu for 5 days at the end of October, staying at a rental house near Kailua. I plan on bringing my cooking kit with me (including a couple of good knives and cookbooks by Jean-Marie Josselin and Alan Wong for inspiration) and cooking with the beautiful local ingredients. I've done this a couple of years ago on the Big Island and absolutely loved it (I still remember the local abalone, making ahi poke, etc) The Saturday KCC market is already on my list. If there are specific vendors that you recommend please let me know! I arrive on a Thursday so I will probably go to the Kailua market that first evening. Anything that I should not miss?

EatNopales, I am enjoying reading your blog. What do amaranth seeds taste like? And can you please describe their texture? I've never had them. Thanks!

Here is Trader Vic's Mai Tai recipe, for references purposes, also from Beachbum Berry's website. Note the combination of rums: a Jamaican dark rum with an aged rhum agricole. This drink is all about the rum, so using high quality is really important. I've experimented with various rums and so far my favorite combo is Appleton (I use the "extra"/12 yr) + La Favorite "coeur de rhum".

Katie, I appreciate the thought. Now you know you will have to watch for the Mai Tai police every time you get close to your bottle of grenadine! I did not want to hijack the thread, so I posted my thoughts about grenadine in the Mai Tai topic here.

The question of grenadine in Mai Tais came up recently in the Orgeat thread, and I could not help but comment. I must confess that, not so long ago, I used to add grenadine in my Mai Tais. But at the time I did not know much about cocktails so my concoctions were highly questionable. I even once served an emerald green Mai Tai to guests at a party years ago!!! (yes, I used blue curacao). Anyway, since then I've learned a thing or two about cocktails, mostly thanks to eGullet and extensive hands-on "research". I learned about the history of the Mai Tai thanks to Beachbum Berry's books. Here is what he writes about the Mai Tai on his website. Martin Cate also talks about the Mai Tai and how it has been bastardized by the addition of various things which include pineapple juice, or ... grenadine. He illustrates his point quite clearly in his How to Make a Mai Tai video. I am sure I must sound completely pedantic by now so I will stop. The conclusion is that you would probably offend the tiki gods if you add grenadine in a Mai Tai, so do at your own risk only. More seriously, adding a little grenadine isn't probably going to ruin your Mai Tai, but I am not convinced it's really needed either.

Grenadine in a Mai Tai? You are breaking my heart, Katie Why would you want to cover the taste of rum and beautiful homemade orgeat?

Hi tony h, Thanks for posting your impressions on Relae. When did you go? I had a memorable meal there with my husband a couple of months ago. I took pictures and notes but have not had time to post my review yet. But I can tell you that the wine pairings were one of the highlights of the meal, so we did not mind the extra costs. Also I enjoyed the food a lot (but the black pepper ice cream was not on the menu that day!). I can't compare Relae to NOMA because I did not get a chance to eat there. But overall I was extremely impressed. Too bad you did not have the same experience.

I added a few books to my library since March. Boozehound: On the Trail of the Rare, the Obscure, and the Overrated in Spirits by Jason Wilson. This is my current read, which is very informative and a lot of fun, with cocktail recipes interspersed throughout the book. I love it so far and it is a good reference book. The Cooking of Italy by Waverley Root (Foods of the World / Time-Life Books) Pacific & Southeast Asian Cooking by Rafael Steinberg (Foods of the World / Time-Life Books). These two Time-Life books have beautiful vintage pictures and I can't wait to cook from them. Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking by Nathan Myhrvold and Chris Young and Maxime Bilet. I guess this counts as 6 books... The Reach of a Chef: Professional Cooks in the Age of Celebrity by Michael Ruhlman. I've read the other volumes (making, soul) so I had to get that one too. An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude by Ann Vanderhoof. I have the Spice Necklace by the same author, and expect that this one will be a good read too. The stories remind me of a trip I made to St Lucia last year, and it's a cuisine that I am interested in exploring. So that's +11

The high proof is for pastry purposes - sold at places like Qzina. Got to figure out some other use for the violette too. Kerry, I could be off base but I don't believe that this is the same product, although it's made by the same company. Maraschino liqueur is a very versatile cocktail ingredient and a key element of many wonderful cocktails (El Floridita, Last Word, etc) so it may make sense to invest in a bottle to continue your cocktail adventures. I was a little skeptical when I bought my first bottle but I went through it quite fast and now I always make sure to have it available. The violette, on the other hand, is something I've only used in the Aviation so far.

I live in San Diego, CA. With my current system, I pick-up my weekly CSA bag on Thursdays which is my main source for produce. Then I do a weekly trip to Trader Joe's for pantry staples and dairy (and some additional produce) - I am usually in and out in less than 30 min because I know exactly what I need. I typically buy meat and fish about every other day at local shops on my way home (which adds about 20 min to my drive home). On occasions, I do a quick trip to Bristol Farms or Whole Foods if I need a bunch of specialized items and have limited time. Otherwise I try to look for these special ingredients on weekends when I have more time and can combine with other errands. I also go to the farmers' market about every other weekend.

An article in Food Safety News raises concerns about the safety of Chinese honey and explains how it is making its way into mislabeled US honey. Will you be throwing out your bottle of Suebee honey after reading this article?

I made jerk chicken last weekend for a Caribbean-themed meal. I followed Steven Raichlen's recipe from How to Grill pretty much as is, with a few minor tweaks. First, I could not find any scotch bonnets, so I used habaneros instead. We have a friend who is afraid of anything spicy, so I used only 1 instead of the 6 to 12 that the recipe called for. We could feel a light bite from the habanero but all agreed that we could increase the heat a little next time. The other modification was to use a couple of spatchcocked chickens instead of the pork shoulder the recipe called for. I ended up cutting them up in smaller pieces as they were taking a while to cook and we were all getting hungry. Here is the marinade. It was very rich in herbs and it was really great to have the combination of all the dried spices with the fresh herbs. I used highly fragrant allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon that I bought during a trip to St Lucia last year. Ingredients: 1 habanero (would increase to 2 or 3 next time) 2 bunches scallions 1 small onion 6 cloves garlic 1/2 cup fresh cilantro (I used a little more, about 3/4 cup) 1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley (same as above) 2 tablespoons fresh ginger 1.5 tablespoons dried thyme (I used herbes de Provence) 1 tablespoon fresh marjoram (I skipped) 2 tablespoons ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 3 tablespoons lime juice 3 tablespoons soy sauce 3 tablespoons dark rum 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons coarse salt 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar 2 tablespoons brown sugar I poked little holes all over the chicken before marinating it for a few hours. Then it was cooked on the grill. The night of the dinner with our friends I served it with rice and callaloo, but forgot to take a picture. We had some leftovers, so the next day I served it with a non-Carribbean side dish (sugar snap peas with soffrito, hot pepper and mint). The callaloo is in the little earthenware dish. It was made with fresh spinach and fresh coconut milk. The jerk chicken was extremely flavorful even though it had marinated only for a couple of hours. I will make this dish again for sure. Before our meal, we had El Floridita No. 1 cocktails (Gary Regan's version) with rhum agricole from Martinique, and then switched to Red Stripe beers and homemade LLB, a soda made with lemon, lime, and plenty of Angostura bitters.

Kouign Aman - There is currently rhubarb in the stores in San Diego! I got a bunch in my CSA last week and also spotted it at Ralphs in Hillcrest. I decided to make a pie using the recipe from Ruhlman's Ratio, The Bebop-A-Reebop rhubarb pie wih lattice crust. It was wonderful. I love all things tart and I was very happy with this dessert! One little thing can revive a guy And that is a piece of rhubarb pie Serve it up, nice and hot Maybe things aren't as bad as you thought From The Prairie Home Companion

Why not take your bitters with you? The bottles don't take much space. The only thing to keep in mind is that you will need to keep them in your checked luggage, unless you repackage them into smaller < 3 oz containers. Also make sure to double-bag in case of leaks.

There are so many interesting restaurants in LA. A few of my curent favorites are Pizzeria Mozza (the Nancy Silverton/Mario Batali place), Suzanne Goin's restaurant and wine bar A.O.C., and Le Pain Quotidien in West Hollywood for breakfast. You can look at this fairly recent thread for more suggestions about California restaurants.

That's what I would do as well. Using real butter sounds essential. Also try using homemade pasta, ricotta or cottage cheese to elevate the recipe, and add a few ultra thin slices of Parma ham on top.

Anna, Here is the version of the Paradise cocktail that I tried from Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan which, he explains, is loosely based on Craddock's 1930 recipe. I thought it was well balanced and not too sweet (which can happen easily with the apricot brandy). 1 1/2 oz gin 3/4 oz apricot brandy (I used Rothman & Winter) 1/2 oz fresh orange juice 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice The Craddock version, for reference purposes 1/2 gin 1/4 apricot brandy 1/4 orange juice 1 dash lemon juice

My favorite burgers for dinner tonight - the Grilled Pork Burgers from Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin, aka triple pork burgers. The patty is ground pork, chorizo, and diced homemade maple-cured hickory-smoked bacon, seasoned with sauteed shallots and garlic, roasted cumin, herbes de Provence, parsley, and chile de arbol. On top, a slice of Manchego cheese and a little pile of baby arugula. The bun is an onion roll from Sadie Rose, a local bakery. My husband added some barbecue sauce on his (pictured); for mine I used aioli. I made these many times in the past but it's the first time I cook them on the grill and they were even more delicious this time. Dessert was local blackberries with a little vanilla sugar. They were a little tart - I guess they will get better later in the season.

Another simple weeknight dinner - Grilled prime rib-eye, zephyr and eight ball squash with almonds, homemade lemon confit and parmigiano reggiano (inspired by Kate upthread), a couple of grilled Padrón peppers sprinkled with fleur de sel from Ile de Ré in France, sourdough batard from Bread and Cie, and a glass of 2001 Bordeaux. Dessert was a scoop of David Lebovitz's delicious and ultra-rich chocolate ice cream from the Perfect Scoop.