FrogPrincesse

Soy-braised brisket with caramelized honey and garlic from nothing fancy. The brisket is seasoned with salt & pepper and left to rest in the fridge for 48 hours, seared, and then braised for 3 - 3.5 hours in soy, vinegar, fish sauce and beef broth. The caramelized honey is interesting - after the brisket is seared, it is removed from the pot and the honey is caramelized before the aromatics (garlic, onions, cinnamon, star anise, ginger, chilies, and bay leaves) are added. Finally the pot is finally deglazed with all the liquids. A bit reminiscent of Vietnamese caramel sauce but with a lighter hand. It's served with fresh herbs on top and rice noodles or rice on the side, but I went with smashed potatoes because that's what we felt like.

You are welcome! And you are right, the prices are very reasonable, especially for Hawaii. The pigs are Berkshire kurobuta breed and are raised in Maui (Malama Farms), on pastures. There are also lots of wild pigs on the island (pua'a that were brought from Tahiti 800 years ago) and they are more a nuisance than anything else.

And enjoy your Chimay! (I am a fan of the blue, personally).

I like this kind of stopper (the general design, not that brand specifically). https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/williams-sonoma-open-kitchen-champagne-stopper/ However, this design isn't compatible with all bottle designs and I cannot remember if it works with Chimay. If it isn't compatible, you can transfer the content to a flip-top bottle or any other bottle that you can close easily.

Day 4 (Friday) It was finally time to head out to the beach! We picked the south end of Anaehoʻomalu bay which has the advantage of being relatively uncrowded, protected, and offering some shade (which is rare). It is also famous for the honu (local turtles). And they were in the shallow waters, sunbathing (no pictures, but you will have to trust me on this!). We explored the beach and had a refreshing swim; some snorkeled. Then we changed and headed straight to Merriman’s in Waimea. Peter Merriman is one of the chefs who started the Hawaii regional cuisine movement in the early 90s (together with Sam Choy; Roy Yamaguchi; Alan Wong; my personal favorite, Jean-Marie Josselin; and a few others), applying the farm-to-table model at a time where most of the food was imported from the mainland, and “continental cuisine” was reigning supreme in fancy restaurants at resorts. This wave of new restaurants with chefs who were interested in understanding the local food culture and ingredients had the result to revitalize the local farms, transforming the local economy. What used to be mostly sugar cane, pineapple, macadamia nuts, coffee is now a lot more diverse with anything from mushroom to chocolate. Now it’s a lot easier to find local (and meats, etc) produce on the islands, at farmers markets of course but also in the local supermarkets. The restaurant was Merriman’s first restaurant in Hawaii before it opened branches in Oahu, Maui, Kauai. It is by far the smallest and least touristy of the bunch. It is located in a small yellow cottage in Waimea and has a very unassuming façade. When it opened in 1998, there wasn’t much around it in terms of other restaurants, but since then it has attracted a number of other interesting establishments. There is a little patch of herbs against the building (previous picture) and an open area where they grill things in the summer using this pretty cool swinging grill contraption called a schwencker (link) (next picture, in the middle). Another thing I really like there is that they put the farmers at the forefront. They have pictures of the various farmers they have worked with for decades now displayed at the entrance with the quote from chef, “my heroes have always been farmers”. More information about them here. I like going there for lunch because it is more casual than dinner, and they don’t frown upon you if you aren’t completely dry or still have sandy feet. The staff is wonderful – attentive, and genuinely interested about making your experience the best it can be (I always have a few food-related questions and they are both knowledgeable and quick to share any information I am curious about - cooking technique, ingredient, etc). I find my visits inspiring. Excellent service makes a huge difference, and they definitely have it there, even at lunch. On a previous visit, I wanted to buy their cookbook but they were out, sadly. Imagine my surprise when they let me buy their signed copy! 😊 On this trip, I was on a mission to try all the Mai Tais so of course I ordered their rendition of the Mai Tai. I always thought the passion fruit foam was a little weird but it’s their signature drink, and it’s a decent Mai Tai. Worthy of note, they use a macadamia orgeat. The rums are local and we will leave it at that. 😊 At my insistence my daughter had a fancy, non alcoholic fruit punch and she loved it! I started with the broccoli cheddar soup, which didn’t especially feel Hawaiian but tasted delicious, nonetheless. The stand-out starter there is the kalua pig quesadilla which is served with a little bit of kimchi on the side (Merriman’s kalua pork recipe is my go-to, and the "secret" ingredient is slowly cooked sweet onions, which make it irresistible). The Caesar salad with the fried croutons was also very good. The pork saimin was comforting, full of umami. This dish is typically Hawaiian and draws influences from ramen. I had the fish of the day – it looked deceptively simple but was perfectly cooked and seasoned. I like food that is simple and highlights the ingredients, so this is definitely my kind of place. My daughter had the burger and a side of roasted potatoes (delicious). Dessert was this decadent pineapple macadamia nut bread pudding. I do not usually care for bread pudding but anything with fresh pineapple and macadamia nuts is worth eating. I wasn’t disappointed. 😊

I should specify that the smoked trout I bought in the past was not in a can - it was from the refrigerated aisle.

i forgot about the smoked trout! The recipe you linked looks good. I like it in rillettes.

That may have been me; I bought a can as mentioned upthread but haven't tried them yet. I am glad to read that they are good! The plan is to do the French thing: slice of bread, good quality butter, smooshed up sardine, squeeze of lemon. Is MC/MV your cat?

The description is accurate though. Very toothsome indeed! Made for us by a supplier in Sri Lanka, this magnificently Mango-forward Chutney is made with a thick, yet smooth and spreadable base of organic cane sugar and organic coconut sap vinegar, to which our supplier adds big, toothsome chunks of organic mango.

I was pretty sure I had picked the mango chutney precisely because it did NOT contain raisins. And I checked the label - it doesn't. So the mystery deepens... One thing is sure, it does not have a pronounced mango flavor.

A can opener of some kind? (for cans that have a tab)

I responded earlier on the other thread.

Tiny, salty, chocolatey cookies from nothing fancy (also online). In short, it's a cookie where the sugar is 100% confectioners' sugar, and the flour is replaced with sugar. This results in a brownie-like texture which is very pleasant. She uses browned butter for extra flavor, and a combo of cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate. Nuts optional - I used walnuts. I loved the intense chocolate flavor and the fact that it's very easy to make. However we struggled a bit to finished the entire batch as they were quite sweet (my yield was 48 cookies vs. 24, which means mine were on the smaller size). Good in small doses only! Note: the recipe in the book is by volume which is rather annoying (her most recent books have weight measurements).

@mmlstarr From her website: Worst case, you can always bake them a minute longer in the oven.

My daughter got these chocolate chip cookies from the fridge section and they were pretty good! On the thinner side, very chocolate-y (as advertised). Dozen for $4.99.

I enjoyed the double chocolate croissants this morning. They feel "drier", very flaky but less buttery than a regular chocolate croissant, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as they can taste very rich when they are butter-forward. I would buy them again!

Sadly, I do not especially care for raisin-flavored chutney. But it's these little pieces of mango that really turned me off. I am guessing they used dried fruit? In other mango chutneys I have had, the mango was more integrated into the chutney rather that being little stand alone firm pieces.

Reporting that the "all natural, fresh mozzarella" is pretty nice. It has a good flavor and isn't overly firm like some are. It's even good enough to nibble on as is.

What did you think about the Sri Lankan chutney from Trader Joe's? I was about to throw away my jar last night because the mango pieces are so weirdly square and firm (see picture) and I do not care for its flavor. I much prefer the major grey style of chutney, although I could do without the raisins.

This morning "Ca va deguster", the food podcast on national French radio, was all about jams (link). There was an interesting tip there that I wanted to share. Stéphan Perrotte, the guest chef who won a prize for his raspberry jam, has an interesting technique to extract the maximum amount of pectin from lemons while not imparting a lemony flavor to the jam. In short, he starts by boiling the whole lemon in water for 7 minutes to get rid of the strong flavors, essential oils etc, he then lets it cool, and freezes it overnight. Both steps break down the lemon cells and eventually help release the pectin. The next day, he cuts the lemon in half and adds it to the sugar / water mixture when he cooks the jam like you would do with a normal recipe. I want to try this when I make jam next time! Full recipe here (in French). There was also some good info shared about skimming. He says he doesn't do it until the very end.

From ”driving as a last resort” to a full-on wasabi day trip.

Indeed, it’s Half Moon Bay Wasabi, the same place I sent you the info about earlier that sells to Nijiya and high end restaurants. https://hmbwasabi.com

Her recipes are generally reliable. Check out this thread on her book, Dorie’s Cookies, for more inspiration!

I will respond for France. Peanut butter is very foreign to us. The closest equivalent is Nutella which we all grew up on and love, but you won’t find peanut butter in French households or in French baked goods. It is a very American ingredient.

This is where Nijiya gets their fresh wasabi from. If Nijiya is out, you can buy directly from them. https://hmbwasabi.com