Happy Hour Friday

There was so much going on this week, we had friends from out of town in. You showed them the sites, bantered words with them, even named your car. Quite and impressive week, now it is time to celebrate.  











As things wind down and they get ready to head on home maybe we need to kick back and show them a 5-0 Happy Hour they won't forget. There are smiles all around and tasty bites and cocktails to serve.






Personally since McGarrett hasn't been around I suggest you guys get the big Kahuna on the phone and get him to sponsor this week's shin digs.  If he asks nicely I may even help.  Hope you all enjoy! 

Chi Chi 

4 oz. fresh pineapple juice

1.5 oz. tequila
1/2 oz. grenadine
1/2 oz. orange liqueur
juice of 1 lemon wedge
crushed ice

1. Mix all of the ingredients except the grenadine. Pour into a glass. 
2. Slowly add the grenadine and allow it to settle. Serve with a slice of pineapple.

Hawaii Five-0 Reload

3 oz. Coconut Rum

1 oz.  Spiced Rum

2 oz cranberry juice

2 oz pineapple juice

1. Pour ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a double old fashioned glass filled with crushed ice. Garnished with a pineapple slice (Kevlar and thigh holster optional).

Hawaiian Mushrooms Stuffed with Seafood

16 large fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems removed,about 1 pound

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach

2 tablespoons chopped shallots

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 pinch dried dill

1 pinch dried tarragon

1 cup crumbled Ritz crackers

3/4 cup cooked crabmeat

1/4 cup chopped cooked shrimp

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. In a saucepan over medium low heat, cook the cream and spinach together until cream is reduced by half. 
3. Stir in the shallots and cook 1 minute, remove from heat and stir in the coconut milk, dill, tarragon, cracker crumbs, crab, shrimp, salt and pepper. 
4. Stuff mushroom caps with seafood mixture and place in a shallow baking pan.
5. Sprinkle with cheese and bake 8 to 10 minutes.

Aloha Chicken Wings

3 lbs chicken wings

1 cup pineapple preserves

1/2 cup dry sherry

1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp ground ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cut wings into sections and discard tips.  
3. Place wings in a large resealable plastic, stir together preserves, sherry, orange juice concentrate, soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, garlic, and ginger, until thoroughly combined.
4. Pour mixture over wings in bag and seal. Work marinade over all parts of chicken wings and allow wings to marinate, refrigerated, for 6 hours or overnight.
5. Place wings on a foil-covered baking pan and pour 1 cup of the marinade over the wings; discard the rest of the marinade.
6. Bake wings at for 1 hour.

Dessert Thursday

It may sometimes be difficult to decide what you may want to feed your friends when they are over, but one thing is certain everyone loves dessert.  Of course as long as we keep the Hawaiian inspiration theme going, the picturesque scenery adds to sweetness itself.

                                                     Though it can  sometimes be hard to narrow it down to just a few choices, always know your friends will be happy with what ever you choose.   So simple to make them happy and if they are happy so are you.













Like I said the worst part is making the decision as to what you should serve, if you have someone around talk it over with them.  Toss the ideas around, make eclectic selections within your theme, or just go crazy.  Today it is Hawaiian and I think the boys may have helped me choose well, see if you agree.

Easy Coconut Pie

4Tbsp butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup milk
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.  In a large bowl, combine melted butter, eggs, flour, sugar, coconut, and milk. 
3. Pour into pie shell. Bake until firm, about 45 to 60 minutes.

HAWAIIAN SWEET POTATO PIE

2 large peeled sweet potatoes (baked or boiled)
1/2 stick salted butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
1-15 oz can evaporated milk
1/4 cup crème of coconut
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Preheat  oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix all ingredients except eggs with whisk or mixer until cream texture. Next add beaten eggs to mixture, and stir.  
3. Pour into an unbaked 9 inch pie shell. Bake  for 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes. Cool thoroughly before slicing.

BANANA-PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE


6 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
2 cups flower
2 t. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 medium banana, mashed
1 cup crushed pineapple
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cream together butter and sugar. Gradually add beaten egg, sift flower, baking powder and salt. Fold in mashed banana. 
3. Melt butter, then on the bottom of an 8 inch square pan pour the butter on the bottom,  then sprinkle brown sugar on top of it.  Add well drained crushed pineapple and chopped macadamia nuts. Pour batter over the top of this mixture and bake in oven  for 20-30 minutes.

Side Dish Tuesday

Oh the dilemma friends are here, there was this great meal planned yesterday, yet I left out the most important thing.  Yeah unfortunately it's McGarrett's loss since he is hunting down the Shelbourne clues.  But he is not really the missing that I had in mind (but Steve you are missed).

Back on track friends what I was missing besides McG was my side dish, not to worry that is what today is for.  Basically this is just a food that accompanies your entrée. But sometimes a side dish can be good enough to stand alone.  That said these look like they mean business and they are waiting for some more serious good eats.  Hey boys I do hope you enjoy!

CHICKEN LONG RICE

3 lbs chicken thighs 
3 cups water
3 cups chicken broth
1 can sliced mushrooms
1" piece of fresh ginger (crushed)
1 tsp Hawaiian salt, sea salt, or Kosher salt
1 clove crushed garlic 
1- 10oz cellophane noodles (soak in warm water till soft)
2 cubes chicken bouillon

1. Place chicken thighs in a soup pot then cover with water and canned chicken broth. 
2. Add crushed ginger, salt, crushed garlic, mushrooms and chicken bouillon. Bring to a boil then simmer 45minutes or until tender. Allow to cool, then bone and shred chicken. Reserve broth. 
3. Cut long rice in 4 inch lengths, add to broth then boil for 15 minutes. Add shredded chicken. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt, pepper, or soy sauce. 

 POTATO-MAC SALAD

4 large red and/or yellow potatoes cut into cubes
1-1/2 cups elbow macaroni-dry
1/4 cup red onion thinly sliced and chopped
3 pickles chopped
3 green onion chopped
3 hard boiled eggs (whites chopped, set aside yolks)
Optional:
1 cup frozen peas 
2 celery stalks chopped 
1-2 carrots chopped 


Dressing:
1-1/4 to 2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup Zesty Italian dressing
1 Tbsp prepared mustard 
3 yolks from the boiled eggs
1 tsp garlic salt
Ground pepper to taste
2 Tbsp pickle juice (optional)
Optional:
Herbs to taste dill, parsley, curry powder

1. Boil cubed potatoes until tender then drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside to allow to fully cool. Cook the macaroni according to the directions on the macaroni package. Then rinse with cold water and set aside to allow to fully cool. 
2. While the macaroni is cooking mix the dressing in a small bowl and set aside. 
3. Once the cooked macaroni and potatoes are cool lightly toss with the remaining ingredients. Once tossed mix in dressing

Main Dish Monday

This is a very special week with the high anticipated H50/NCIS LA crossover episode “Pa Make Loa”.  So getting  myself all excited to the point of planning a special meal in anticipation for friends coming over (okay maybe imagining).  This should be at least something to welcome your new found friends to the Hawaiian culture if they haven't tried it before.

So maybe sit back let everyone kind of get acquainted.  Introduce them to the people the culture, the sites and most definitely the food.  Now remember this is my take on some of the island cuisine.  


But I hope you try this yourselves, for  any reason.  Most are quite simple and can be replicated any time of the week, but there is something to be said about those Monday nights.

Hawaiian Plantation Iced Tea

1 quart boiling hot water
4  tea bags
1 quart ice cold water
16oz pineapple juice
1 fresh pineapple - peeled, cored, and cut into spears

1. Pour the barely boiling hot water into a large pitcher, and add the tea bags. Steep the tea 2 to 4 minutes. Remove the tea bags, and pour in the ice water. Pour in the pineapple juice. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 1 1/2 hours.
2. Pour the tea over ice, garnish with pineapple spears, and serve.

           Tropical Salad with Pineapple Vinaigrette



6 slices bacon
1/4 cup pineapple juice
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1- 10 oz package chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup diced fresh pineapple
1/2 cup chopped and toasted macadamia nuts
3 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup flaked coconut, toasted

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
2. In a cruet or jar with a lid, combine pineapple juice, red wine vinegar, oil, pepper and salt. Cover and shake well. 
3. In a large bowl, toss together the lettuce, pineapple, macadamia nuts, green onions and bacon. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Garnish with toasted coconut.

Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs

3 Tbsp soy sauce

3 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp sherry

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp garlic powder

8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 2 inch pieces

1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained

skewers

1. In a shallow glass dish, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, sherry, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic powder. Stir the chicken pieces and pineapple into the marinade until well coated. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours. 
2. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. 
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken and pineapple alternately onto skewers. Grill 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, or until chicken juices run clear.

Malasadas

1  package active dry yeast

1 tsp white sugar

1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)

6 eggs

6 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup water

1 tsp salt

2 quarts vegetable oil for frying

2 cups white sugar

1. Dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in 1/4 cup warm water; set aside.
2. In small bowl, beat eggs until thick. 
3. Put flour in large bowl, making a well in the center. Into the well add yeast, eggs, 1/2 cup sugar, melted butter, milk, 1 cup water, and salt. Beat thoroughly to form a soft, smooth dough. Cover, let dough rise until doubled. 
4. Heat oil to 375 degrees F, drop dough by big teaspoonfuls into oil, fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, shake in a bag of sugar to coat, and serve hot.