Luau Recipies

Several years ago we served a Luau dinner for a high school graduation dinner. Tom roasted a whole pig which is not something I'm prepared to put on our blog. All I can say is it was out of this world! Some of his secret ingredients were crushed pineapple and brown sugar mixed with minced garlic in the cavity of the pig. Some of our other research yielded these recipes... This is being published without a lot of editing. Sorry. I guess you can call me for clarification. (If you know my number and if I decide to answer my phone.)

A Puupuu Platter which is the Hawaiian appetizer platter...

Pineapple Kumaki

1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1" cubes (I used canned pineapple chunks)
3/4 lb bacon slices cut into halves
Wrap each piece of pineapple with a piece of bacon and secure with a wooden toothpick.
Place in a shallow glass pan and coat with the marinade (recipe follows) cover and refrigerate over night or for three hours on the counter. Broil 3 to 4 inches from the element turning to brown all sides or bake in a shallow baking pan at 375F until browned. Replace the charred tooth picks with fancy picks before serving.

Kumaki Marinade

1/2 c soy sauce
1/4 pineapple juice
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1 slice fresh ginger root minced or 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Blend together and pour over Kumaki to marinate.

Wah-Jah Juhn

1 lb. ground beef
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2 green onions chopped
1 clove garlic minced
3 Tbsp sesame seeds
dash of fresh ground pepper
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Mix together with hands and form into 1" balls.
Beat two eggs with 1 Tbsp soy sauce
Dip meat balls into the egg mixture then roll in
1/2 cup flour mixed with 1Tbsp. paprika
Heat oil in skillet then brown meat balls evenly on all sides.
Serve with vinegar-shoyu sauce for dipping...
3 Tablespoons of each soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar then mix well.

Mushrooms Lelani

1 lb. fresh medium sized mushrooms
3 scallions
2 Tbsp. oil
1/2 lb. ground pork browned in skillet
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup crushed corn flakes
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
dash fresh ground pepper
1 small can water chestnuts finely chopped
1 beaten egg
about 1/2 cup chicken broth
Rinse the mushrooms (let dry on a paper towel) and snap out the stems. Chop the stems with the scallions and water chestnuts. Mix all ingredients (using a food processor is nice but don't over mix) except the mushroom caps. Form small meatball shapes to place into the mushroom caps. Place in shallow greased pan and cover with foil, bake at 325 for 15 mins. then remove foil and bake about 10 more minutes.

Ocean Cooler (great for a kid's party)

This is a blue punch that I made up myself. I used Blue Raspberry Koolaid and made it according to the package directions using about 1/2 the water called for. Then I added sparkling soda and/or 7-up in the punch bowl to taste. After putting in the crushed ice I floated "swedish fish" and a few blue sharks on the top.
Note: To make it look like an aquarium with fish in several levels I made the following ahead of time in the bottom of a clear (plastic or glass) deep container, such as a small aquarium.

Kani's Kool Blue Delite

I used the Blue Raspberry Koolaid again and followed the directions on the pkg. Following the directions on the package of Knox unflavored gelatin for finger jello. I used the Kool aid for all of the liquid in the recipie. After letting it set for a while I placed some swedish fish and sharks in it and let it set fully. As a second layer I used the clear kool aid flavor (can't remember what the flavor is) and repeated the above for a variation in the layers. When the punch is all used up dump out the ice and serve the jello into dessert cups and serve with whipped cream on top. FUN

Sal Picon Punch

In the punch bowl mix equal amounts of Hawaiian Punch and sparkling soda or 7-up. After adding the crushed ice float on top several different sliced and diced fruits. The best ones are diced watermelon (with the juices), sliced bananas, canned mandarine orange slices (with juice) and pineapple tidbits (with juice) YUMMY!

Macadamia Nut Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This one's easy...
In the bottom of a lightly greased 13 x 9 pan sprinkle 2/3 cup chopped macadamia nuts, then arrange pineapple slices (save the juices), mandarine orange slices and marachino cherries if you like. Sprinkle 2/3 cup brown sugar over the fruit. Melt 1/3 cup of butter or margarine and pour evenly over the sugar and fruit.
Make up a yellow cake mix (I like the ones with pudding in the mix) according to the package directions (using the pineapple and orange juices as the liquid) pour evenly over the fruit and bake according to the package mix.

Kebobs, Capirotada, Panocha and more

There are several "international" recipes that people have asked for over the years so I'll try to get them all in this entry. Many of our recipes are take-offs from ones we found in books or on the Internet which we have either adapted to large crowds or to our personal taste and opinions about food. I realize that many cooks out there are "by the book" cooks and so I will be giving you specific recipes that, for the most part, have not been fiddled with. You may not come out with the exact thing that you tasted at one of our meals but it will be close. So if you feel creative and daring go ahead and do like we do and add or take away flavors. Whenever it may not be obvious I will let you know the things that should not be changed in a recipe. But for general purposes cooking temperatures and times are not negotiable nor are ingredients that effect the "chemistry" of a dish such as baking soda and baking powder.

Central Asian Chicken Kebobs

1 cup plain yogurt
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground red or black pepper
3 Tbsp. finely minced garlic
Mix together in a medium mixing bowl then add the following...
1-1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into about 1" pieces.
Mix the chicken with the marinate until all of the pieces are well coated. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or up to 2 days.
Thread the chicken on skewers and grill over medium hot coals.

Enjoy in a warmed pita bread with slices of fresh tomato and onion and sprinkles of chopped cilantro. Serve with lemon or lime wedges.

Did you know?... A kebob is not a shish kebob unless it is made with lamb meat.

Capirotada

This is not a dessert for children, only those with the refined taste of mature adults will appreciate this hearty dessert. Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm

Butter
3 eggs
4 Tbsp. milk(Shhh... my secret is canned condensed milk.)
dash salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon (more to taste if it isn't real fresh)
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
8 slices toasted bread (the cheap stuff is fine, but I like a more dense bread)
1 cup diced colby or longhorn cheese
2/3 cup raisins
2/3 cup spanish peanuts
3/4 cup chopped pecans or almonds
1 medium peeled, cored and diced apple
Preheat the oven to 375 F
Generously butter a casserole dish or baking pan. (A hint on the size/shape of the pan is that 4 of the slices need to lay fairly flat in the bottom and the sides at least 2" to accommodate multiple layers.)
In a mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, salt, spices and brown sugar; beat until well blended. (Add 1 or 2 more Tbsp. milk if needed for the consistency of french toast batter)
Place four slices of toasted bread in the bottom of the baking pan. Pour half the egg batter over the bread. Sprinkle half the cheese, raisins, nuts and apple. Repeat the layering. Top the entire capirotada with panocha syrup (recipe follows)

Here's where it gets a little ambiguous as everyone has a different idea of how they like it...
-I like a drier less rich bread pudding with some crust-like parts so I use only half the syrup about 3/4 cup.
-If you like your bread pudding really sweet and mushy add the whole amount.

More variables:
-You may prepare the recipe up to this point and refrigerate, covered, over night but when you bake it be sure to add at about 10 minutes to the baking time. The cheese should be melted and the center should not be runny when you check it with a fork.
-If you choose to bake it immediately, it should take about 15 minutes until the cheese is melted.
-To use a 13 x 9 baking pan I made one and a half times the above ingredients and baked for about 20 to 25 mins.

Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Panocha Syrup

2 cups dark brown sugar
2 cups water
In a saucepan, dissolve sugar in water, bring to a slow boil, stirring frequently. Cover and boil gently for 20 to 25 minutes. Spoon out any crystallized sugar that may form on the sides of the pan or over the syrup. You should have about 1-1/4 cups to 1-1/2cups syrup.

Albondigas

Albondigas (meatball soup) is a hearty soup which can be served as a main dish.

1 lb. Ground beef
3 Tbsp. finely diced onion
1/4 tsp. ground oregano
salt/pepper
1 bay leaf
6 cups water
4 or 5 chopped stewed tomatoes
1/c cup pre-cooked white rice
1 cup cooked tender-firm sliced potatoes (or canned, sliced new potatoes)
Mix with hands the ground meat with onion, oregano and salt and pepper then form into 18 balls. Brown the meat balls in a small amount of oil, then set aside.
In a two qt. cooking pot add the water, tomatoes and bay leaf. Bring the soup to a boil then carefully place the meat balls into the soup. Cover and simmer for 20 mins., remove the bay leaf then add the rice and potatoes and heat thoroughly.