Friday, August 26, 2011

Wrapping Up So Easy, and Up Next (This One's for You, Pauline!)

Time of death: 3:14, Friday, August 26. I couldn't tolerate more than ten days of this book. So Easy contained a few standouts--the corn salad, the mocha java smoothie, and the pork piccata--but the bulk of the recipes I tried were mediocre, at best. I've cooked all the recipes that caught my optimistic eye, and most of them turned out lousy anyway. If those that I wanted to make didn't turn out well, I have no hope for the remainder, which I don't want to make.

These recipes are so uninspiring that I'm beginning to question my affection for The Food You Crave. 

Obviously, I'm tossing this book as soon as I copy out those few good recipes.

And now, for something completely different.

One of my best friends had the extreme good fortune of finding a job in Honolulu a few years back. She sent me a cookbook, Hawai'i Cuisine: A Sampler of Favorite Island Recipes by Chef Sam Choy, to ensure that I represent her adopted home on this little blog.

What do I know about Hawaiian food after my two visits to Oahu? I know that I love poi, preferably a day or two old. I know that I'll eat as much Kalua Pig as you put in front of me. I know that fruity drinks taste even better when the sunset over the ocean mirrors what's in your glass. What do I know about cooking Hawaiian food? Nothing.

Part of the reason Pauline chose this particular book was because Chef Choy makes the recipes accessible for a home cook, so you don't need to have an entire pig and a fire pit in your backyard. Where does one even get an entire pig?? I'm glad I don't need to find out.

5 comments:

  1. I'm excited for the Hawaii cookbook! I'll have to share your results with my sister who's living in Hawaii now!

    ReplyDelete
  2. this sounds way more cheerful than slogging through those last couple of books- I hope its fun/tasty,

    ReplyDelete
  3. if this is a ploy to get me out of my windowless rat cage and comment on your blog...it's clearly not working :) good luck with the ono kine grindz!! let me know if you need me to ship you some sour poi to go with your kalua pig!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mwa ha haaa! My plan has worked, and I've lured my silent reader out of hiding! lol I was seriously considering ordering some poi to go with the meals. There's a list of places you can order specialty items from in the back of the book. We'll see...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oooh! Can't wait to see your island recipes :)

    ReplyDelete