Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Maui, Day 3: Blue Marlin with Ginger and Coconut


Found at the Maui Costco: Fresh, local blue marlin.
Found at Mana Foods: Curry leaves, red mustard frisee, ginger, and cilantro.


The result: A new take on an old favorite. Serve this over jungle rice.


Ingredients
2 thick blue marlin fillets (or one that you cut in half later; we used one .7 lb fillet for two hungry people)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 curry leaves (optional)
Olive oil
1 1/4 tsp minced ginger
Small handful cilantro, chopped
1/3 can coconut milk
1 bunch red mustard frisee, coarsely chopped (or sub spinach or another green*)
1/2 large papaya, diced

Sprinkle the fish on both sides with salt and pepper, and press a couple curry leaves into each side. Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. When hot, add a little olive oil and swirl to coat. Add the fish, shake the pan to prevent it from sticking, and then pan fry until golden on both sides.

Add the mustard frisee and sauté around the fish, stirring a few times, for about a minute until it begins to wilt. Stir in the coconut milk, the ginger, a pinch of salt, and the cilantro. Turn the heat down a bit to simmer gently until the fish is just barely cooked through (if you use one fillet for two people: it gives you an excuse to cut the fish in half at this point and check whether it's almost done). Turn off the heat about a minute before the fish is cooked to your liking, because it will keep cooking a little once served over the rice.

Serve over jungle rice—fish, then greens and sauce over the top, then scatter papaya over everything.

Serves 2.


*If it's a veggie that takes a little while to cook, like bok choy or asparagus, sauté separately until almost tender first and then add back in with the fish at the end.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Maui, Day 2: Hali'imaile General Store and off to Hana

Lunch at Hali'imaile General Store: Mahi Mahi Coconut Curry

Fresh mango margarita and something amazing with ginger, lemongrass, and lime

Rave-worthy fish tacos

Coconut Banana Bread Pudding a la mode

Provisions from Mana Foods and assorted roadside fruit stands

Rainbow over Hana Bay


Monday, August 18, 2014

Maui, Day 1: Blackened Fish Benedict and Sunset


Sublime Blackened Opah Benedict at Market Fresh Bistro
(NB: All brunches should be followed by house-made tiramisu in the garden)
Up through the clouds to Haleakala Crater
Decent spot for a picnic...


Stars for dessert

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Kauai, Day 4: Moonfish and Helicopters

Two things.


1. You can make this recipe with eggplant, and it will be just as decadently amazing as the original.


2. Today, there was a helicopter.












Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Kauai, Day 3: The North Shore and Bar Acuda

Na Pali Coast in the rain
Anini Beach
Local avocado type #2 of ??

Mango from the Waipio farmer's market

Hanalei

Bar Acuda: Local honeycomb, Fuji apple, Humboldt Fog goat cheese

Arancini with lime, honey, and truffle sauce

Blackened tiger prawns

Chocolate pot de creme with toasted macaroon






Monday, August 11, 2014

Kaua'i, Day 1: Purple Long Beans with Garlic and Mustard Seeds

The downside of cooking away from home is navigating a foreign kitchen. For instance, I would have thought low heat was lower than medium, but that may just be me and my sheltered mainland ways. And under no other circumstances would you be likely to hit upon the idea of trying to rinse rice with the aid of a coffee filter. (Tip: Don't.)

The upside to cooking away from home? Grabbing the most unusual things in the market to make for dinner.


Found on the way north from the airport: Fresh-caught moonfish at Fish Express, local purple long beans at Papaya's Natural Foods, palm trees, green cliffs, bougainvillea and bromeliads, a vast and shimmering sea.


The long beans I just threw in a wide pan with some olive oil, a smashed clove of garlic, and a scattering of black mustard seeds, then tossed, covered, and cooked till al dente.




In the face of what I can only assume is an island-wide drought of coconut milk (since I can't imagine why else a store would be completely out of it...maybe coconut-obsessed island gnomes who strike in the dead of night?), I bravely abandoned my go to recipe for moonfish in favor of a new one (sprinkle with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, pan fry until almost cooked through, serve over black rice...then melt a pat of butter in the pan, toss in a couple tablespoons julienned ginger and let caramelize, throw in some cilantro and a glug of white wine, simmer briefly, pour over the fish).


It'll do.