Is there a better way to spend a rainy Saturday night than with a glass of red, Girl Scout cookies and 8 new cookbooks from the library? Probably, but not today. By request, here's a quick post on this weekend's reading.

In a Small Kitchen, by Cara Eisenpress and Phoebe Lapine. 
Subtitled "100 years of cooking in the real world."  Cara and Phoebe are two young, beautiful women whipping up beautiful food. Hope they can feed teenagers.

The Big Book of Potluck, by Maryana Vollstedt. This one definitely has a Feeding My Ohana feel to it. "Good Food--and lots of it. For parties, gatherings and all occasions." I like it already.

The PDQ Vegetarian Cookbook, by Donna Klein. "More than 240 healthy and easy no-prep recipes for busy cooks." After cow-week, this is definitely promising.

Brunch!, by Gale Gand. I love this book and have borrowed it a few times now. I may even buy it. There is a recipe for homemade pork sausage I've been wanting to try.

Ancient Grains for Modern Meals, by Maria Speck. Besides quinoa, it's time to start exploring beyond rice.

FoodMadeFast--Asian, from Williams-Sonoma. I've found that the W/S cookbooks give a good basic ingredient list for subtly-flavored dishes. I line up all the ingredients, and then pump up the spices.

Asian, also from Williams-Sonoma. Same as above. This is probably the least interesting, because it has some very basic recipes. I'm looking through it for technique improvements or fine-tuning favorites like potstickers, stir-fries and pho. A coconut curry soup also sounds promising.

Barefoot Contessa Family Style, by Ina Garten. I have always loved the Barefoot Contessa. The subtitle to this one is "Easy ideas and recipes that make everyone feel like family." Exactly up Feeding My Ohana's alley.

All readily available at Amazon, but much cheaper at the library. Eat Well. Be Well.

Last week, I was lucky enough to attend the Taste Hawaii Tour in San Jose. It featured a book signing/lecture with Arnold Hiura, author of Kau Kau and Chef Alan Wong, whose newest book The Blue Tomato was written in collaboration with Arnold Hiura. 

These books nicely dovetail the high concept "Hawaii Regional Cuisine" and down home feel of family style eating in Hawaii. Both 'get' the soul of what Hawaii food means. Kau Kau  historically outlines how home-style Hawaii plate lunch/potluck food evolved. 

The Blue Tomato is the flip side. Alan Wong gives us "Hawaii Regional Cuisine" taking a familiar local favorite like Kal-bi, and re-inventing it in a completely different, yet still recognizable way. And making it taste better than you think it could. Chef Alan Wong just plain kicks some serious cooking butt.  Hawaii Regional Cuisine should be on everyone's bucket list, and there are a few options to doing this.

Taste Hawaii Tour, when they start up again.
The ultimate takeout was the food in San Jose. The book/lecture included lunch with two Alan Wong dishes as well as food from Hukilau San Jose. We ate on paper 'school lunch' trays and the appetizers came on small styrofoam plates. Even in the ambiance of a community center on a cold day in San Jose, the taste and spirit of the food just sang.

Alan Wong's Restaurant on King Street in Honolulu, HI
This is "the" Alan Wong's restaurant and definitely a "no-slippers allowed" place. Some of the best food I've ever eaten. I also like that it hasn't expanded into a mega-brand or even a larger space because you definitely feel like something special is being done just for you.

The Pineapple Room on the 3rd floor of Macy's Ala Moana, Honolulu, HI
While it's more casual here, the service and food are still top-notch. it's not as expensive and easier to get a reservation. Even a friend of mine who's not from Hawaii, but travels extensively through Europe and Asia told me that his favorite restaurant is the Pineapple Room. The food is a little down-home local than the dinner restaurant, and they also serve breakfast.

The one pet peeve I have, being an online junkie, is their website is always *very slow.* For a faster view of Kau Kau and The Blue Tomato, go the the Greenhouse and click on the Amazon links. 

Next week, I'm trying to make the Avocado Poke Stacks using my Spam Musubi maker. If that works out, it might make it to the Thanksgiving table.

Eat Well. Be Well.

When I was learning to cook, I went to the library, borrowed cookbooks by the pound, and rampaged through epicurious.com and allrecipes. And while I've found many recipes by physical or electronic thumbing through, a few standbys will always have a smudgy, flour-y, oily place in our kitchen hall of fame. So if you're looking for a great cookbook, or a gift (either as a hint, or as a compliment), here are my 'money' books.

The Joy of Cooking--not so much for the recipes, though there are many good ones, but for the encyclopedic amount of information on all things food-related. I found out how to split a chicken, what kinds of fish there are, valuable descriptions of cooking techniques, and how to prepare a rabbit (though nary a bunny recipe will be found on Feeding My Ohana). Should come standard with every kitchen, right next to the coffee pot and the microwave.

Sam Choy's Aloha Cuisine. I love Sam Choy recipes because he uses simple ingredients that you typically have in your pantry. Shoyu, garlic, butter, peanut butter, miso, ginger, sugar. And it comes out whoo-hoo(!!)-good. There are several Sam Choy cookbooks, but this one has the best balance of all of the 'good' recipes, plus lots of pictures. The one caveat is that I cannot vouch for the chicken luau because I don't eat that one...

Tyler Florence. The American version of Sam Choy. Great flavors, easy-to-follow and no wild-goose-chase for small bits of esoteric ingredients. Brined pork chops are one of our favorites.

Additionally, always have a few community cookbooks--my Mom's Episcopal Church and a couple from the Buddhist churches, and one from the Teacher's fundraiser (ca 1978). This is where real at-home, family-style cooking shows up. Tastes great yet ultimately very pragmatic.

We have many more cookbooks, but these are the ones I reference most for recipes or just more ideas. Happy Holidays & Happy Eating :)