1. food and drink
2. desserts and baking

Taste
SECTION
F
WEDNESDAY | November 8, 2006
[
HONOLULUADVERTISER.COM/islandlife
Turkey to go
Want a take-out
feast on Turkey
Day? A few
suggestions | F3
FOOD EDITOR | WANDA A. ADAMS
E-mail: [email protected] | Telephone: 535-2412
]
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
RAISE A GLASS
By Wanda A. Adams
By Lisa Gmur
Secret
Woolworth
recipe is out
Breathing
wineglass?
For real!
Sometimes, when you ask,
you do receive. A plea for
the old Woolworth lunch
counter cheesecake recipe
brought a very nice letter
from someone who signed
themselves only “D.M.”
It read, in part: “(This
recipe was) for many years,
a closely guarded secret, I’m
told. My mother obtained
this recipe from my aunt,
(who has since passed
away), which my aunt got
from Woolworth when she
worked at the neighboring
M’s Ranch House, which has
long since closed.
“My mother often made
this and shared it with her
friends after they gave their
sacred word that they
wouldn’t divulge the source.
One creative cook even
changed the flavor of the
Jell-O and made strawberry,
lime and even orange
cheesecake.
“It’s a light, airy cheesecake because of the whipped
cream that’s folded in, and
you don’t feel guilty about
eating seconds.”
Thanks. And I’m sure I
speak for the all readers
when I give my solemn word
never to divulge my source.
(Which I can safely do, since
I don’t know who you are!)
This isn’t a cheesecake in
the true sense but a creamy
gelled dessert that combines
cream cheese and flavored
gelatin and uses a technique
not often seen anymore —
freezing, then whipping,
canned evaporated milk.
(Yes, evaporated milk does
whip.) Remember that this
recipe hails from a time
when evaporated milk was
universally referred to in
Hawaiçi as “cream” — you
had to be rich or own a dairy
to use real whipping cream!
Note that the “crust” is just
graham cracker crumbs —
no butter or sugar is used, as
in some graham cracker
crusts.
I don’t remember the first
time I heard the term
“breathable” glass, but I do
remember the first time I
tried such a glass. The wine
was the 2001 Avignonesi il
Desiderio, a mostly merlot
“Super Tuscan” from Cortona in Italy. My boss, Don
Thompson, and I were tasting several Italian wines we
were proposing for an upcoming winemaker dinner at
town restaurant.
Don had brought along a
few German-made Eisch
breathable glasses. We first
tasted the just-opened, huge,
tannic wine in standard crystal glassware. It was powerful, structured, chewy and
definitely too fresh to enjoy.
We poured the same wine
into the Eisch glass and within minutes, this previously
pleasure-challenged wine
was sensational. I was
amazed at the difference between the wines in the two
different glasses.
But I wasn’t entirely
hooked. After all, it was just
one wine that I knew from
past experience needed
more aging and aeration than
most. However, I was intrigued and started researching the properties of the
glassware. Eisch Breathable
Glasses are made from a special raw-material mixture of
lead-free crystal. After the
manufacturing process, the
glasses undergo an oxygenizing treatment. But does this
treatment make all, or even
most, wines taste better? The
research said yes, but the opportunity to really test the
glassware came several
months later when the shipment finally arrived from
Germany.
The buzz around town
was growing, and by the
time Ronn Weigand, master
of wine, master sommelier
and publisher of Restaurant
Wine, arrived in Honolulu, it
was loud and strong. A few
local wine lovers had already
tried the Eisch and were anxiously awaiting the container
to arrive. Wine expert Lyle
Fujioka was one: “It’s a positive enhancement of aromatics and palate,” he said. Jerry
Wong, Waialae Country
Club wine committee member and local businessman,
agreed. In fact, he was the
catalyst behind the Eisch invasion of Hawaiçi.
“I knew Ronn, and if he
was impressed, I knew they
were worth a try,” said
Wong. “I’ve got tons of them
now.” Wong’s next move is
to take Eisch into the Hong
Kong and Japanese markets.
Fellow Waialae Country
WOOLWORTH’S LEMON
CHEESECAKE
Graham cracker crumbs for crust
and topping
2 cans evaporated milk
3 (3-ounce) boxes lemon-flavored
Jell-O
1› cups boiling water
1 (8-ounce) package cream
cheese
1fl cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Line the bottom of a 9-by13-inch baking dish or pan
with graham cracker crumbs,
pressing down slightly.
Pour the evaporated milk
into ice-cube trays (or shallow metal pans of appropriate size) and freeze until
crystals form on the surface.
Meanwhile, mix Jell-O
powder with boiling water
until dissolved; allow to cool.
In a large bowl, beat the
cream cheese and sugar until
smooth. Add the vanilla extract and mix well. Add
cooled Jell-O and mix well.
In a medium bowl using an
electric mixer on high speed,
whip crystallized evaporated
milk until fluffy. Fold
whipped evaporated milk
into cream cheese mixture.
Pour into prepared pan
and top with a sprinkling of
graham cracker crumbs.
Chill overnight.
Makes 12 servings (about
3 inches square).
• Per serving: 250 calories, 21 g
fat, 12 g protein, 240 mg sodium,
24 g carbohydrate, .5 g fiber
Photos by ANDREW SHIMABUKU | The Honolulu Advertiser
Bread maker Chris Miura pulls three loaves of hot, fresh bread out of his brick oven in the backyard of his Wilhelmina Rise home.
Beginnings
of the
BREAD MAN
Dr. Chris Miura is fired up about
his new venture of baking loaves
BY WANDA A. ADAMS
Advertiser Food Editor
C
hris Miura’s wife is getting a little tired of the
story of how bread making became her husband’s passion — and soon his
second career.
It began 10 years ago, when she
was pregnant with their first child
and suffered from such pernicious
nausea that she couldn’t keep anything down. Despite the fact that
Chris Miura is an ob-gyn, he couldn’t find a medication that would
help her. She was losing weight
and the situation seemed dire.
Then someone told them about
an old Jewish morning sickness
remedy: fresh-baked bread.
On the theory that perhaps the
bread needed to be Jewish, too,
Chris Miura, who has always liked
to cook, found a recipe for challah,
a braided sweet bread. And, praise
be to all those Jewish wise women,
it stayed down.
This week, Miura and his partner, baking expert Murray Holt,
will release the first loaves from
their Kalihi-based Mauna Kea Baking Co. The bakery is a wholesale
outlet, but several varieties of
Mauna Kea bread are now being
RECIPES AND TIPS
Find out what tools to use to
bake bread at home | F2
test-marketed at select Foodland
stores (Hawaiçi Kai, Beretania,
Market City, çEwa, Mililani, Kailua
and Püpükea). The crusty artisanstyle loaves will sell for about $4
each, comparable to popular La
Brea breads, which are baked locally from dough shipped from
California.
Who knew what seemed like a
chore a decade ago would come
to enrich Miura’s life?
“I baked bread every day for
the whole of that pregnancy,” he
recalled. “I hated it, but it worked.”
With the Miuras’ second pregnancy, the bread-baking remedy
was repeated. Miura decided that
if he had to bake bread, he would
learn to do it well. His first inspiration was a classic book: “The
Village Baker,” by Joe Ortiz (10
Speed, 1993). His second was a
family friend, a professional
baker. Miura would visit the man
SEE BREAD, F2
Miura, who is also an ob-gyn, slices loaves of bread he
baked at home. Miura is the president and founder of
the Kalihi-based Mauna Kea Baking Co.
SEE GLASS, F4
WORKSHOP
GIFT OF GOURMET
Ever wanted to do a book of your recipes?
Get up close and personal with a guest chef
Advertiser food editor Wanda Adams, author
of “The Island Plate,” will teach a two-hour
workshop in “How to Write a Cookbook” on
Nov. 18 at this year’s Honolulu Writers Conference. The interactive class is for anyone —
those who plan to publish conventionally,
nonprofit groups doing community fundraising cookbooks or individuals planning to
create a family recipe collection. Emerge
with a plan for doing a book start to finish,
plus practical (“don’t do it the way I did it”)
tips and materials to help you get started.
Tuition for the all-day conference at Jefferson Hall, the
East-West Center at the University of Hawaiçi, is $60. Other workshops cover fiction, nonfiction, memoir, romance,
short stories, publishing and marketing and more. Write to
[email protected] or call 395-1161.
Gourmet Cooking Hawaii, which holds
cooking classes with Island chefs, now is
offering create-your-own culinary experiences: Book a cooking demonstration
for your club’s next meeting. Invite a
guest chef to your holiday party.
Arrange an intimate class in a chef’s
kitchen as a gift for a foodie friend.
The company works with chefs and
wine experts on Oçahu, Maui and the
Big Island. Arrangements and locations
can be custom-tailored. Fees vary. In
private cooking classes, all participants receive recipes, a certificate of completion, a photo with the
chef and a Gourmet Cooking Hawaii gift package. Information:
www.GourmetCookingHawaii.com. Write to [email protected] or call 735-7788.
F2 | Wednesday, November 8, 2006
•The Honolulu Advertiser
The Honolulu Advertiser •
Chris Miura’s method for baking real-deal pizza at home
BY WANDA A. ADAMS
Advertiser Food Editor
Chris Miura generally uses
his special sourdough starter
when making pizza at home —
a meal so frequent in the Miura household that the kids know
how to shape their own pizzas.
But for the home cook who
lacks both sourdough starter
and a wood-burning oven in the
backyard, he offers this recipe
for a basic pizza dough.
Don’t be put off by the twoday process — just plan ahead.
You need spend only 15 minutes or so the first day, quickly
assembling the dough, which
then rests overnight in the refrigerator, giving the yeast a
chance to work slowly and develop a deeper flavor.
You will need a pizza stone,
and it’s nice to have a pizza peel
(the long-handled wooden
“spatulas” used by pizza bakers) — or, lacking that, you can
use an overturned cookie sheet.
HOMEMADE PIZZA
1 packet Fleischmann’s or Red Star
active dry yeast
1 cup water
1 tablespoon honey
3 cups all-purpose flour (not sifted)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Flour
Cornmeal
Bread
CONTINUED FROM F1
every Sunday with a loaf of
bread and a six-pack of beer
and receive blunt critiques. One
day, the man said, “Don’t come
over anymore. You’ve got it.”
Miura was delighted but not
convinced. A bit of a science
nerd, he felt a need to understand baking quite at the molecular level. There followed
courses at Kapiçolani Community College and the prestigious
San Francisco Baking Institute.
He began buying SAF yeast, a
French variety favored by ar-
DAY 1
If you have a stand mixer:
Place water, yeast and honey in
the mixing bowl and stir with a
whisk or fork until yeast dissolves. This should take 5 seconds and does not require warm
water. Next, add the flour, salt
and olive oil. Attach the dough
hook and mix the dough at speed
4 (medium) for 10 minutes. The
dough should be smooth and almost silky. Place the dough ball
in a plastic or glass bowl that
has been lightly oiled. The bowl
should be about three times bigger than the dough ball. Cover
ANDREW SHIMABUKU | The Honolulu Advertiser
with plastic and refrigerate
Campagne bread — that’s French-style country bread — baked by
overnight.
If you’re mixing by hand: In a bread maker Chris Miura at his home in Maunalani Heights.
large bowl, combine the yeast,
water and honey. Place flour,
degrees when it’s shaped
salt and olive oil in bowl. Mix
BREAD TIPS
together by hand to make a
• Use ice water in mixing to
• Use the best, freshest
dough ball. Lightly flour countretard temperatures on a hot
er or table and place dough on
ingredients you can afford
day
top. Knead dough, folding it over
• Slow, cool fermentation (ris- • If dough has risen too long,
on itself and pushing down on
knead and rise again
ing) is superior to warm, fast
the dough with the heels of the
rising
• In our climate, sourdough
hands for about 10 minutes, unstarters need more frequent
• Less yeast, longer rising
til the dough is smooth.
feeding
produces a superior flavor
Day 2
• Bread should be at 73 to 75 Source: Chris Miura
One hour before baking,
place the pizza stone in the
oven and preheat the oven to its ing, cut in half and leave it on a sprinkle a handful of flour on a
highest temperature (500 de- lightly floured table covered counter or table. Place one
with plastic.
dough ball on the floured area
grees for most ovens).
When oven is preheated and and roll to coat both sides with
Remove dough from refrigerator about 1 hour before bak- dough is at room temperature, flour. Press and flatten into a
tisanal bakers, and 50-pound
sacks of fresh-milled flour from
Hawaii Flour Mill.
There also followed the realization that beyond the flourwater-yeast-flavorings formulae, the key to good bread is the
baking. After burning out the
thermostat in their home stove
twice, Miura realized he needed an oven that could achieve
ultra-high temperatures and
stand up to the humid environment that promotes “oven
spring” — the yeast’s final, frenetic burst of activity that produces explosive rising and a
crisp, crackling crust.
That meant building his first
wood-burning oven in the backyard of their home, then in
çÄina Haina. It was a “doghouse”-style oven, shaped like
an igloo or the Portuguese-style
forno. Every few days, he would
build a kiawe fire in the oven. As
it cooled, he learned to prepare
entire menus: pizza at 700 degrees; breads at 450 to 400 degrees; meats, casseroles, pies,
cobblers at 350 degrees and even
drying pipikaula (Hawaiian-style
jerky) at lower temperatures.
“I’m kind of a Type A person,” he said. “I kept wanting to
get better and better, and I made
a lot of friends in the process. I
became ‘The Village Baker,’ that
whole concept of the warmth of
giving a loaf to someone.”
And, he said, cheerfully, “you
can eat your mistakes.” Even
when the sourdough was past
its prime and the bread didn’t
rise and the result was a
doorstop, he found the loaves
made delicious croutons.
Miura said most recipes for
bread-baking are keyed to cooler climates than ours. Our challenge is keeping the dough cool
enough. (Dough should rise
slowly to fully develop flavor
and structure.)
To become an expert baker, as
in any other type of cooking,
you have to know the ingredients, techniques and underlying
science intimately. “Then you
can manipulate the environment
to make it work — to me, that’s
the fun of it,” said Miura.
Today, the Miuras live on
Wilhelmina Rise in a 1930s home
with a view, a
12-inch, thin circle; you may use
hands or rolling pin. Sprinkle
a pizza peel or an overturned
cookie sheet with cornmeal and
transfer dough round to peel
or sheet. Shake slightly to see if
the pizza slides easily on the
cornmeal; if it sticks, remove
dough and add more cornmeal
underneath. Top dough round
with desired sauce and toppings
(see below).
Slide the pizza onto the pizza
stone, starting from the back of
the stone and pulling the peel or
sheet toward you. Bake, checking frequently, until pizza is
nicely browned. It won’t take
long. Continue with remaining
dough.
Makes 16 pieces (8 per each
pizza).
• Per serving (dough only): 210
calories, 2.5 g fat, no saturated fat,
no cholesterol, 900 mg sodium, 41
g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 2 g sugar,
5 g protein
Pizza sauce is a matter of personal taste — some like conventional, American-style red
sauces; others prefer just a sprinkling of cheese and herbs. Miura says homemade is best. Whatever you use, take the Italian approach: Don’t pile the pizza high,
which results in thick, soggy layer, but rather paint a thin layer of
sauce over the dough and top it
sparingly with the best-quality
ingredients you can afford.
swimming pool and — yes — a
commodious wood-burning
oven out back, with a 36-by-32inch cooking surface that can
accommodate 14 loaves at a
time. Bread has become Miura’s
calling card, given as gifts on
every occasion. His children
have pizza parties, with the
guests shaping and topping their
own pies, baked in minutes.
With his friend master sommelier Chuck Furuya, Miura hosts
bread-and-wine tasting night
monthly at Vino — a rare and interesting type of pairing for two
yeast-based products. His sourdough loaves are legendary, using a years-old starter he made
himself by snagging some musty
grapes during a Napa Valley
wine tour, squeezing them and
mixing up a flour-grape juice
batter in his hotel room and
smuggling the mess back
to Hawaiçi.
Here is Miura’s quick homemade pizza sauce. With it, use
cheese that melts readily, such
as mozzarella; thinly sliced fresh
heirloom tomatoes; fresh herbs
such as basil and oregano; and
finish with sprinkling of salt and
pepper. Place fresh chopped
basil over pizza just after baking,
and serve.
QUICK HOMEMADE
PIZZA SAUCE
1 tablespoon of olive oil
3 cloves garlic
› medium onion diced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 (16-ounce) can good-quality
crushed tomatoes (i.e., Progresso
brand)
¤ cup fresh chopped basil leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
Salt
Pepper
In a saute pan, heat olive oil
over medium heat and saute garlic and onion until garlic is golden and onion is limp. Add
crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano,
salt and pepper to taste. Reduce
heat and simmer sauce until it
thickens and coats the back of a
spoon. Sauce can be made day
ahead and refrigerated.
Makes 8 (› cup) servings.
• Per servings: 60 calories, 3.5 g
fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, 75 mg sodium, 5 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, no sugar, 1 g protein
In short, Miura has become
“the bread man.”
Mauna Kea Bread Co.’s product line will include baguettes;
sourdough loaves in roasted
garlic, walnut-raisin and kalamata-olive thyme flavors;
lavosh; seven-grain bread; pullman-type sweetbread loaves
(perfect for slicing for French
toast); and some seasonal specialities, such as panettone (rich
Italian fruit bread) and pumpkin
bread for the holidays.
Some of these are still in development as Miura marries
skills honed in his home kitchen
with the professional techniques practiced by his partner
and their bakers. These are being baked in imported gas-fired
deck ovens.
But what about that doctor
business? His patients needn’t
fret: “I still enjoy being a doctor.”
Only now he knows that sometimes, the best treatment is a
nice, hot slice of bread.
Every good
tailgate
begins at
Times
BREAD-BAKING
TOOLS TO USE
The only tool below that’s
a must is the first one, but
the others are helpful.
• Instant-read thermometer is the best way to detect bread doneness
• Wooden peel for moving
bread in and out of oven
• Pizza stone for conducting heat to artisanal breads
and pizza
• SAF-instant brand, professional-grade yeast
made to French standards
• Banneton (bah-neh-tohn)
reed basket, imprints bread
with characteristic pattern
• Lame (lahm) razor holder
used to slash dough before
baking
• Couche (koosh) linen
used to hold and separate
loaves while rising
• Point-and-shoot
infrared thermometer for
detecting temperature inside oven
ON THE WEB: Find these at
some kitchen supply stores or
at www.kingarthurflour.com.
NO COMMERCIAL
OVEN?
• Place oven thermometer
in oven to check accuracy
• Invest in a pizza stone,
and place it in the oven before preheating
• Preheat the oven 1 hour
before baking
• For pizza and artisanal
breads, bake right on the
pizza stone
• Alternatively, line oven with
unglazed tiles
• Create steam by misting
oven walls (NOT bread or
oven light bulb) in the first
10-15 seconds
• Better yet, place a
cast iron pan on the bottom
shelf and fill it with boiling
water just before baking
• A wooden peel is nice to
slide bread on, off the stone
• Use an oven thermometer
to determine doneness
(190-210 degrees)
• The richer the dough, the
higher the internal temperature for doneness
Sources: Chris Miura,
baking911.com
Dinners to go make T-day painless Unsure about polenta?
Not up for cooking this
Thanksgiving? Here are some
restaurants that are taking orders for turkey-to-go meals.
• A Catered Experience,
8- to 10-pound turkey, 4 pounds
mashed potatoes, 4 pounds
gravy, 3 pounds stuffing,
1 pound cranberry-pineapple
relish, 12 dinner rolls, pumpkin pie, $76.95. 677-7744. Pickup: 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 23
at Hawaii Okinawa Center,
94-587 ‘Üke‘e St.
• Byron’s Drive In, turkey
platter for 10 with 14- to 16pound turkey, 32 ounces gravy,
3 pounds each mashed potatoes and macaroni salad, 1
pound cranberry jelly, 2.5
pounds stuffing, 12 dinner rolls,
11-inch pumpkin pie, $84.99
(fifty percent deposit required
on order), 836-0541, 3297 N.
Nimitz Highway. Pick-up: 9
a.m.-midnight.
Individual
turkey plates: $6.50; with pie,
$6.95.
• Diamond Head Market &
Grill, roasted turkey with herb
gravy, roasted garlic mashed
potatoes, wild mushroombrioche stuffing, vegetable
medley, candied sweet potatoes, cranberry-orange compote, dinner rolls, pumpkin
pecan crunch, $160 for 8,
meant to be re-heated; $20 single dinner served hot. Order
by Nov. 18; 732-0077; prepayment required.
• Golden Coin Bakeshop &
Restaurant, 11- to 14-pound
roast, stuffed turkey (bread or
mochi rice stuffing), gravy,
CULINARY
CALENDAR
See a comprehensive list at
www.honoluluadvertiser.com.
Women of Taste, tasting of wines
from women winemakers, püpü
and silent auction, 5-7 p.m. today,
Pegge Hopper Gallery; $125 benefits The Women’s Fund of Hawaiçi.
737-4999, 524-1160.
Great Aloha Tower Beerfest,
samplings of beers, ales, lagers
and stouts from more than 100
breweries, with püpü and music by
Newjass Quartet, 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Friday, Aloha Tower Marketplace’s
Events at the Tower; 21 and older;
$28 advance, $35 at the door includes vouchers for 12 beer samplings and two püpü plates. 550-
cranberry sauce, corn on the
cob, pan de sal (dinner rolls),
maja blanca (coconut pudding
with sweet corn), $68.75 ($30
nonrefundable deposit required upon order). Pick up
by 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day
in Kalihi (842-0866), Waipahu
(678-9778) or Mill Town Business Center (680-0758).
• Hilton Waikoloa Village
(Kohala Coast, Big Island),
15-pound turkey with gravy,
stuffing, cranberry relish,
broccoli, carrots, corn on the
cob, corn chowder, yams, augratin potatoes, Portuguese
sweet bread and pumpkin
pie, serves 10. Pick up on Nov.
22; designed to be re-heated.
(808) 886-1234, ext. 54 by Nov.
20.
• Ho Ho Chinese Cuisine,
Chinese-style turkey dinner
with gon lo mein, crispy gau
gee, 9-pound roast turkey,
custard pie, $59.95; additional
sides available. The Marketplace at Kapolei, 590
Farrington
High-
way, 692-9880.
• Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa, 10- to 12-pound Butterball turkey, chestnut and
sage dressing, mashed potatoes, corn chowder, giblet
gravy, buttered corn, rolls and
butter, cranberry relish, candied yams, pumpkin pie, serves
4-6, $80. 528-6066.
• Kenny’s Restaurant, 12- to
14-pound turkey with 32
ounces sage stuffing and 32
ounces gravy, $65.99. Other
sides available. Call Margie,
841-0932; catering@Kennys
Restaurant.com, Kamehameha Shopping Center, 1620 N.
School St. Three pick-up times.
• Pacific Beach Hotel, 10- to
12-pound turkey, stuffing,
gravy, mashed potatoes, succotash, yams, cranberry relish,
pumpkin pie, rolls, $89.
921-6137. Pick-up, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Nov. 23.
• Panya Turkey Go! Go! Go!
Basic, 8- to 10-pound stuffed
turkey with mochi and lupcheong dressing,
giblet gravy,
Make lasagna with it
cranberry sauce, $78; complete
meal, add salad, rolls, appetizers, tea for six, $168. 597-8880
weekdays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Pickup: Nov. 22 or 23, 711 Queen St.
• Hawaii Prince Hotel
Waikiki, 12- to 14-pound honeyglazed turkey, cornbreadsausage stuffing, orange-cranberry sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, 32 ounces
glazed yams, six dinner rolls,
8-inch pumpkin pie. Additional sides available. $105 before
Nov. 16, $115 after; must be
pre-paid. 952-4789, 8:30 a.m.5 p.m. weekdays. Drive-by
pick-up every hour on the hour
Nov. 23.
• Times Supermarkets,
turkey dinner prepared by
Hilton Hawaiian Village chefs,
12- to 14-pound turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, giblet
gravy, cranberry relish, dinner rolls and pumpkin pie for
6, $69.99. All 12 stores will accept orders; pick up at store
where you made order.
• The Willows, turkey and
fixings for 4-6 people, $76.95.
952-9200, www.willowshawaii
.com.
• Zippy’s, whole turkey (8 to
10 pounds), 4 pounds stuffing,
4 pounds gravy, 4 pounds
mashed potatoes, 1 pound cranberry-pineapple relish, 12 sweet
dinner rolls, $63.95; half turkey
with sides, suitable for 6, $32.95.
973-0880, orders taken through
Nov. 15, pre-payment required;
pick up at O‘ahu locations.
BY J.M. HIRSCH
Associated Press
CONCORD, N.H. — Much as
I try, I just can’t get my wife to
eat polenta. She says it’s a texture thing.
I, on the other hand, will eat
polenta — essentially boiled
cornmeal, often spiked with
Parmesan cheese — any way. It
usually comes soft or firm.
On its own, polenta really
isn’t all that exciting. It’s what
you do with it.
Soft polenta often is served
with marinara sauce pooled over
it. Firm polenta is wonderful cut
into squares, drizzled with olive
oil and tossed on the grill.
But because of my wife, I’ve
mostly stopped tinkering with
it. That is, until I saw the June
issue of Gourmet magazine,
which featured a recipe for
slices of firm polenta baked
with tomato sauce and cheese.
It gave me an idea even my
wife would love — polenta
lasagna. The Gourmet recipe
calls for layers of firm polenta
slices topped with tomato sauce
and cheese, and baked.
I wanted to make it more of a
meal, and to add enough cheese
so my wife would overcome her
aversion to the main ingredient.
Though prepared firm polenta (sold in shelf-stable plastic
tubes) doesn’t taste as good as
fresh, it’s perfect for this dish
and saves time.
I also stuck with jarred tomato sauce. As for cheese, I not
only used more than the original recipe, but added a third
variety — ricotta.
I needed something healthy,
too. Chopped frozen spinach
was just the thing. And for a
meaty touch, ground sausage
(vegetarians could substitute
soy “ground meat”).
While it didn’t make a polenta fan of my wife, she did like
the dish overall.
— Advertiser staff
Advertiser library photo
8457, honoluluboxoffice.com.
faculty and staff. 734-9544.
Kona Coffee Cultural Festival,
begins 6:30 p.m. Friday, with the
International Lantern Parade, cultural program and Makahiki concert
at Hale Halawai, Kona, Big Island;
continues through Sunday, with
coffee tasting, farm tours, and other events at various locations in the
Kona area; most events are free.
Complete schedule: (808) 3267820, www.konacoffeefest.com.
“Turkey University,” cooking
demonstration by executive chef
Kenny Omiya using recipes and
preparation secrets from Food &
Wine magazine, tour of the hotel
kitchens, four-course luncheon in
Water’s Edge ballroom, noon Sunday, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Kohala, Big Island; $95 plus tax and tip.
Reservations: (808) 886-1234.
Soul Satisfying Mediterranean
Cooking Class, learn how to
make hummus, stuffed grape
leaves, classic Middle Eastern
soup, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday,
UH-Mänoa, Campus Leisure Center, room 101; students $30, all
others $35. Register: 956-6468.
Sushi and Sake Night, sample a
variety of nigiri and handrolls with a
silent auction, 6-8:30 p.m. Sunday,
Osake Sushi Bar; $45 Asian American Journalists Association members, $50 nonmembers benefits
the association’s journalism scholarships, internships and skill-building programs. Tickets: 535-2456.
Christmas in November, annual
breakfast, 6:30-11 a.m. Sunday,
Kapiçolani Community College
çÖhiça cafeteria; $7.50 advance, $9
at the door benefits the college’s
Hale çÄina Awards, winners of
Honolulu Magazine’s readers’ selection of best restaurants receive
recognition followed by food, wine
and spirit tastings, live entertain-
ment and silent auction, 7-9 p.m.
Sunday, The Royal Hawaiian
hotel’s Ocean Lawn and Monarch
Room; $125. Tickets: 534-7587.
Flora Springs, sampling of wines
from this Napa Valley vineyard
poured by the owner, John Komes,
served with püpü prepared by chef
Glenn Chu, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Indigo
Eurasian Cuisine; $20 plus tax and
tip. Reservations: 521-2900.
Vegan Macrobiotic Community
Dinner, dine outdoors with others
or take out a Thanksgiving dinner,
6-7:30 p.m. Nov. 15, Church of the
Crossroads; $12. Reservations:
398-2695.
POLENTA LASAGNA
Olive oil cooking spray
1 (12-ounce) package cooked
chicken or turkey sausages
1 (10-ounce) package frozen
chopped spinach, thawed
“How to Write a Cookbook,”
workshop with Advertiser food editor Wanda A. Adams, 10 a.m.noon Nov. 18, part of the Honolulu
Writers Conference; $60 includes
all-day conference. 395-1161,
[email protected].
1 (18-ounce) tube prepared
polenta
1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
· cup jarred tomato sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella
SEVEN OR LESS
Quick recipes
LARRY CROWE | Associated Press
This three-cheese polenta
lasagna, with spinach and
sausage, may change your
mind about boiled cornmeal.
cheese
› cup grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Lightly spray 2-quart casserole
dish with olive oil. Set aside.
Place sausage in food processor and pulse until coarsely
ground. Place spinach in a
kitchen towel, wrap tightly,
then squeeze hard over sink to
remove water. Add drained
spinach to food processor and
pulse several times. Set aside.
Slice each tube of polenta into
about 10 rounds. Arrange five
rounds over bottom of casserole dish. Spoon › cup ricotta
over the polenta; spread evenly.
Spread half of tomato sauce
evenly over ricotta, then scatter
half of spinach and sausage
mixture over that. Top with
1 cup shredded mozzarella
and another layer of polenta
rounds.
Repeat layering with remaining ricotta, sauce, spinach,
sausage and mozzarella. Cap
with a layer of polenta. Sprinkle
top with parmesan. Cover with
foil, bake 25 minutes. Remove
foil, bake additional 5 minutes.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
• Per serving: 450 calories, 24 g
fat, 12 g saturated fat, 110 mg cholesterol, 1150 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 3 g sugar, 31 g
protein
Tailgate Sides
Chef-Prepared, Fresh Daily,
Packaged “TO GO”
We can supply these great tasting
side dishes, already prepared and
ready to eat to compliment your
tailgate barbeque
Kitchen@Times Beretania.
Enjoy superb cuts of U.S.D.A.
Choice beef that are:
•
•
•
Carefully hand-selected and prepared
from the finest meats available
Always tender, juicy and flavorful
Gourmet-quality guaranteed
Professionally hand-trimmed right in
our meat department
Stout, Pale Ale,
or Sparkling
Ale
6 Pack/12.7 Oz. Bottles
7
$
Cheese Filled
Tortellini Pasta
695
lb.
$
395
lb.
Grilled Asparagus with
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Visit www.sterlingsilvermeats.com
for great recipes and more information on our products.
+HI FEE
Grolsch,
Bass Ale or
Beck’s Beer
We also have other
great dishes:
Orzo Pasta Salad
with Artichokes &
Black Olives
99
Assorted Steamed $
Vegetables
Sesame Noodle Salad
Available exclusively at Times Super Market
Specials Good
November 8 - 14, 2006
Introducing
Coopers Ales
from
Australia!
Selected items available at Waimalu
•
•
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 | F3
595lb.
$
595lb.
$ 95
Assorted Grilled Vegetables 4 lb.
$ 95 Potato & Chive Pancakes $395lb.
lb.
$
6
Visit us online at www.timessupermarkets.com
for our weekly specials.
Perfect for every day of the week
•
12 Pack/12 Oz.
Bottles
Selected Varieties
1199
$
+HI FEE
Coors,
Budweiser,
or Miller
Beer
20 Pack/12 Oz.
Bottles
Selected Varieties
1499
$
+HI FEE