Three Fun Food-Related Things to Do in Honolulu

This month I decided to do something different for the column and I have to say that the research I did for this article was by far the most delicious, entertaining and enjoyable that I've ever done! The premise of the article was to find fun food-related activities in a variety of price ranges. The only criteria for the activities was that all of them be something local residents would enjoy and that they be food-focused.

Here in Hawaii we are blessed with such a variety of food and restaurants, but sometimes we get in a rut. I can guarantee that any of these activities will help to shake off the "there's nothing to do blues" that we all get sometimes. Cheaper than a trip to Vegas, too!

Leonard's legendary malasadas

Our final stop of the day was Leonard's Bakery for a taste of their legendary Malasadas. The final stop on the Hole-in-the-Wall tour varies depending on the day of the week with it being either Leonard's for the aforementioned Malasadas or Liliha Bakery for their equally famed Coco Puffs. Leonard's was a great stop with everyone crowding around the glass cases to see the various offerings and taking pictures of the Guava Cake and other confections which we sometimes forget are quite unique to Hawaii. We enjoyed the freshly cooked Malasadas, too!

All in all, this was such good fun and really enjoyable. I can't guarantee that you'll visit the same restaurants we did but I can guarantee that wherever you go it will be tasty and Matthew will ensure that you have a wonderful and informative time.

Hawaii Food Tours also offers a Hawaiian Feast in Paradise ($99) which is, as you might expect, a luau with all of the attendant food and entertainment. The final offering is the Gourmet Trilogy Food & Wine ($149) which will take you to three of Honolulu's best fine-dining restaurants for appetizers, entree and dessert all paired with wine. Matthew says that the Gourmet Trilogy is perfect for food and wine lovers who are adventurous and passionate about their dining. Can't decide what to get that special couple for an anniversary gift? Send them on the Gourmet Trilogy Food & Wine Tour - they'll thank you and it will be an experience they will long remember.

Hawaii Food Tours
Telephone: 926-FOOD (3663)
Toll Free: 1-800-715-2468
Email: mgray@hawaiifoodtours.com
Website: Hawaii Food Tours

GOURMETCOOKINGHAWAII.COM - A Truly Unique Food & Wine Experience

Early on a Saturday morning, I was buzzing down the H-1 to get to The Bistro at Century Center before 9am. You might ask what was I doing heading to a restaurant that wasn't even going to open for several hours when I could be at home in jammies with a hot cup of coffee? Well, I had not lost my mind, nor was I unhappy to be out and about early on the weekend. I was going to a Gourmet Cooking Class offered by GourmetCookingHawaii.com which was being taught by one of my favorite chefs, Rodney Uyehara of The Bistro at Century Center.

I had always wanted to attend one of GourmetCookingHawaii.com's classes but making the time was a challenge. I finally resolved that I simply had to do it, checked the schedule and when I discovered Chef Rodney was teaching the next class, I made the call. My call was returned by Kathleen Hurtubise, the creative force behind GourmetCookingHawaii.com and, as I learned, a great producer of a wonderful concept which has become a must-do for lovers of food and cooking.

Salmon prep

There is something magical about being in a restaurant "after hours," as it were, seeing the raw ingredients come together into a gourmet dish at the hands of a skilled chef. You feel like you are learning secrets, and in a sense you are, as you get the rare opportunity to ask and hear questions answered by a culinary professional in a relaxed and friendly environment.

There were 14 of us in the class and at least a couple of them have attended every single class offered since GourmetCookingHawaii.com launched in 2003. The attendees covered all the ethnic bases, and both genders were represented. Kathleen herself said that her husband, Kevin Lin, had never cooked until he started helping her run the classes. He is now an avid cook and budding gourmand. And, for any men who haven't thought about cooking as a hobby, trust me when I say that there is nothing quite as attractive as a man who cooks... now that's hot!

The menu for the day was Salmon Tartare accompanied by Timbach Pinot Gris 2001; Stuffed Breast of Capon (see the recipe here) accompanied by E. Euigal Cotes du Rhone 2001 and Banana Flambe accompanied by Bonny Doon Muscat Vin de Glaciere 2003. Executive Chef Rodney Uyehara was ably assisted by his sous chef and various class members. Want a bit of instruction in knife technique? Volunteer to help with the prep and pick up some hands-on pointers. The wine service and discussion was led by Kim Karalovich from The Wine Stop, and her knowledge and approachable attitude towards wine was integral to making this a complete food and wine experience.

Mushrooms galore (hedgehog, inoki, shimeji, morel and dried porcinis, etc.) for the capon sauce

We learned many things including where to find frozen veal demi glace (Y. Hata) for the sauce and caul fat*, (Chinatown) which was used to secure the capons before cooking. And, if you don't have the time or inclination to get those ingredients, there are acceptable substitutes. Then we were given an in-depth look at the ingredients to be used.I was most interested in the variety of mushrooms used in the sauce for the capon - they had hedgehog, inoki, shimeji, morel and dried porcinis among others.

Flambé!

All of the food was delicious but the flambed dessert of Bananas Foster was a spectacular finale. I'm so glad these retro-style desserts are enjoying a resurgence in popularity. We all loved watching the flames dance over the pan as the liquor cooked off and the sugars started to caramelize into a luscious rum sauce for the bananas and vanilla ice cream. It was really good.

The best part, of course, is eating the delicious food and enjoying the wine pairings. At $95 a class, this is an excellent value which reaps a great food and wine experience taught by any one of a number of Honolulu's best chefs with wine pairings and explanations from The Wine Stop. You also receive a fabulous goodie bag stuffed with all manner of valuable and useful items. Your gift bag will have items specific to your class and the dishes from a variety of sources including Kaiulani Spices (this stuff is so good!) and Compleat Kitchen amongst others.

GourmetCookingHawaii.com can also organize a special class for your group or business and the classes are increasingly popular for business groups. Gift certificates are available and would make a perfectly thoughtful gift for the food lover in your life.

*The membrane from the lining of a pig's stomach commonly used to secure stuffed or rolled meat dishes.

GourmetCookingHawaii.com
Telephone: 735-7788
Email: info@gourmetcookinghawaii.com
Website: GourmetCookingHawaii.com

WINE THE EXPERIENCE - What an Experience it is, Too!

If it weren't for my intrepid better half, I wouldn't have learned about this great shop located on Kapahulu Avenue in Kilohana Square. Since we have a single vehicle, we often car pool to our various appointments and take turns hanging out while the other works. It was this sometimes inconvenient circumstance which led to one of the great discoveries of the year. While I was in a meeting, he was wandering around the shops at Kilohana Square and immediately gravitated to a cool looking shop with lots of wine bottles, and an intriguing name, Wine The Experience. As I headed back to the car, he was eagerly waving at me to come and see what he'd found. And what he'd found is something that will make any wine lover, party planner, corporate entity or just regular folks who enjoy wine very happy.

According to Shannon Ball, wine maker and the person in charge of running the day-to-day operations of the business, making wine at home has been around since the days of prohibition, when enterprising vendors came up with the idea of mailing grape juice along with some yeast to customers with instructions not to combine the two or an alcoholic product would result. More recently, the phenomena of wine making as a hobby took hold in North America with Canada really starting the trend about 20 years ago. He said there are about 50 wine making businesses of this basic type in the United States right now, but they have taken the concept a step further by introducing service and style into the operation. What that means is that Wine The Experience is a stylish, user-friendly place with a great atmosphere patterned in part after the wine tasting rooms at wineries which Shannon visited while doing research for the business.

The entire process costs between $275 to $300 depending upon the wine you choose to make and the result will be 29 to 30 bottles of your own private label wine. That comes out to less than $10 a bottle on the low end and just over $10 at the high end - and they provide the bottles, labels (more about this later), corks and foil - basically everything you need to create your own bottles of wine. We decided to give it a go, so the first step was to schedule a wine tasting to select the wine we wanted to bottle. We set a date, then called our friends, the Schultzs, and asked them to join us for the tasting.

On the appointed day we arrived and Shannon and his father John greeted us with genuine enthusiasm. It is easy to see that this business is a labor of love for the Ball family and that they care very much about what they do and making their customers happy. I learned from Shannon that he and his father did most of the build-out in the facility from the floors (perfect for dancing!) to the painting.

They had set up a nice spread of various cheeses and crackers to accompany the wines which made for a nicely festive mood. We were each given a special note card to use for jotting down our impressions of the various wines we would try. After perusing the list of available wines and some discussion, it was decided that, given the time of year and the type of cooking we do during the summer months, we would focus on finding a white wine.

We started out with the usual suspects like Chardonnay, Reisling, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris then we tried an Australian Murray River Reserve which blended Colombard, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat. We also tried an interesting Italian Verdicchio which came in second on our list of possibilities. We finally settled on a Viognier because we found it the most pleasing overall.

Barrel of yeast

Once our decision was made, Shannon went into the winemaking area and returned a short time later with a "barrel" filled with grape juice and a packet of yeast. We ceremoniously sprinkled the yeast over the juice and then it was returned to the climate controlled warehouse to ferment for two months. We got to take a peek at some of the wines fermenting and noted quite a few barrels for wedding receptions - what a great way to commemorate a special occasion.

While we're waiting for our wine to finish we are busy designing our very own labels. At Wine the Experience we saw labels featuring peoples' pets, commemorative ones for weddings, birthdays and anniversaries, labels to promote events such as the Hawaii Film Festival and lots of others that just reflected the unique personalities of the people behind the wine. A particularly notable group of labels was for the Tangueros which is a local group of tango enthusiasts.

When it's time to bottle our wine we have the option of not only bottling the wine but holding a party at the same time. For each barrel of wine bottled you can bring along 12 people, so two barrels allows 24 people and so on and so forth with a maximum of 48. If we choose to have a party, we can bring our own food or Shannon will help us find a caterer and make the arrangements. Personally, I think music and dancing is in order along with some really tasty food. Look for the final installment of this wine saga at HawaiiDiner.com sometime in June!