category: in the kitchen

in the kitchen: papaya slaw with lime and mint

Our neighbor has a papaya tree, and watching the fruit grow on it has been making me crave papayas in a major way. But instead of a regular old papaya eaten plain, how about papaya slaw? With cool, summery flavors like lime and mint? Yum. Read more

in the kitchen: shredded chicken tacos

Taco Tuesday (well actually, Wednesday) cravings struck again recently, and this time we decided to go for shredded chicken tacos with Maui onion and lots of fresh lime juice. This recipe was super easy and just involved a few minutes on the grill and a few minutes in a saute pan. (But if you have some time on your hands, definitely check out our carnitas recipe…totally worth waiting the 4 hours for it to cook!) Read more

in the kitchen: tomato bisque + grilled cheese crostini

While on a quest for a tomato bisque recipe that didn’t call for a boatload of heavy cream, we tagged two favorites: a Food Network Kitchens recipe (which sounded delicious but included a whole cup of heavy cream), and a version from Gina’s Skinny Recipes that substituted reduced-fat sour cream. Read more

in the kitchen: steak salad with blue cheese & walnuts

Red meat is a frequent bone of contention in our house. I want less, John wants more. What can I say? He’s a man. Men love meat.

One of our favorite compromises is this delicious steak salad, which lets us split one steak between the two of us in a most enjoyable manner. It’s super casual and easy; we just toss in the ingredients according to how much or how little we like. We’ve prepared it with a homemade orange balsamic dressing and a bottled blue cheese vinaigrette; both are scrumptious. (Note: if you use the blue cheese vinaigrette, decrease the amount of added blue cheese accordingly). Read more

in the kitchen: cavatappi with creamy braised leeks

John had braised greens on his mind on our last grocery shopping trip. We came home with two humongous leeks that were practically jumping into the pan to join the allium veggie fest about to take place in our kitchen. We braised the leeks until they were soft and tender, and then promptly stole some from the pan to top a mini pizza (also at the party: port salut cheese and bacon…yum). But the leeks really got a chance to shine the next evening, when we combined them with Maui onions and garlic in a creamy pasta sauce (see what I meant about an allium veggie fest?). Read more

in the kitchen: favorite hummus

I love chickpeas. I love them pan-fried, roasted, in salads…I love falafel…and most of all, I love hummus. John and I have been whipping up homemade hummus together practically since we started dating, and it’s one of our favorite quick, healthy snacks. Read more

in the kitchen: jello shots

When planning my 30th birthday boating extravaganza, we wanted to do something fun and playful and maybe a little bit ironic. So what would go perfectly with our beautiful sailing yacht and menu of gourmet snacks? Why, jello shots, of course. Read more

in the kitchen: grilled corn salad with chili lime vinaigrette

I’ve been thinking about corn salad for months, and when I heard that fresh Kahuku corn was starting to show up in the markets, we headed straight for the KCC Farmers’ Market and grabbed a few ears. Using a Williams-Sonoma recipe as a starting point, I customized based on our favorite flavors and the fresh herbs we had in the house. Read more

in the kitchen: tacos de carnitas

We’re suckers for a good taco around here. While I don’t discriminate between chicken, short rib, fish, or just about anything else as my main taco protein, John’s all-time favorite is carnitas. And his very own carnitas recipe is pretty amazing, so there have been some frequent “Taco Tuesday” cravings in this house lately. Read more

in the kitchen: pesto risotto

We’ve been growing lots of fresh basil in the backyard, and this week it was finally mature enough to start cutting. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, since we’ve both been having major cravings for one of our favorite home-cooked meals…risotto. And not just any risotto. Pesto risotto. Oh yes. Read more