Aloha from HAWAII !!

Welcome to Hawaii! I must admit this American Regional class has turned out to be my favorite by far. I love learning about all the different styles of cuisine that make up our great nation.

I have a new found respect for calamari. We had to clean and prep the squid. I admit I was a little freaked at first but I told myself to get a grip and to have a new experience. Cleaning the squids seemed like it'd be easier because they're not that big...boy was I wrong. Needless to say, I am now grateful that I know the proper way and am able to have a better understanding and appreciation for calamari preparers : D




Here we have the Asian Pear & Macadamia Nut Won tons. These aren't tricky at all. This is obviously before we fried them and put some powdered sugar on top. They were delicious and I'm now motivated to try different varieties of won tons because they're easier than I thought.


Pineapple Fritters with Mango dipping sauce. YUMMY! Did you know pineapples aren't actually grown in Hawaii, they have to import them for Tahiti. Always love to add a little trivia for you. These were excellent as well. The acid from the pineapple along with the sweetness of the mango sauce made the dessert amazing.



Carmelized salmon w/ Japanese steamed rice, Stir-fry vegetables, a balsalmic soy glaze, lemongrass beurre blanc, and fried basil leaves for garnish. This salmon was so delicious. The glaze and the butter sauce really put this dish together nicely. I had a mishap with the steamed rice on my first try and totally scorched it. Luckily I had plenty of time to start another batch. "Sticky Rice" requires so much care and attention to make sure it's just right. Overall i thought the dish was great and one of the more healthier dishes we've made minus the lemongrass beurre blanc (butter sauce).



Sesame Seed crusted Tuna steak, vegetable tempura, Japanese steamed rice, with wasabi mayo, pickled ginger, and sweet soy sauce for garnish.

Here's where it got yummy....

I loved making this dish. It was truly amazing and turned out better than I thought (visually). I love to pay special attention to my plating. I'm lucky enough to have a chef instructor that shows us how he would plate it and then either let us copy or create our own. I'd like to say this is a healthy dish also but not with the veggie tempura and that rice. The tuna is healthy though ha ha.

Next week is finals (done individually not as a team this time) and after that i'm on to the next chapter of my journey through culinary school. Wish me luck, I will post pictures of what I end up doing for my final next week. I'm thinking of doing just a good Caesar salad and the same salmon dish but with chicken (since they obviously can't afford to have tuna or salmon as an option for finals).