SATURDAY SCOOPS
Impress her: Whip up a home cooked meal
Advertiser staff and news services
It's the weekend, a hot date is brewing. Guys, you too can impress your date with your kitchen prowess by cooking dinner. Relax, keep it simple, ask the good folks at Fujioka's or Tamura's for a good bottle of wine, and enjoy. Oh, and get her to bring dessert (she needs to be part of this, too).
Here are a couple of recipes for two that guys and gals should have no problem creating.
First course
Baked Eggplant with Tomato Relish
- 1 regular-sized eggplant (8 to 9 inches) sliced into 1-inch thick slices
- 5 baby tomatoes, quartered
- 1/4 cup basil in thin shreds
- 1 tablespoon orange peel in thin shreds
- 1 tablespoon red onion, diced small
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup 8-year balsamic vinegar (or the best that your budget allows)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Coat pan and eggplant slices with oil, season slices with salt and pepper, and bake slices for 10 minutes at 300 degrees.
Gently toss together all other ingredients together except for balsamic vinegar. Quartered tomatoes should retain their shape.
Place eggplant on serving platter.
Top each slice with an equal portion of tomato relish. Drizzle balsamic vinegar around platter.
Source: Roy Choi, executive chef, Embassy Suites Lake Tahoe Resort, South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Main course
Spice-rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Potato Puree
For the pork:
- Buye a pork tenderloin from the grocery store. The meat should be trimmed and ready to use right out of the package.
For the rub:
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon dry parsley
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Mix the dry spices in a small bowl.
Coat the tenderloin with the rub and let stand for at least 20 minutes.
For the potato puree:
- 3 Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Potato water as needed
- Salt and pepper to taste
Fill medium pan with enough water to cover three potatoes. Add a dash of salt. Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 35 minutes.
Pull potatoes from water, slip off skin and mash. Add butter, salt, and pepper. Use some of the potato water to thin potatoes if needed.
To assemble:
Heat one tablespoon butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add pork tenderloin and sear on all sides. Continue cooking for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove meat from pan and let stand for five minutes.
Place some potato puree on dinner plates. Slice pork and place on top of puree.
Source: Mark Estee, executive chef, Moody's Bistro & Lounge, Truckee, Calif.
Red is now the hot home-decor color
Are you seeing red? You're not alone: Red is the hot pun intended color of the moment in home decor. Open up any shelter magazine or catalog, and crimson pops out from nearly every page: on sofas, chairs, pillows, rugs, drapes and bedding.
Whether you're going for the traditionalist aesthetic, a mid-century look or contemporary style, vermilion could be your color. "The great thing about red is that it can go both ways it can look extremely classic in a gentleman's club having drinks in the library or take on a pop-art persona," says Sarah Gray Miller, editor of Budget Living magazine, whose premier issue this month features a cardinal-red leather club chair on the cover.
Red is everywhere now because people associate it with power and self-esteem, says designer and feng shui expert David Raney. One of his clients just painted her entrance hallway red to "invoke the quality of courage."
It's time to indulge at the annual Kona Coffee fest
A day without coffee is like a ... yow, don't even think about it!
Here in Hawai'i, we have our own coffee industry, centered on the Big Island but scattered across other islands, too.
This weekend and continuing through Nov. 10, the Big Island is where residents and visitors can feast at the 32nd annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival, billed as Hawai'i's oldest food festival.
We're talking a Miss Kona Coffee Scholarship Pageant tonight at the Hilton Waikoloa; a golf tourney at Kona Country Club tomorrow; a coffee-picking contest at Doutor Farm in Holualoa tomorrow; and tours and workshops throughout the week.
Log on to www.konacoffeefest.com for a complete schedule of events and lots of other goodies, including recipes and instructions on how to brew your coffee (as if you didn't already know!).
If your fetish is shoes, here's the place for you
Here's your shopping tip for the weekend, and if you like shoes, it should serve your cravings.
When it comes to fashion fetishes, shoes are often at the top of the list. That's why David Zinnel named his trendy new Kailua shoe and accessories boutique Fetish.
Zinnel knows women's shoes, having worked in the shoe departments of Ferragamo, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus for a combined 16 years.
Fetish is not as upscale and pricey as the shoe departments run by Zinnel's previous employers; most shoes sell for $39 to $49. The goal, Zinnel says, is to keep everything under $100.
The shoes come from Italy, New York, Los Angeles and even South Africa. Designers include Crafts Hawaii sandals, assembled locally, and Spicy, By Law, Soda, Dollhouse, Vacation and Soleflex.
Accessories reflect the latest trends: newsboy caps, fringe everything, Lulu Guinness look-alike bags, chunky turquoise jewelry, cool sunglasses and plenty of beads, belts and bright colors. Toe rings are among the hottest sellers. Another item at the shop, a clever carpet bag on wheels, offers a fashionable alternative to boring carry-on luggage.
Find Fetish in the Kailua Shopping Center at 600 Kailua Road. 262-0200.
Sunset on the Beach mixes island films, big-screen movies
The festivities at Queen's Surf Beach begin at 4 p.m. with food booths, including one from the hotel's new Tiki's Grill & Bar. 'Ale'a performs, too; The Makaha Sons take over at 5 p.m.
Aston's hotel blessing begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by a pyrotechnics show.
At about 7 p.m., "Heart of the Sea," a documentary about beloved surfer Rell Sunn (pictured right), will be world-premiered as part of the film festival. Sunn, who died in 1998 after a 14-year battle with breast cancer, was a pioneer water athlete and role model.
The night's featured film "The Scorpion King," starring Hawai'i's own Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kelly Hu follows.
Sunday's featured film, scheduled at 6:35 p.m., is the "Star Wars" classic "The Empire Strikes Back." "Puamana," a film about island musical legend Irmgard Aluli, will be screened first.
Admission is free. Bring a beach chair or a towel and take it all in. 523-2489.