Watermelon Jello Shots

Utensils you'll need:

Muffin tin
Saucepan
Blender
Strainer
Bread knife
Paring knife
Spoon
Silicone ice tray

Materials:

1 medium watermelon
Prosecco
2 packets of gelatin
6 limes
1 tablespoon sugar

Method:

Halve the limes along the long axis using the bread knife. Using the paring knife, cut through the flesh of the limes in the center as you would for a garnish, being careful not to cut the skin. Using the spoon, dig the flesh out of the limes from the center cuts away from the stem. You should probably save this in a bowl and use it for other things. Once you have 12 empty lime halves, place them in the muffin tin.

Juice half the watermelon in a blender (cube it first for best results; the bread knife is great here). Strain one cup of the watermelon juice into the saucepan. Sprinkle the sugar and gelatin over the watermelon juice and let it sit; now is a great time to make yourself a watermelon bellini (1 part watermelon puree to 2 parts Prosecco).

Heat the mixture in the saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the gelatin and sugar are completely dissolved. Pour in one and a half cups of Prosecco. Mix; once it stops bubbling, pour into the lime halves. You'll have some extra; pour that into the silicone ice tray. Refrigerate for a few hours until set.

To serve, you may want to section the lime halves so they resemble watermelon slices. Bread knife again! You may also want "seeds" - black sesame or slivered chocolate works here.

Tabouli

Equipment you'll need:

Cutting surface
Sharp implement
Largish bowl

Supplies:
1 cup bulgur wheat
1 cucumber
1 large tomato
1 bunch flat parsley
1 bunch mint
1 small onion
1 large lemon
olive oil
salt
pepper

Method:

Soak bulgur wheat in 2 cups warm water for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain.

Skin, seed, and finely dice cucumber. Seed and finely dice tomato. Finely chop parsley and mint leaves. Finely dice onion. Combine vegetables and wheat in largish bowl. Squeeze lemon over ingredients, drizzle olive oil over it, mix. Salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate before serving.

Eleni's Tapenade

Equipment you'll need:

A cutting surface
A sharp implement
A bowl

Supplies:

3 cups Kalamata olives, pitted
4 cloves of garlic
olive oil
salt
pepper
lemon juice (optional)
caper juice (optional)
balsamic vinegar (optional)

Method:

Finely chop the olives and transfer to bowl. Finely chop the garlic and transfer to bowl. Drizzle olive oil over the bowl and mix to combine. Salt and pepper to taste. If using optional ingredients, add to taste as well.

Snickerdoodles

Equipment you'll need:

1 frying pan (a light bottom may be helpful here)
1 whisk
1 largish bowl
A set of measuring things
Something to mix with
parchment paper (ideally)
1 smallish bowl
At least 1 cookie sheet (3 is ideal)
Something to cool cookies on (wire racks are ideal)

Supplies for dough:

2 sticks of unsalted butter (8oz)
1 1/4 cup brown sugar (packed; dark is better)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (use baker's sugar!)

1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoons Greek yogurt (or milk, whatevs)
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 dashes salt (freshly ground, this is three turns or so)

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

Supplies for coating:

1/4 cup granulated sugar (feel free to go a little light)
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon (feel free to go a little heavy)

Method:

Put the frying pan on the stove over medium heat. Cut the butter into pats and put it in the pan. Whisk until it foams and keep whisking until the butter smells nutty. Pour the butter into the largish bowl.

Wait about 5 minutes, more if you can. This is a good time for a drink - you deserve it!

Add the sugars to the butter and cream; it should increase in volume and lighten in color. I do this by hand; you can use a hand mixer on low or medium.

Add the egg + yolk, vanilla extract, yogurt or milk, cream of tartar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix thoroughly to combine.

Add the flour a half cup at a time and stir until just combined. I do this by hand to control the amount of mixing that happens but you could use a hand mixer on low. A spatula to shove the stuff on the sides down is helpful but not needful. After the first cup of flour, add the teaspoon of baking soda.

Take the dough and put it in the fridge for at least a few hours. This is where the parchment paper comes in if you're using it.

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine the sugar & cinnamon for the coating in the smallish bowl and mix until well-combined.

Take a tablespoon of dough and roll it in the coating mixture. Put the dough on the cookie sheet, leaving about an inch between each cookie. Bake for 9 minutes. Cool on sheet for 4ish minutes, then move to cooling surface.

You should try a cookie from the first sheet and adjust baking times accordingly - more gooey, subtract a minute; more crispy, add a minute or two.

References:

Volz, M. (2012, October 12). Brown butter snickerdoodle cookies [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2012/10/brown-butter-snickerdoodle-cookies/

Honolulu Food Recommendations

In no particular order:

Izakaya Naru - located on King in the same building as Sushi King, my favorite izakaya on the island. Dinner special prior to 6:45 is a fantastic deal (enough food and variety for 2 @ $13); their saba sashimi is fantastic, as is their karaage... honestly everything here is good. The udon is fantastic, a really well executed delicate broth. The deep-fried spareribs are worth it. The western food that shows up on their specials board is always fantastic; the best lasagna I've had was here. This is where I take anyone I really, really like.

The Whole Ox - In Kakaako across from where the old CompUSA is near Restaurant Row. Best burger I've had on the island, really really good poutine... like seriously this place is fantastic. Again, bring friends.

Cafe Maharani - On King across from Longs. Best Indian on the island; best Indian I'm aware of anywhere. They take spiciness seriously. The samosas are great; the pepper chicken is great; the lamb vindaloo is transcendental and I don't care for lamb. They have something called Tawa Chicken Manchurian that is like the lovechild of a General Tso's Chicken and a blooming onion. Take more people so you can order more curries - they have group deals for 2+ people that are great. Another place I like to take people I like.

Aki-no-No - My favorite sushi place, located on King across from the 7-11 & Kokua Market. Life-changing hamachi, really good katsus & teppanyaki, best Japanese curry I've had. However, don't get the saba sashimi here - go across the street to Izakaya Naru. Also order the scallops. The default salmon is slightly smoked which is a surprise but also really good. I'm a fan of their ahi katsu too.

Little Village - In Chinatown, the best American Chinese restaurant of which I'm aware. Order the salt & pepper pork chops. Bring your own beer.

JJ Dolan's - Good pizza at a bar! Also in Chinatown.

Sikdorak - On Keeaumoku in the Sam Sung II Plaza. 24 hour Korean barbeque, my favorite still open. $19.95 all you can eat meat; bring friends.

Honolulu Burger Company - good burgers, great chili, fantastic barbeque sauce. The peanut butter vanilla milkshake is worth your time.

Panya - Laksa & Taiwanese beef noodle soup; their curry is fine, but really really don't get it with cheese (as they use a square of American). They've a few locations (Waikiki, Ala Moana, downtown) - if you're at the Ala Moana location, skip the dessert as there's a much better bakery in the mall.

La Palme D'Or - The better bakery at Ala Moana. The only good croissants I've had on island; they do coffee & other jelly drinks which are fun. The cakes look wonderful, their truffle cups are a ridiculous deal, and their cheesecake is light and delicate without being unassertive.

Pho Mai - On King at the Keeaumoku intersection, my favorite pho place.

Chiang Mai - On King near the McCully Public Library, my go-to Thai restaurant. They take spiciness seriously here and a youthful indiscretion with ordering things spicy here is why I no longer tell restaurants to make it <cuisine> hot.

La Cucina - On Kapiolani near Ward. I've only been here once but this is the place run by Mediterraneo's former chef. I had cioppino and I was quite pleased. Portions were kind of ridiculously large but the food was quite good.

Do you dim sum?

If so, while you get your name on the Legend Seafood Restaurant list, you should swing next door to Won Kee and get the shrimp look fun while you wait. The look fun is the only thing that Won Kee does better than Legend; Tai Pan is also quite good and has better juk than Legend. Overall, Legend is the best. If you're vegetarian, right across from the entrance to Legend Seafood you'll find the entrance to Legend Vegetarian Restaurant - they almost never have a wait and they're just as good as their omnivorous counterpart. Behind them, further north along the river front, is the place with the passable xiao long bao.