Homemade Turtle Bay Granola

Posted on by aurorameyer


J fell in love with the granola at Turtle Bay when we visited Hawaii. A recent note from the general manager reminded me to try to get the recipe because while travelling to Honolulu every time J wants the granola sounds lovely, that is absolutely not going to happen. Luckily for me, Danna is super nice and got me in touch with Ceci in the Food and Beverage Department. Ceci sent the ingredients and from there I was able to cobble together the recipe below.

Ingredients:
3 cup oats (we used Quaker)
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup sesame seeds (we went with the ones from the bulk food section)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
about 3 cups tropical fruit trail mix (We used HyVee brand with papaya, pineapple, coconut, raisins and bananas, but left out the bananas)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the oats and nuts. In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and honey. Combine both mixtures and pour onto a sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color and keep the mixture from sticking to the bottom (you may want to consider spraying the pan with your favorite cooking spray, just in case).

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add fruit and mix until evenly distributed.

My Opinion:
Somehow I was more obsessed with the fresh fruit in Hawaii and missed this granola completely, but it is amazing. Good with milk as a cereal, good on yogurt, ice cream and just out of the container.

Misoyaki Cod with Jasmine Rice

Posted on by aurorameyer


We had the most delectable misoyaki butterfish in Hawaii this summer and have worked to recreate it since. We came very close with this cod recipe. A few more tweaks and I’m sure we’ll have it!

Ingredients:
2 four-ounce cod fillets
½ cup sake (we used a full cup of rice wine because it was what we had on hand)
½ cup mirin (sweetened rice wine)
1 cup sugar
1 cup white miso (You can also use a mixture of white and red miso if you can find it)
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:
Bring the first four ingredients together in a double boiler over medium-high heat. Stir to combine until sugar is dissolved and starting to bubble. Remove from heat. Stir in soy sauce. Allow to cool. Once marinade is cool, submerge cod in marinade. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 36. The longer the better. When ready to cook, pre-heat at 450 and bake fish for 5-8 minutes. When fish is almost cooked, brush with some remaining marinade and broil for an additional 2-3 minutes until well caramelized. (You may want to flip the fish over once, brushing it with the marinade again).

My Opinion:
Amazing. The flavors of this dish are fantastic. I can’t wait to try the marinade on chicken and shrimp! Next time we’ll try sea bass, sablefish or halibut to see if it is a bit closer to the actual fish, but believe me, we will be making this again!

Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck Garlic Shrimp

Posted on by aurorameyer


The hardest part of returning to the mainland from Hawai’i is leaving behind the ocean, the views and the food. Luckily, a few of our favorite dishes aren’t that difficult to recreate. Giovanni’s Shrimp truck is legendary.  It’s in all the Oahu guide books and is worth the amazingly scenic drive. The menu is simple: shrimp scampi, spicy shrimp and lemon butter shrimp. We started our recreation with the easier scampi. With the help of Google, we found this YouTube video, which gave us the ingredients and a few tips.

Ingredients:
Extra large shrimp, deveined, shell on
1 head (10 cloves) garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (1 tablespoon for spicier tastes)
1/2 stick clarified butter 
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 cup white wine (dry)
2 tablespoons regular butter

Directions:
Pat the shrimp dry. In a gallon zip top bag, mix the flour, paprika and cayenne pepper. Add shrimp and coat each piece of shrimp with the mixture. Heat saute pan over medium-high heat (any higher and the garlic will burn). Add clarified butter and garlic. Stir for 1 minute, then add all of the shrimp. Saute 3 minutes on each side. After 3 minutes on the second side, add the wine and 2 tablespoons butter. Saute, turning shrimp occasionally, until it reaches a caramel brown color.

My opinion:
We had way more shrimp than would fit in one pan! The next time we make this, I will be using the wok, as that would probably keep the garlic from burning. As we had about three pounds of shrimp total, we ended up using the entire bottle of wine. We’ll also probably take the shells off instead of leaving them on as we really like the coating. All in all, it was very close to the deliciousness that is Giovanni’s. Now if only it came with a side of the ocean…