10 Things I Love About Christmas

By • December 23, 2013 • Musings, The Daily Dish

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It would be easy this year to say, “Bah, humbug,” about Christmas.

Traffic has never been worse. There’s been crazy weather around the country. The malls are a mess.

Not to mention I’ve had quite a tumultuously 2013, which is only ending with a stress fracture in my right leg and news that someone was racking up thousands of dollars of charges on my credit card in France.

Still, that hasn’t dampened my Christmas spirit, amazingly.

I still love this time of the year, when the weather in Hawaii has a little chill in it that makes it harder to get out of bed with two snuggling dogs.

So here are the 10 things I love about Christmas — and I hope it reminds you to look at something other than the stack of cars in front of you:

1. Decorated houses and trees: I’m a sucker for Christmas decorations. You got a house decked in lights, I will stop and marvel. I love that people take the time to climb ladders to wrap LED lights around plumeria trees and and edges of roofs — and really for no other reason than celebrating the season.

2. Winter surf: This is going to sound strange, but I love that the North Shore is getting the surf right now. For one, if you’ve ever seen the monster swells out there, it’s mind-blowing. I can see why thousands of people trek to the North Shore — and sit in traffic for hours on Kamehameha Highway — to see it. But the surf out there clears out the breaks on the south shore, and there’s nothing better than a little out-of-season south swell or west wrap to make up for the flat days in Waikiki. Trust me.

3. Weather: I realize all of my far-flung friends will groan when I say this, but I love the (relatively) cold weather during the winter months. It’s nice to bundle up, to use three blankets, to put T-shirts on my dogs. I love it.

4. New releases: There’s always a slew of great movies that get pushed out toward the end of the year to make the Oscar run. If you can find the time between Christmas shopping and wrapping gifts, you can see some of the year’s most-anticipated movies, like “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” “August: Osage County” and “Frozen.” Or, if you’re like me, all you want to see are the season’s sequels: “Thor: The Dark World,” “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” and, of course, “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.”

5. Movie traditions: Speaking of movies, this is the time of the year when it makes sense to watch movies like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Elf.” Not that you can’t watch these Christmas flicks in June, but they’re so much better in December. Two of my favorites to catch before Christmas: “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” and “The Sound of Music.”

6. Cookies: I love baking — in fact, baking got me through 2013 — but it’s so much more fun to bake for a purpose. For the past three years, I’ve been participating in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, where I’ve met a lot of cool bloggers who love to bake/cook like me. (And I’ve eaten some pretty interesting cookies, too.) And baking during the holidays has long been a tradition in my family. My mom’s kitchen is always filled with the smells of freshly baked bread, sugar cookies and fruit pies, especially this time of the year. And whenever I can score free baked goodies from her, it’s all good!

7. Christmas shopping: I know, I know. This might top the list of Things I Hate About the Holidays. But as sick as this sounds, I enjoy walking around the malls when it’s packed with shoppers, armed with lists and credit cards. You feel like you’re part of something big, like you’re witnessing the Olympic Games of Christmas Shopping. It’s competitive, it’s stressful, I love it. (Mind you, I do all of my shopping online. LOL)

8. Christmas songs 24-7: This is really the only time of the year when listening to “White Christmas” and “Jingle Bell Rock” is not only appropriate but entirely tolerated.

9. Christmas Eve: This is, hands down, my favorite day of the year. Always has been. When I was a kid, my family would go to an annual Christmas party made up of my dad’s classmates and their families. These people are really family to me, too, and this is the only time of the year we get to see everyone. But I think, too, I love Christmas Eve because Christmas hasn’t arrived yet. The anticipation is far greater than the anticlimactic let-down the following day, when Christmas is over by 10 a.m.

10. Excuse to see people I love: We’re all busy, I get that. But we tend to make time during the holidays — sometimes after Christmas, and that’s OK — to see the people we care about. Screw gifts, I’d rather just spend an evening chatting with my friends or hanging with my family over a stellar spread of food. And to me, that’s the best part of this, and really any, holiday.

Got your reasons for the season? Share them here!

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#FUUD: Your last chance to try BLK/BOX

By • December 18, 2013 • Food

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There aren’t a lot of times where something I eat blows my mind.

And BLK/BOX did that last week.

The food truck concept run by Neale Asato — formerly of the famed Vintage Cave — popped up for lunch at TASTE Table in Kakaako with a menu that dripped with flavor.

Shoyu pork. Bacon jam. Brown butter mochi.

Need I say more?

Asato’s vision is to feature an ever-changing, seasonal menu of gourmet foods made from locally sourced ingredients. His philosophy is to serve delicious, creative dishes that are simple and showcase the hard work of Hawaii’s farmers and food artisans.

Though he dreams of a food truck, Asato is going to start in an actual brick-and-mortar space first. He secured the space in the John A. Burns School of Medicine, formerly Kulia Grill operated by Kapiolani Community College. The new yet-to-be-named eatery will be up and running by mid-January. (Another blog to come!)

In the meantime, you can sample Asato’s skills on Thursday, the last day BLK/BOX will pop-up for lunch at the Kakaako kitchen.

Here’s what we ate last week:

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We started our meal with grilled bread and chichiron (fried pork rinds) with bacon jam, softened goat cheese and caramel. Surprisingly, the three worked perfectly together. A little tang, a little sweetness, a little salt. It was utterly addictive.

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I had the shredded pork sandwich that wasn’t just a glom of salted pull pork. And those housemade pickles were incredible, adding the right amount of tang.

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Here was the star of the lunch menu: braised pork belly with a tasty soy-based sauce topped with delightful fried Brussels sprout leaves over dashi rice and a soft egg. The flavor combinations were new and different and kept my mouth interested with every bite.

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And finally, dessert. We were served this tray of brown butter mochi, the tops of which featured caramelized sugar in creme brûlée fashion. Genius — and delicious.

If you can swing it, head to TASTE Table on Thursday. I’m not sure what Asato will be serving — he texted me saying he’s working on some foie gras stuff — but whatever’s on the menu, trust me, it’ll be good.

Check out BLK/BOX from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday at TASTE Table in Kakaako. Follow BLK/BOX on Twitter @eatblkbox.

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Let’s talk ramen!

By • December 16, 2013 • Food

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Winter in Hawaii means one thing to me: ramen.

It was the first thing I had wanted to eat on Sunday night when gray clouds dumped heavy rain all across the island. (I wound up eating shoyu pork and butter flake biscuits — though no complaints.) There’s just nothing more comforting on a cold, rainy night than a bowl of hot noodles.

Ramen shops on Oahu are like donut shops in L.A. — they seem like they’re everywhere. Many shops serve a basic noodle dish that’s satisfying but nothing special. But there are a few standouts among the generic ramen-ya in Honolulu.

So what sets them apart from the rest?

Dashi. Unique toppings. Quality of the noodles. The list goes on and on.

Here are the ones folks are talking about, all recently opened in Honolulu. I’d love to hear your opinion on them.

Kiwami Ramen, 641 Keeaumoku St., (808) 955-1122, www.kiwami-ramen.com

This beloved ramen shop was located in the basement food court of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza, then closed when the center was being renovated and devastated ramen lovers around the island. But in October, the ramen-ya re-opened on Keeaumoku Street in the space vacated by the short-lived udon shop Tsuku Tsuku Tei. Kiwami is best known for its tsukemen, or dipping-style ramen. (The noodles and a more concentrated broth are served separately.) The fat, chewy noodles, which come either hot or cold, are always cooked perfectly and the chicken-based dipping broths — in shio (salt), shoyu or spicy — are rich and flavorful.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, 801 Kaheka St., (808) 941-1101, www.santouka.co.jp/en/

The highly anticipated opening of Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, Honolulu’s newest ramen shop, lived up to its hype. Though it opened a couple of months ago, there’s still a long line to get into this popular Japanese ramen chain restaurant. Though Hokkaido is more known for its miso-based broth, this shop serves tonkotsu ramen, which is linked to the Kyushu area of Japan. Tonkostu broth is made from simmering pork bones, giving it a distinct taste and richness. Hokkaido Ramen Santouka has a mild, pearl-colored broth that’s tasty, but good luck trying to drink the entire thing. (Read: super rich)

Japanese Ramen Kai, 1430 Kona St., (808) 949-8888

This small ramen shop near Ala Moana Center has a basic lineup of ramen with six different types of broths, including the popular tan tan, a Chinese-Japanese hybrid using sesame and chili pepper heat. The noodles here are firm and chewy and the Hokkaido-style miso broth is nicely balanced.

Agu Ramen, 925 Isenberg St., (808) 492-1637, www.aguramen.com

Another ramen shop that just opened in Honolulu, across from Old Stadium Park in Moiliili, is more bistro than ramen-ya. Agu Ramen specializes in tonkotsu ramen with the thinner, Hakata-style noodles you find in Fukuoka (pictured at top). The bowls come with a soft-boiled egg, among other toppings, and the broth isn’t as rich as it looks. Agu also serves a lighter jidori (chicken broth) ramen, too, made with organic, cage-free chicken raised on a vegetarian diet. The gyoza here is easily one of the best on the island.

Got a favorite?

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What’s with the bah humbug?

By • December 15, 2013 • Musings, The Daily Dish

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The other day I asked friend on my Facebook page what Christmas song was their most and least favorite.

And the vast majority just answered that second part.

And with passion, too.

Here were some responses:

“There is not a single Christmas song that I would like to hear.”

I run screaming out of the stores when I hear them…I have to wear my kicker headphones from now on.

I try to avoid going shopping in December. I’m very thankful for Amazon.

Wow, when did we all lose our Christmas spirit?

I don’t know what’s going on this holiday — maybe it’s the biting cold weather hitting parts of the U.S. — but people seem to be in a solid “bah humbug” mood. My girlfriends who are usually finished with their Christmas shopping in November haven’t even started yet. My dad is worried the gifts he ordered — and late — aren’t going to arrive by Dec. 25. And I haven’t received a single can of cookies yet.

What’s going on?

See, I love Christmas. Or maybe I love what Christmas used to be. It reminds of me the final weeks of school, when teachers were in good moods and classmates brought sugar cookies and small gifts to school. You counted down the days ’til Christmas break and then spent those two weeks hanging out at home, baking cookies and wrapping gifts with my mom. I loved every single awesome minute.

And yes, I listened to Christmas music every chance I got.

Now, though, as an adult, we don’t have the luxury of two-week vacations. We are still checking emails and wrapping up projects. Santa doesn’t bring us gifts anymore, either; that responsibility falls to us, and we barely have time to finish our laundry much less buy presents for everyone on our list.

We have to fight crowds, sit in traffic, spend money, bake cookies, wrap gifts. It’s not as fun as it was when we were kids.

But still, I love the spirit of the season. I love that Christmas is about giving and sharing and spending time with our friends and families.

But clearly, not everyone feels the same.

So where are you this holiday season — loving it or hating every stressful moment?

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#FBCookieSwap: Swapping ice box cookies

By • December 11, 2013 • Food

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It’s becoming sort of a tradition for me.

Every Christmas for the past three years, I’ve participated in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, hosted by bloggers (and my Instagram and Twitter pals) Lindsay of Love and Olive Oil and Julie of The Little Kitchen. More than 22,000 cookies were delivered to hungry stomachs all over the country.

fbcookieswap2013_marbleThe first year I made and mailed kakimochi chocolate chip sweetheart cookies, using a very familiar ingredient — kakimochi, or rice crackers — to folks in Hawaii and Japan. The next year I made local-style thumbprint cookies.

This year, though, I went in a different direction.

These recipes should have a story attached to them. Maybe it’s a family recipe or a memory from childhood. Or maybe they incorporate a local ingredient or hail from your ethnic background.

This recipe — pinwheel ice box cookies — had two stories.

First off, these are cookies associated with my early years browsing bakeries in Hawaii. Just about every one — particularly King’s Bakery in Honolulu — had a version of these cookies. Though King’s Bakery closed up shop on King Street in 1992 and is now based in Torrance, Calif., I still think about its checkerboard chocolate-and-vanilla shortbread bites.

But the real story is this: my grandmother, who was a phenomenal baker from what I hear, had made these cookies once. And they were so good, my dad still talks about them.

Except she only made them once.

I wondered why — until I made them myself.

They’re, well, a bitch to make. (You’ll see in the photo gallery below.) Let’s just say I won’t be making these again anytime soon.

But I did get batches out to my assigned food bloggers: Alison Dulaney, Heart of Gold; Jen Foley (@foleyjennifer), What Jen Does; and Kelly Bonatsakis (@cupcakekellys), Cupcake Kelly’s. Hopefully they liked them as much as I did.

They’re not the prettiest cookies, but they’re adequately tasty. If they weren’t so difficult to make, I’d be baking them every weekend.

The difference this year, though, was that, as part of our participation in the virtual cookie swap, we each donated $4 to Cookies For Kids’ Cancer, a kick-ass charity that raises money for cancer research through cookie sales. OXO, Dixie Crystals, Gold Medal Flour and Grandma Molasses matched the donation dollar for dollar — can you believe that? — and we all raised more than $13,000 for the cause.

Not bad for a bunch of food bloggers, huh?

Well, here’s the recipe!

Get out the ruler

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This is where it gets complicated. You have to roll out one of the doughs into a rectangle 6 by 7 inches. The other will be a little smaller, at 6 by 6 inches.

Pinwheel Ice Box Cookies
Recipe by Gale Gand

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted

Directions:

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside.

In a mixer with a paddle attachment cream the butter well; then add the sugar and continue creaming until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time and then the vanilla.

On the low setting, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Divide the dough in half and return half the dough to the mixer. Add the warm melted chocolate and mix to combine. Shape both pieces of dough into 4 by 4-inch square, and wrap them in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Cut each square into 4 strips then place them on a sheet pan and keep chilled while you roll out the dough. Between pieces of parchment paper, roll out a piece of chocolate dough into a rectangle 6 by 7 inches (have a ruler nearby). Roll a piece of vanilla dough out into a 6 by 6-inch square. Peel off the top pieces of parchment from both doughs and flip the vanilla dough onto the chocolate, allowing 1/2-inch border of chocolate dough around the top and bottom. Press the 2 doughs together lightly with a cake pan or other flat pan. Peel off the top piece of parchment and fold the 1/2-inch of over hanging chocolate dough up and over the vanilla dough. Use the parchment to roll up the dough into a tight pinwheel.

Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 4 to 5 hours (roll the dough a couple times the first hour so it doesn’t develop a flat side). Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a sheet pan. Unwrap the roll and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Place them 1 1/2 inches apart on the sheet pan and bake for 9 to 11 minutes. Cool.

For more, check out the site and follow on Twitter @fbcookiesswap. You can also get notifications by registering here.

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