Thank You, Charley: Prime Rib Roast

Its Veterans Day!  Thank you to the brave men and women who fought (and continue to fight) for freedom.  It is because of their efforts that I am able to live the way I do.  I'm also grateful that their honor and bravery have given us a holiday to day.  Yay!!!

Since we are knocking on the door of the holiday season, I thought I'd give you something to think about.  Towards the end of last week's post, I mentioned being undecided about what to do for our Thanksgiving meal this year.  And this year will actually be special because I get the Ds all to myself while Mr. Dependable is away on another trip.  No more having to ush them to dinner at the ex-out-laws.  Anyway, another option to buying a pre-made meal from the market would be to find a nice buffet in town and have dinner there (I suppose I'll include The Rents).

I don't know if the Ds are big on turkey either.  I know D1 is a real carnivore and loves prime rib.  This got me thinking that yet another option would be to forgo turkey altogether and just go for the beef.  I make a pretty wicked prime rib roast!

I need to admit that the roast and recipe you see here is NOT the roast I grew up on.  It is a roast that I was introduced to as an adult, after I got married.  Mr. Dependable and his family are yacht club members, and one of the foods the yacht club is known for is prime rib.  Yacht club prime rib is still made the way Charley did it back in the 1900's (2nd half, but still 1900's).  Charley was the cook at the yacht club back in the days when the yacht club had 3 dinner entrees:  prime rib, prawns, and lobster.

Ex-MIL had somehow gotten hold of Charley's secret and would make this roast for special family gatherings.  I never ate much of the roast when she made it because it was never cooked enough for my taste; it was cooked to HER family's liking, but I was, obviously, not family.  And really, I figured stuff she'd give me was poisoned anyway. . .like when she tried to kill me with her devil's condiment-laden "ham gravy".  That fucking thing was full of mustard!

One of the first cookbooks I purchased when I returned to Hilo was a fundraising cookbook for one of the local elementary schools, Ha`aheo School.  In the cookbook was a recipe for Prime Rib Roast submitted by Lorraine Murakami Ishimaru, a Ha`aheo alumnus.  The recipe appeared very similar to the way ex-MIL made her roast.  When I made the recipe one night, Mr. Dependable couldn't believe I had asked the wicked witch for her recipe.  I told him I did no such thing and explained I had found the recipe in a cookbook.  Hah!

A few years later, I had the opportunity of working summer school.  The summer school principal was Carole Ishimaru, Lorraine's daughter.  When I mentioned the roast to Carole, she promptly explained that her mom and Charley were good friends, and the recipe in the cookbook was the same recipe Charley had used to prepare the roasts at the yacht club!

History lesson pau!  Lets go on to the roast itself.  You will want to buy the best roast you can find.  My favorite is a rib roast, but in trying to placate The Rents, I have prepared a New York roast in the same manner, trying with great restraint not to express my disdain the entire time.  Why eat a New York roast when you can have a rib roast for the same price.  Thats stupid.

The best way to season the roast is to do 1 plane at a time.  I see a rib roast as having 5 panels:  2 ends, a fatty side, the underside (opposite the fatty side), and the small side.  Of course, I am not a butcher so this is my vocabulary.  So season 1 plane with garlic, brown, sugar, salt, and pepper (in that order), and then move on to another plane/panel.  The brown sugar will help the salt and pepper adhere to the meat.  Be generous with the seasonings, including the brown sugar.  Place the seasoned roast on a rack, and roast for the given time.

I will need to ponder this a while longer.  While I like turkey and trimmings, just looking at these pictures of the last roast I made is making my mouth water.  I really need to make my way to the west side. . .for BOTH Costco (the only place I know of on this island to get Prime meat) and Sansei (refer to last week's post).

 click on recipe title for printable recipe
Prime Rib Roast

     rib roast (allow 1 lb of meat per person)

     brown sugar
     minced garlic
     rock salt

     pepper

     

Rub brown sugar and garlic on all parts of roast.  Rub rock salt and pepper all over.  Place, uncovered, fat-side-up, in a roasting pan.  Bake at 325 degrees to desired doneness.  Let stand 15 minutes to firm meat before carving.

For rare, 30-32 minutes per pound.

For medium, 34-37 miutes per pound.

For well done, 39-42 minutes per pound.

A New York roast will cook in about half the time due to the shape.

Restaurant Chatter: Sansei

calamari salad

Its been a long time since I did a Restaurant Chatter post, so I thought it would be a good time to stick one in.  Sansei is definitely one of my favorite restaurants, and the Ds also enjoy going there.  My first Sansei meal was nearly a decade ago.  UMiles, AKathy, Dus & I had dinner at the Sansei in Restaurant Row (Honolulu).  I remember the mango crab salad roll being unbelievably tasty, and I can proudly say that I have never failed to order it at each subsequent visit.

asparagus tempura

Sansei has multiple restaurants on several islands, but of course, the one I frequent most is Sansei Waikoloa since I don't need to hop on a plane to get to it.  The first time I went to Sansei Waikoloa, The Help and I decided to order the set tasting menu.  It was a good deal, but after a while, I got tired of the sweet chili flavor, as more than 2 dishes had sweet chili sauce. . .including the mango crab salad roll.  Since that time, we've stayed away from the tasting menu and ordered specific plates.

grilled shiitake mushrooms in ponzu

After a brutal week, driving out to the west side for a day of shopping and ending with a leisurely dinner at Sansei is a real treat.  I sure could have used the treat this weekend.  Work this past week began with two days of training.  I guess that doesn't sound bad, but I was one of the trainers.  It was the same training repeated 2 days in a row to a group of administrators.  I must say that the majority of administrators in my area (school level) are competent and know their stuff.  But all it takes is one idiot to make the whole group look bad.

shrimp tempura

must have the ikura sushi

And one of them was a major pain in the ass.  She asked questions, and everytime the answer was given, her response was either, "well, yes, I know that, but. . ." or "yes, but. . .".  Well, why fucking ask if you supposedly know the answer???  If we did not adequately answer your question, it might be because your questions demonstrated a pervasive lack of vocabulary and content mastery.  Trying to cover up your shortcomings by asking a lot of questions did not fool anyone.  You are not impressing other administrators, and you are certainly not impressing the High Commander. 


Because Halloween fell in the middle of the week, I was busy doing the treats thing.  D1 made mini layered rainbow cupcakes, and my job was to frost them.  I also ended up doing a lot of the cake mix portion too.  D2 made it easy for me.  She wanted to pass out bags of candy to her classmates.  The only stipulation was there needed to be a dumdum pop in the bag.  I went to 3 stores before I found the dumdums!  The Ds went to a party with Mr. Dependable, and I went out to dinner.  I was rather surprised to see children at the restaurant.  I would've thought they'd be out trick-or-treating.

an older pic, but it reminds me of fun times

The secretary at work was encouraging everyone to dress up, but I didn't.  I have no costume, and since I had a parent conference scheduled for the afternoon, it affirmed my decision to wear my everyday spooky face.  D1 went as Minnie Mouse and D2 went as a Spanish dancer.  I really wanted D2 to buy the ostrich rider costume, but she nixed that idea.

ahi carpaccio

mango crab salad roll

In spite of all the candy nibbling, I decided to do my blood test on the morning after Halloween.  If it comes back bad, then at least I know how I can improve it.  I celebrated the blood test being over by indulging in a plate of tinoni (crispy fried pork belly with onions and tomato in a vinegar sauce).  I have to go see Dr. KO next week, so I plan to indulge myself until the hammer drops then.  When I went to the Keaau Village Market to buy my tinoni plate, I noticed a new filipino stall opened up.  I will need to try the adobo from Uncle Ben's the next time I go.

rainbow roll

caramel apple tart

I was really hoping to get to Sansei Waikoloa this past weekend, but it certainly didn't happen.  There was too much to do at home.  We spent Saturday cleaning "problem areas" of the house (actually, the whole house is a problem).  I also waited over an hour in the parking lot by Lalakea while D1 met her friends at the beach.  I was planning to drop her off, but after having to take the Keaukaha detour, I decided I could just hang.  It wasn't an especially hot day either, so waiting in the car with the windows down was not a problem at all.  I spent my time looking at one of my cookbooks.  The Help was romanced by a KFC commercial he saw while watching football, so we had a whole barrel of extra crispy chicken tenders to eat.  NO Sansei!!!

I don't think I'll even get to go next weekend, so I'm not sure when the next window of opportunity will happen, but I'd love to post more pics of other favorites.  I love the shrimp dynamite, Alaskan flower sushi, and crispy shrimp cake.  Next time.  Sigh.

I am soooo looking forward to all the holidays this month.  I haven't been asked to host a Thanksgiving party yet, and I'm hoping I escape.  Last year, I was under the weather, and The Help ordered one of those packaged Thanksgiving dinners from Sack N Save, which was delicious.  I'm trying to decide if we should go with a packaged dinner again this year.  I was told Safeway has a good meal (a little pricier than Sack N Save), and they were sold out when The Help tried to place an order last year.

Before I end my post for this week, I'd like to thank God for keeping my pals Maggie (New York) and Joe (Virginia) safe this past week when superstorm Sandy ravaged the East Coast.  I'd also like to give thanks for sparing Hawaii from a devastating tsunami.  In spite of all my bitching and rants, I do have a lot for which to be thankful.

Happy Halloween

BOO!

Happy haunting...from Kikukat & the Ds

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Mini Cupcakes with Kick Ass Frosting (for Halloween and Anytime)

Halloween will be here soon.  A few weeks ago when we were in Honolulu, both Uncle Kevo and Aunty Renee suggested Party City in Iwilei as THE place to get Halloween costumes.  Aunty Renee said it was much easier to navigate through than the branch in Waikele, and she was right.  In spite of people congregating in the aisles, there was still ample room to pass (not like KTA!). We only had to go there twice for D2 to select her costume.  D1 and I ended up buying things too.

I always stress over what to send with the Ds (when D1 was younger) for class treats.  When I was younger and optimistic, I tried to send pencil and eraser packs instead of candy.  Now that I'm older and wiser, I send what D2 can easily carry.  Last year she took mini bags of popcorn.  I'm not sure what she will be taking this year.  While I'd love to send her with these cupcakes, I don't think she would appreciate having to carefully transport them.  Too bad because I know her teacher would love them.  I'm not even thinking about her classmates!

I first got the idea for these from my niece Jacy.  She posted a pic on Facebook of some micro cupcakes she made in the ketchup-sized cups (1 oz).  It was Jacy who sternly warned me about not going beyond half-full when filling the portion cups.  Thinking that a micro-cupcake was too small, I decided to use the 2 oz cups.  I took these to a work meeting, and they were a hit.  People ooohhed and aaaahhhed when they saw them, and once they took a bite, I was bombarded with questions.

I was outed!  I was forced to admit that I used cake mix from a box (Betty Crocker golden vanilla in the pics).  Feeling rather shitty, I retreated to my office to hang my head.  I noticed an email was waiting for me.  It was from one of the bosses.  FarcK!!!  Now what???  To my surprise, she asked me for the frosting recipe, deeming it "kick ass".  She said cake is really not worth eating unless it has frosting.  I had to agree.  She also asked how to make the cupcakes in the portion cups.  When we got to the filling part, I explained, "half full".  She then called me an optimist.  Hah!!!  I didn't dare tell her my reaction to seeing her name in my inbox!  I just repeated, "half full".

Happy Halloween!  And thank you, Jacy.

click on recipe title for printable recipe
Mini Cupcakes

     1 box cake mix, any flavor
     33-40 2 oz. paper portion cups

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or whatever the box says).  Prepare cake mix according to directions on box.  Fill each paper portion cup half full.  Do not fill any more!  Place filled cups on a baking sheet.  Bake 15-19 minutes (depending on cake mix).  Remove to rack to cool.  Frost when completely cool.

Kick Ass Frosting

     1 c milk
     1/4 c flour
     1 c butter, softened
     1 1/2 tsp extract
     1 c  + 2 tbsp powdered sugar, sifted

Combine milk and flour in a small saucepan.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, until thick. Remove from heat and cool completely.  Cream butter until light and fluffy.  Add cooled milk mixture and blend well.  Add extract.  In 3 batches, add powdered sugar.  Beat 10 minutes or until frosting comes together.

Oyster Sauce Chicken Chow Mein

Last weekend, the Ds, The Help, and I headed to Honolulu to see Cirque du Soleil's Quidam.  I had seen Cirque's Mystere production a few years ago in Las Vegas, and I thought the Ds would enjoy the spectacle.  Our trip was just overnight, but we were able to do what we wanted.  We started the weekend off with lunch at my fave dim sum place, Legend Seafood Restaurant.  It was the first time The Help tried jellyfish, and he said it was something he would eat again.  The jellyfish came on a cold platter with thin-sliced pigs feet.  Yum!  Of course, we also had the egg custard tarts, and I was happy when both Ds said they enjoyed mine more. 

We didn't have much time before we had to head to the Blaisdell for Quidam.  Quidam was much better than Mystere.  Mystere had too many of the slow-moving acts.  That gets old after a while.  Overall, everyone enjoyed the show, and the candied nuts in the cone were really good.  The pecans were my favorite.

After the show we did a quick shopping run to TJ Maxx.  TJ Maxx is now D1's favorite store.  Unfortunately, we somehow forgot 1 of our bags at the counter, and The Help had to go back the next day to retrieve the bag.  D1 showed tremendous initiative by taking it upon herself to call the store to see if the bag was there.  Of course, she solicited a "finder's fee" for her good deed.  I complied because I had a Michael Kors blouse in the bag.

We ate a late dinner at Shokudo.  I tried taking pictures of the food, but none of the pics turned out.  D1 was so excited to dig into the honey toast.  I was more curious about the shrimp tempura, which, according to Honolulu Magazine is the crunchiest shrimp tempura in town.  The honey toast, in spite being of humble origins, was very good.  I know I can make a decent copy of it at home.  The tempura was rather disappointing.  It was full of batter.  Crispy batter, but still, batter.  I ate some kind of sushi with a ponzu sauce.  It was good, but after the shrimp tempura disappointment, we were going downhill fast.

We had brunch at another place featured in Honolulu Magazine, YogurStory.  YogurStory was a cute place located near Pagoda Hotel.  We parked in the same parking lot behind Sorabol where some idiot immigrant man backed his van up into my Nissan Stanza (I'm really dating myself now) twenty years ago.  Edz suggested I try the red carpet waffle.  It was alright, but the chantilly waffle was even better.  D1 and I shared a hurricane rice bowl too.  I would go back to YogurStory again, and next time, I'd like to try the fat pig fried rice.  I was going to have that this time, but at the last minute, I changed my mind.  Still, YogurStory was a nice change from Chinese food, which is what we normally eat in Honolulu and at home (see below digital scrapbook).

This free scrapbook design personalized with Smilebox

The one thing that gets me about the Ds is that whenever we have Chinese food, no matter where, no matter how fancy or how ghetto, they always need to order some kind of broccoli noodle dish.  Most of the time, they order beef broccoli cake noodle, but at Legend, they will get beef broccoli pan-fried noodle.  And here is the kicker. . .they will not eat the beef!  The broccoli and noodles get cleaned up, but the meat and gravy end up going on The Help's rice (I won't eat the beef, but I wouldn't order it with beef either if it was for myself).

At home, since I'm doing the cooking, I make it with chicken.  Hilo has no real (real=Chinese) noodle factory, so I buy what comes from Honolulu (Chun Wah Kam), which is ready-to-eat chow mein noodles.  This is not the same crispy stuff La Choy sells in a can.  These are egg noodles which have been boiled then pan fried.  The orange shreds in the picture below are carrots, which also remains uneaten by the Ds.  The broccoli will be gone at some point during the meal.  Like D2 tells me, "You can't put in enough broccoli, mom."

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Oyster Sauce Chicken Chow Mein

     1-2 lbs chicken breast, deboned and cut into 1" cubes
     1 tbsp shoyu
     1/4 c flour
     30-32 oz ready-to-eat chow mein noodles
     2 tbsp oil
     2 cloves garlic, crushed
     4 c broccoli spears
     1/2 c sliced carrots
     1/2 onion, sliced thin
     1/2 c oyster sauce
     1 tbsp sugar
     2 c water
     1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
     1 tbsp cornstarch
     1 tbsp water

Combine chicken cubes with shoyu.  Toss in flour and let stand for 10 minutes.  Stir together oyster sauce, sugar, w c water, and chicken bouillon powder.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, stir together cornstarch and 1 tbsp water.  Set aside.  Heat noodles in 250 degree oven for 10 minutes.  While noodles are heating, heat oil in wok.  Brown garlic and discard.  Brown chicken.  Remove when cooked.  Add vegetables and stir-fry fir 1 minute.  Return chicken to wok.  Add oyster sauce mixture.  Add cornstarch mixture.  Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens.  Pour over noodles.

Bi Bim Kook Soo

I had a special treat at work this week.  Two pals from my former office in Honolulu came to do a training for us.  I can't say I've ever stopped missing them.  Work has not ever been as good as the days I when I worked with them.  They are fun to be with, but they are also very efficient and know what they are doing.  Gosh, I miss those days!

I would like to thank fellow blogger Kellie Michelle for mentioning me in her blog.  Please check out her blog.  Her Sunday Lunch looked really yummy.  She made filled strawberries for dessert!

Okay, back to reality.  It is now October, and the weather here is hot!  It really doesn't feel like October at all.  Isn't October supposed to be cool?  I was actually going to blog about prime rib this week, but given how hot its been, I thought something lighter and cooler would be more appropriate. 

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Bi Bim Kook Soo

     1/2 - 1 lb cooked beef teriyaki, sliced in thin strips

     2 pkgs somen, cooked and drained

     2 bunches watercress, parboiled and chopped

     2 japanese cucumbers, sliced thin and salted

     sesame oil

Mix noodles with sesame oil to prevent sticking.  Squeeze water out of vegetables and combine with noodles.

     1/4 c vegetable oil

     1 tsp sesame oil

     3/4 c sugar

     1 c shoyu

     3 cloves garlic, smashed

     1/2 c sliced green onion

Combine vegetable oil, sesame oil, sugar, shoyu, garlic and green onion in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Pour over noodles and vegetables.  Add beef teriyaki.  Toss gently.

The Day That Went to the Dogs: Okinawan Sweet Potato Doggie Treats

I had great plans to bake and do all kinds of domestic spectacles which would even make Martha look pathetic (ok, maybe thats too strong a statement, but I'm trying to make a point here).  Instead, I ended up making doggie treats.  In the week I was on break, doggie treats were my legacy. I guess my dreams of giving the bird to the state and driving off into the sunset in my food truck is not going to happen this time.  By the time this post hits the internet, I will be back at work.  On the plus side, only 21 work days until the next holiday (General Election Day).  I will need to use a sick leave day sometime during that period to maintain my sanity.

Okinawan Sweet Potatoes

Actually, I cannot complain about fall break.  This was one of my most productive breaks ever.  I did manage to cook and bake things other than doggie treats.  We feasted on ginger green onion crab, egg custard tarts, apple tarts, peanut butter cookies, sushi, Texas-style smoked BBQ brisket, baked beans, cole slaw, okazu-ya food, and all kinds of cupcakes.  After feeding our faces, I suppose its only right that the dogs got a special treat too.

puree

In addition to all the cooking and feeding, I managed to evict D2 and re-claim my office.  Earlier in the week, the Ds decided to move both beds into the same bedroom.  The Ds together do not weigh more than 150 pounds collectively, and how they managed to move the bed to another bedroom is beyond me.  This move left D2's bedroom wide open for use.  Salivating madly, I suggested turning D2's room into a study/play room.  I got The Help to move D2's desk out of my office and into the new study/play room.  I will no longer need to walk through the mine field of crayons and little pokey things to get to my computer!

One thing I didn't get to do much of this break was sleep.  Nights were very restless.  My back has been bothering me, and even though I went to get a massage, I am still sore.  My neighbors went to Texas, Las Vegas, and Disneyland, and their dogs have been missing them tremendously.  One of their dogs kept escaping from the lead.  This caused The Help tremendous anxiety, as he constantly kept tabs on the dog.  The other dog, a cute puppy named Patches, barked ALL NIGHT.  The barking set off my babies, which resulted in them taking turns with the bark collar.  Maybe during winter break, I will come up with a way to put some kind of sleeping ingredient into the doggie treats.

I posted pics of the doggie treats on my facebook page, and several of my friends asked for the recipe.  For my friends in Hawaii, Okinawan sweet potatoes are easy to get, as most farmers markets and supermarkets sell them.  In my experience, they are drier than orange-fleshed large sweet potatoes (garnet yams) that normally begin appearing in supermarkets around this time of year.  If using those potatoes, just add less water when making the puree.

The dough was one of the easiest handling doughs I have ever worked with.  The rolling was done on a non-stick baking mat with a silicone rolling pin, and I did not need to add any additional flour to prevent sticking.  The cutting was equally simple.  I only wish cut-out sugar cookies were this easy. 

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Okinawan Sweet Potato Doggie Treats

     1/2 lb Okinawan sweet potato
     water
     1 1/2 tbsp oatmeal, ground to sand consistency
     2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
     3 tbsp creamy peanut butter
     2 eggs

Boil Okinawan sweet potato in water to cover for 45 minutes.  Cover with cold water and peel when cool enough to handle.  Dice in 1/2" cubes.  Blend with 1/4 c water until smooth.  Measure out 3/4 c of puree.  Add remaining ingredients and stir until mixture begins to come together.  Knead by hand until dough is smooth.  Roll out to 1/4" thickness and cut with desired cookie cutters.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Since we are counting. . .less than 50 days til winter break!

I am not sure what got into me after all the baking, cooking, and evicting, but just before the weekend, I decided to clean and reorganize the laundry room.  For fear of the "before" pictures going viral, I decided not to take any pictures of the room (although I posted the female shoe collection on facebook).  The Help added standards and shelves, and I went to Target and bought out their supply of clearance bins.  In trying to help me organize my things, The Help had a wonderful idea:

Yes, those are some of my cookie cutters strung on a clean bungee cord!  I arranged the cutters by seasons, so its a visual reminder to get busy with those Halloween cookies.  It also keeps the cookie cutters from being smashed in the bins.  The Help is so smart!