builicious

Sigh, before I left for my sunny West Coast vacation with my brother a couple weeks ago, I departed a sunny, 70 degree Madison. The realist in me knew Wisconsin doesn’t typically warm up until late April, but the possibility of an early spring tricked me into thinking the warm weather was here to stay. Despite having a lovely week of sun, surf, and some of the best sushi in California, I returned to find that had Mother Nature buried my car in 5 inches of snow. Desperately missing the sun, I threw a luau party (for one) to keep my chin up as I power through these last lingering weeks of winter chill.

Naturally, what luau could call itself a luau without some pineapple and Spam? Did you know that Hawaiians are the world’s largest consumers of Spam? Although initially introduced during World War II as a wartime food staple, Spam has become deeply ingrained into Pacific Island cuisine. You can find it in sushi, stir frys, and even in burgers in Hawaii. I especially love it with some fried rice. Throw in some pineapple and say aloha to summer! Tropical tip: slice a pineapple in half (this is way easier to do than you think), scoop out the insides, and voila a festive pineapple bowl to serve your rice in. You’ll impress your guests AND reuse parts of the pineapple you would have tossed anyway. Add even more island flair with some fresh flowers!

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Breakfast

Coconut Curry French Toast

March 11, 2015

I’ve never really been a breakfast person until brunch became an overnight millennial social establishment and I realized that waking up to the smell of my boyfriend making fresh coffee and eggs is a magical feeling. However, as soon as I sit down at an establishment that serves breakfast food, I am met with my usual first world problem – do I want something sweet or savory? Will the aroma of sizzling sausage and bacon call my name or will the thrill of watching syrup drizzle over my pancakes send me over the edge? Well, it’s a breakfast for dinner kind of night and I decided to choose both. After all, why can’t french toast be savory too?

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A touch of curry powder and coconut milk give this french toast recipe a little kick. It’s still delicious with classic butter, syrup and powdered sugar, but this evening I went the savory route with a poached egg and fresh parsley. Heavenly!

Pork

Five Spice Pork Chops

March 7, 2015

Pork chops seem to have a bad rep. Has anyone ever noticed that pork chops served with sad potatoes and soggy green beans are always the meal featured on every American TV show or movie with a family dinner scene? After making this connection while watching Family Guy, I embarked on a mission to make pork chops sexy. This five spice pork chop recipe is named so for two reasons: I used Chinese five spice, a beautiful combination of star anise, cloves, ginger, fennel and peppercorn, as a dry rub and added in five different peppers to make an incredibly spicy and savory glaze. The result: two meaty hunks of burning love.

Five Spice Pork Chops (Serves 2)
• 2 pork loin chops, thick cut
• 1 tbsp Chinese five spice powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1-2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 cup fresh orange juice, about 4 oranges
• 2 tbsp honey
• 5 cayenne peppers, sliced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
• 1 habanero pepper, sliced
• 1 banana pepper, sliced
• 1 small sweet pepper, sliced
• cilantro, for garnish

1. In a bowl, mix yogether five spice powder, salt and black pepper. Generously apply dry rub to pork chops on both sides and place on a baking sheet. Refrigerate for 3 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a cast iron skillet with sesame oil. Remove seasoned pork chops from refrigerator and place into cast iron skillet. Bake for 1 hour, turning pork chops halfway through.

3. Remove skillet from oven and sear pork chops on high heat for 1 minute on each side, until a golden brown crust develops. Place seared pork chops on a separate plate.

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4. Add orange juice, honey and sliced peppers into the skillet with pork drippings on high heat until sauce thickens and peppers become tender. Remove from heat.

5. Return seared pork chops into the skillet and coat evenly with sauce. Delightfully sweet and spicy!

Snacks

Wasabi Soy Chex Mix

March 5, 2015

Salty snacks are seriously my jam. Chips, pretzels, popcorn, crackers, you name it, I love it. Ever since my boyfriend introduced me to House of Cards early this week (I know, I know, I’m super late to the game), I’ve found myself in three episodes deep every night, sleepily emerging from the couch in the wee hours of the night, realizing that I never actually had a proper dinner. Enter Chex mix, the Cadillac of salty snacks, and my savior from Netflix induced starvation. I never actually had homemade Chex mix as a kid, though those old commercials always made me wonder how they’d come out. Well I finally got to try out my childhood curiosity and let me tell you, homemade Chex mix is SO much better than the kind that comes in a bag. Not only do you get to use ingredients that you actually like (I’ve probably dedicated 300 hours of my life picking out those awful square pretzels) but your kitchen radiates with feel good aroma. Try out this Oriental style mix!

Wasabi Soy Chex Mix (Yields 10 Cups)
• 4 cups Chex, rice, corn and/or wheat
• 2 cups pretzels
• 1 1/2 cup wasabi peas
• 1 cup sesame sticks
• 1 cup cashews
• 1 cup rice crackers
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp wasabi powder

1. In a small bowl, whisk together butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, ginger and wasabi powder. In a separate bowl, mix Chex, pretzels, sesame sticks, cashews, rice crackers and wasabi peas.