Tom's Hawaiian Papayamole

Ingredients:
Small Strawberry papaya - very ripe
6 Small cooked shrimp - w/o tails
A few green onions
Lemon
Hawaiian sea salt
Red pepper flakes/chili powder/ichimi togarashi (optional)
Sugar (optional)
Ritz crackers

Directions:
Cut and de-seed the papaya. Scoop out and cut into bits. Chop up shrimp. Combine and add a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. You may keep the papaya/shrimp chunky like salsa, or food process it so that it's more smooth like guacamole. Once it's at the consistency you like, stir in green onions. Spoon onto crackers!

Variations: you may also substitute sugar for salt, an a sweet onion for the green onion. This will make it sweeter vs savorier. And if you're like me, I need more kick so I garnished with some red pepper flakes, etc.

Ps this recipe was originally the idea of Divemaster Tom Wong. If you enjoy it, don't thank me, thank the Wong Tom. :)

Try Try 'Ems

Ingredients:

bread or pizza dough
crumbled bacon
alfredo sauce
fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
prepare your dough as directed, then roll it out and cut into 2" x 10" or so strips - maybe a pinch narrower. create an even number of strips. cutting the dough with a pizza cutter works well. brush on alfredo sauce atop each strip. sprinkle every other strip with crumbled bacon. grind pepper over all strips. turn over non-baconed strip onto a baconed strip (alfredo side down). this will make a long, skinny alfredo-bacon-pepper sandwich of sorts. lightly press together, and maybe even pinch the edges together a bit to help it stay together. do this for each pair of dough strips. give 2-3 half twists for each strip. then bake as directed for your dough... or maybe about 400 degrees for 15 minutes or so (convection), at least until dough is golden. remove from oven. brush the twist-strip with alfredo and pepper again in the edge/cracks where you see the bacon inside part.

consume. (he go, eh?)

notes: when brushing the final alfredo, you can also choose to use butter. the alfredo / pepper combo makes the twist taste similar to biscuits and gravy. experiment with maybe... ground beef/pizza sauce/cayenne... bbq sauce/cheddar/pulled pork.

* what's with that name? ...well, instead of something obvious, like "alfredo bacon twists", i happened to be watching an episode of Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe. they were in hawaii making "dirt shirts". the silk screen lady, had a shirt that said "try try em" on the front and "he go, eh?" on the back. "try try em" is a means of encouragement/suggestion to try whatever it is you're doing. "he go, eh?" is a response/confirmation stating that what you just try-tried was a success. (of course if what you tried wasn't good, then "he no go". anyway, as i was making these, watching the show and then eating this new creation, and in the spirit of hawaii/my inventive recipes, i named these twists as such! give this (or any of my recipes) a shot. you might just like them. Try try the Try Try 'Ems!

Cocoa-Cashew Banana Bread

Ingredients:

2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c chopped cashews
3 very ripe bananas
1/4 c vanilla yogurt
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons butter, melted & cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tablespoons cocoa powder


Pre-heat oven to 350. Grease loaf pan or even 9x9 glass dish.

Combine and wisk all dry ingredients. Set aside.

In mixing bowl, hand mix (or use kitchen mixer on low) to combine wet ingredients. Slightly lumpy is ok.

Combine wet & dry ingredients, folding until just mixed. Do not over mix. Put batter into your pan/dish.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. Err on the side of slightly less to avoid drying out the bread. Remove from oven, let cool 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack.

Enjoy!

* recipe adapted from "the best cookbook ever" p 391

Orange-Almond Biscotti

3 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1.5 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup whole almonds with skins, toasted, cooled, and chopped coarse
3 tablespoons orange zest

l.preheat oven to 350 degrees. sift flour, baking powder,
and salt together in medium bowl.

2. Cream butter and sugar together until light and smooth,
about 2 minutes with mixer set at medium speed.
Beat in eggs one at a time, then extracts. Stir in
almonds and zest. Sprinkle dry ingredients over egg
mixture, then fold in until dough is just mixed.

3. Halve dough and turn each portion onto an
oiled cookie sheet covered with parchment. Using
floured hands, quickly stretch each portion of dough
into a rough 13 x 2-inch 1og, placing them about 3
inches apart on the cookie sheet. Pat each dough
shape to smooth it. Bake, turning pan once, until
loaves are golden and just beginning to crack on top,
about 30 minutes.

4. Cool the loaves for 10 minutes; Cut each loaf diagonally
into 1/2-inch slices with a serrated knife (gently, they may crumble). Lay the slices
flat, about 1/2 inch apart on the cookie sheet and
return them to the oven. Bake, turning over each
cookie halfway though baking, until crisp and golden
brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Watch that they don't get too dark. Transfer biscotti to wire rack and cool completely.

Biscotti can be stored in an airtight container for 2 weeks.

*feel free to use other zest and try different extracts and nuts!

**recipe adapted from "the best recipe" cookbook

Pieces de Vu

Ingredients
1 cantaloupe, sliced and sectioned
1 pkg proscuitto
1 container fresh olive-sized mozzarella balls (plain, not marinated)
Colored toothpicks



Cut cantaloupe in half, long-ish way. Scoop out all the seeds and insides. Cut each half into about 5 crescents. Cut the rind away from each crecent and then cut each crecent into about 6 cube-ish pieces. Feel free to snack on the tips of the crecents as you go! Set these all aside on your serving dish.

As you go, cut the proscuitto into 2"x4" pieces or so. Next, fold or wrinkle the piece of proscuitto and stick it with a toothpick. Next put a mozzarella ball on one end of the toothpick. Finally poke the toothpick into a cantaloupe piece, mozzarella ball side up so you have cantaloupe on bottom, proscuitto in the middle and mozzarella ball on top.

Hopefully you will have a little bit of toothpick sticking out of the top to act as a pickup point (and some party color). And depending on the size of your cantaloupe and mozzarella balls, cut sizes accordingly.

When eating, try to get the whole thing in your mouth at the same time. The proscuitto adds just a hint of salt to the cantaloupe and finishes with a great taste of cheese goodness.


* "Pieces de Vu" came from a dream when I was trying to figure out a name for these. Loosely translated it means: highly regarded pieces

Fox Point Popcorn

Ingredients:
1 cup popping corn
Fox Point seasoning
3 tbsp canola oil (or other high smoke-point oil)
1 tbsp unsalted butter (optional)

Really this recipie is nothing more than popcorn and your seasoning of choice, but after adding some Fox Point Seasoning (http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysfoxpoint.html) to fresh popcorn. Fox Point Seasoning smells and tastes similar to Stove Top stuffing. It's delicious!

In heavy pan with lid, heat oil and butter on med-high heat. When butter is melted, add popcorn and place lid on pan. Keep on heat and give the pan a shake & swirl every 20-30 seconds until the corn starts popping. Keep listening so when is stops popping you can take the pan off the heat so it doesn't burn.

Pour popcorn into bowl, trying to keep out any unpopped kernels that will probably be at the bottom. Now shake in your Fox Point Seasoning to taste and enjoy! (I suppose you could add some Fox Point to the the oil so it gets on the kernels as they pop.)

Red Ants on a Log

dried cranberries
cream cheese
celery

This is a simple variation to the popular "(Regular) Ants on a Log".

First separate the celery stalks and trim the tops and bottoms.

Next, spread cream cheese into the celery's groove.

Finally, stick the cranberries on top of the cream cheese.