Wendell's Creamy Herbed Pork Chops

Wendell found the recipe for this dish here. It was really ono, but I think it would've been better if had some garlic too.

Ingredients

4 thick-cut pork chops

1 tsp Montreal steak seasoning

1/2 c butter, divided

2 1/2 tbs flour

1 tbs dried basil

1 tsp instant beef bouillon granules

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 c milk

Directions

Season pork chops on all sides with Montreal steak seasoning.

Melt 2 tbs butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook chops in melted butter until browned and slightly pink in the center, about 7 to 10 minutes per side. Add remaining butter to the pan as needed so that about 3 tbs pan drippings remain. Transfer pork chops to plate and return skillet to medium-high heat.

Mix flour, basil and beef bouillon together in a bowl. Stir black pepper into skillet with the pan drippings. Cook for 1 minute. Add flour mixture and cook, stirring constantly until browned, about 2 minutes. Pour milk into flour mixture and stir constantly until thick and bubbly, 4 to 6 minutes. Pour sauce over pork chops and serve. 

Weird-Looking Fish

I saw this strange-looking fish at Marukai.



The label says Red Gurnard, and it was $9.99 a pound!


It's called Houbou in Japanese, and according to Shizuoka Gourmet it can be eaten raw, in soup, simmered or steamed. 

QQ Tea House

This is a Honey Lemon Black Tea ($4.00) that I got from QQ Tea House a few weeks ago. The day had been so hot and sticky, and this was soooo refreshing, it made me go, "Ahhhhhhh!" 

QQ Tea House is on the corner of King Street and University Avenue, near where Uyeda Shoe Store is now, in the back of where Uyeda Shoe Store used to be. Is that confusing? 

Ok, how about QQ Tea House is on the corner of University and Kuilei which runs parallel to King?



Ok, how about I show you one map?  Except it's kinda off. QQ's should be below Uyeda Shoe Store, not above it. 😜


The lady there was kind enough to give me a fold-out menu. So nice. 

The Medal

Coworker Bien and his wife are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary this coming weekend. I told Bien that his wife should get a medal.

I pulled this pin out of my vintage rhinestone jewelry collection and asked Bien to give it to her. Trust me. She deserves it.

Wendell's Miso Grilled Chicken

Wendell made this awhile back (before my trip), and it was finger-licking good. The recipe is from Japanese Cooking 101 and can be found here. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup white miso paste
• 3 Tbsp mirin
• 2 Tbsp sake
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 4 chicken thighs

Instructions

1. Mix miso, mirin, sake, sugar, and soy sauce in a bowl. Marinade chicken thighs in miso mixture for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 425F. Wipe marinade liquid well from chicken and place chicken on oiled aluminum foil spread over a sheet pan. 
3. Bake for 15 minutes, turn over and bake 10-15 minutes more until cooked through.

Know Your States?

Coworker Mich and I met up with Kat (Adventures in Japan) this past weekend at Sophie's Pizza in Hawaii Kai.  Kat get da-kine photographic memory and did a way more awesome job describing our outing than I ever could've. You can check it out here. 

One of our topics of conversation involved identifying states. It reminded me of a blog post I did many years ago.  The link below takes you to a game where you have to put states where they belong.

http://jimspages.com/States.htm

This is my score on my first try.


Here's my second attempt.


Go try.  Good luck!

Kauai - Omiyage

My last Kauai post. Boy, I made that last long, yah . . . so sad to see it come to an end.  But . . . all good things . . . 

This is what I brought back for omiyage. 

Taro Ko taro chips ($5.00) and potato chips ($4.50).


Soooo delicious . . . Kauai Nut Roasters nuts. These bags were $6 each. They also come in a bigger $11 size. (Thank you so much, Lorna, for sending me more!!)


This is not really an exclusive Kauai thing, but Leslie bought a bag at Sueoka store in Koloa for $1 something and it was so good that I went back and got about a half dozen to bring back. 


This Kauai Kookie Macadamia Tea Cookie ($4.25) was really good. Wish I bought more.


This . . . also from Kauai Kookie . . . was 9 bucks! And I bought two bags! I didn't know the price and just took them to the register. What a surprise! It tastes good but . . . 18 bucks . . . for seed!


These were $3.75 each. I didn't get any for myself so I don't know how they taste.


From Tip Top . . . the plain was $3.50 and the chocolate dipped was $4.25. Wendell got the plain one. He said it was "okay".


These breadsticks were $3.95 each. 


This was also from Tip Top. I don't remember how much I paid. It wasn't too good. Maybe it's because I forgot about it and ate it two days later after I came home and unpacked. 


After we returned back home I learned about opihi cookies and Lawai manju. Wendell will be going to Kauai soon, so I've asked him to try check them out. Anything else? 

Anyway, that was such a fun trip, yah. Thanks Les!!!

Kauai - Po's Kitchen

Our last meal on Kauai was from Po's Kitchen. Sounds like a a noodle joint run by a goose and his panda son, right? We had actually planned on eating at Smiley's Local Grinds which is next door to Po's, but Smiley's looked crowded. As me and Les stood there debating if we should go into Smiley's a guy walks out of Po's with an armful of old-school box lunches. 

We weren't too keen on eating Chinese, but we walked on over and peered through the glass door.



Surprise!  It's not even Chinese . . . it's an okazuya! That'll work.


This is the deluxe box lunch ($8.65). It contains everything on the left side of the menu board. The regular has the same things but minus the shrimp tempura. I forget what's excluded in the small size.  It was good. We even ordered three more to go for the men back home.  They substituted long rice in place of the salad after I said that we were flying home with them later that day.  


There was a steady stream of customers who passed through while we ate. I'm glad. 

Kauai - Koloa History Center

Last Day!   After our Hanalei sunrise shoot, Tip Top breakfast and power nap, we headed out to Old Koloa Town, where it all began for me . . . the place where in 1902 my great grandparents first settled and started a new life . . . for themselves, their children and their future descendants. 











The Koloa History Center was my main focus of attention, and unlike my previous post, I took a lot of pictures here.