Category Archives: Great Finds

The Convenience of Roasted Artichokes with Fennel and Tarragon

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Canned artichoke hearts get revived in a glorious way in this simple recipe.
Canned artichoke hearts get revived in a glorious way in this simple recipe.

We interrupt this program for a nifty little side dish recipe.

It’s one that’s highly worthy of your attention because it utterly transforms frozen or canned artichoke hearts into an easy side dish sure to impress.

What I especially love is that the slightly off-putting tinny and acidic taste of plain canned artichoke hearts is vanquished in this method, leaving them as vibrant as fresh ones in season but without all the prepping usually involved.

“Roasted Artichokes with Fennel and Tarragon” is from “Vegan Cooking for Two,” of which I received a review copy.

The cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen includes more than 200 recipes handily scaled for plant-based households of two. They feature hearty grains, proteins such as tofu and tempeh, beans galore, plant-based ground meat, and plant-based cheeses.

There’s everything from “Garlic and Herb Burgers with Beet Tzatziki” (made with plant-based ground meat), “Charred Cabbage Salad with Torn Tofu and Plaintain Chips,” and “Creamy Cashew Mac and Cheese” to “Meaty Zoodles with Mango and Garam Masala” (made with plant-based ground meat, plant-based yogurt, and zucchini noodles), and “Individual Lemon-Poppy Seed Cakes” (made with plant-based butter and plant-based egg).

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Reveling In Milkboy Swiss Chocolates

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Milkboy Swiss Chocolates' newest bar.
Milkboy Swiss Chocolates’ newest bar.

Ah, the Swiss — they sure know how to make timepieces. And they certainly have a way with chocolate.

Milkboy Swiss Chocolates is a prime example of that.

Gluten-free, non-GMO, soy-free, and certified Kosher, the award-winning chocolates are produced in Switzerland, using milk sourced from the Swiss Alpine region and Rainforest Alliance-certified cocoa.

Recently, I had a chance to sample its chocolate bars, including its newest in the lineup, Alpine Milk with Refreshing Lemon and Ginger Bar.

What you notice immediately with any of the chocolates upon placing a square upon your tongue is just how creamy the texture and how smoothly it melts in your mouth.

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The Fried Bacon Hack

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Like deep-fried bacon -- without actually deep-frying.
Like deep-fried bacon — without actually deep-frying.

This is probably one of the shortest — and easiest — recipes around.

And definitely one of the most delectable.

If you are a bacon fan, this method will blow your mind, as it results in the crunchiest bacon that will decidedly up your morning breakfast or BLT game.

“Joe’s Famous ‘Fried’ Bacon” is a recipe from “Food52 Simply Genius” (Ten Speed Press, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

This handy-dandy cookbook is by Kristen Miglore, a founding editor of Food52, the online portal for recipes and culinary content.

Food52 cookbooks are usually thematic, and this one is no different, centering on genius tricks, tips or methods to make cooking easier, quicker or more scrumptious.

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Hawaii Eats: Tiffany’s and Papa’aina, Maui

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The incredible Peking Pata at Tiffany's.
The incredible Peking Pata at Tiffany’s.

Tiffany’s

Wailuku, Maui, HI — If there’s one chef who embodies aloha spirit and is the ultimate cheerleader for Maui’s hospitality industry, it has to be Sheldon Simeon.

The “Top Chef” star who was voted “Fan Favorite” of the Bravo TV competition not once but twice, has the golden touch when it comes to heading restaurants, from his days at Star Noodle, Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop to Migrant, Lineage, and finally, Tin Roof. In essence, if he opens it, they will come.

Such was the case, too, when he and his wife Janice Simeon bought the nearly two-decade-old Tiffany’s restaurant last year when its former owners, the Orite family, decided to retire. Long an old-school locals’ favorite, the expansive restaurant had a lived-in look and a huge menu leaning into Chinese, Japanese and Korean classics.

When the Simeons took over, they refreshed the interior a bit, but kept its funky island flair. The menu was honed, with some more Filipino influences added, as well as a few of Simeon’s signatures such as his version of Fat Chow Funn.

A little out of the way, but definitely worth the trek.
A little out of the way, but definitely worth the trek.

Having visited nearly every other one of their restaurants, my husband and I couldn’t pass up dining at Tiffany’s on our most recent visit to Maui last month.

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Hawaii Eats: Waicoco at the Westin Maui Resort, Maui

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The biggest slab of seared ahi I've ever had -- at Waicoco.
The biggest slab of seared ahi I’ve ever had — at Waicoco.

Lahaina, Maui, HI — It’s been nearly four years since I last stepped foot inside a plane. (Yeah, thanks a heap, Covid.) But with a gracious invitation to stay and dine this year at the Westin Maui Resort & Spa as its guest, Hawaii proved the perfect destination to take to the skies once again.

With its low infection rate and year-round balmy weather that makes outdoor or open-air dining possible year-round, Hawaii was one of the first prime destinations that travelers headed to in droves once the pandemic began to subside. That proved both unnerving — since Maui, for instance, only has two hospitals — and a boon, because Hawaii’s main industry of tourism bounced back more quickly than anticipated.

Save for mask wearing at times indoors by some workers, locals and yours truly, you’d never know anything had ever been amiss because crowds of visitors were definitely back in force when I visited the Westin Maui last month.

The waterfall at the Westin Maui.
The waterfall at the Westin Maui.
The resort has flamingos.
The resort has flamingos.
And talking parrots.
And talking parrots.

Once checked in, many of those tourists probably never left the grounds, either, as this sprawling beachfront resort has everything one could need.

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