Category Archives: Great Finds

Reveling In Milkboy Swiss Chocolates

Posted on by Leave a comment
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.

Read more

The Fried Bacon Hack

Posted on by 2 comments
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.

Read more

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

Posted on by 4 comments
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.

Read more

Hawaii Eats: Waicoco at the Westin Maui Resort, Maui

Posted on by Leave a comment
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.

Read more

Lemon Espresso Pie To Brighten the Day

Posted on by Leave a comment
Two different layers of lemony goodness, plus hot fudge sauce, and vanilla-scented whipped cream, make for one outrageously good pie.
Two different layers of lemony goodness, plus hot fudge sauce, and vanilla-scented whipped cream, make for one outrageously good pie.

After all this merciless rain — including the destruction it has wrought even as it’s vanquished our years-long drought — it’s a relief to experience some sunshine, isn’t it?

Yet even on the dreariest, gloomiest day, there’s an ideal way to brighten things up majorly.

Just bake this “Lemon Espresso Pie” that dazzles and delights with a burst of bright sunny citrus in its thick, pudding-like filling, as well as in its crowning layer of velvety lemon curd.

The recipe is the cover star of the cookbook, “Justice of the Pies” (Clarkson Potter, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

The cookbook is by By Maya-Camille Broussard, chef-owner of the Justice of the Pies bakery in Chicago and member of the deaf and hard of hearing community.

Established 9 years ago, this is a social mission-based bakery that proudly started the “I Knead Love Workshop,” which provides elementary-aged kids from lower-income communities instruction on nutrition and basic cooking.

Read more
« Older Entries Recent Entries »