We’re off to a fantastic start! It’s amazing to me sometimes how well everything seems to come together for this group. With just a small bit of planning, we end up with a meal and an evening that always seems to mesh just perfectly.
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| Our Bar/Beverage Table |
Our host and hostess had us all set up for a night of enjoyment with thoughtful decorative touches to their “beverage table” and dining table, as well as some extras like tiki torches out front to welcome us and silly cardboard cutouts for goofy photo-ops (which, of course, our group was more than happy to make use of)! Everyone dressed the part; showing up in their island-wear as if we were arriving in Honolulu
As far as the meal goes, the surprise of the night was how well cheddar cheese pairs with pineapple as a side dish. One couple’s “Baked Hawaiian Pineapple” made an interesting and tasty pairing with the Kalua Smoked Pork we had as the focal point of our meal. Who knew? But that, after all, is why we push ourselves to try new things. I’ll blog more on the pork recipe later. It deserves special commentary all its own!
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| Plating up the salads |
For the nights “Best Dish” I’d have to say that the Kalua Smoked Pork wins, but with “Coconut Chocolate Pie” and the “Papaya & Avocado Tossed Salad” as very close seconds. All of these dishes were things none of us had previously prepared and they were beautiful as well as delectable. The pie was creamy and delightful but not overly rich and the salad had such a welcome balance of sweet from the papaya and the bright tang of lemon in the dressing.
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| Coconut Chocolate Pie |
I posted the recipe for the salad previously. Try it sometime! The only thing I did differently than printed was to garnish the greens with the papaya, avocado and onion on each plate rather than “tossing” them all together. For a plated, rather than buffet or family style, meal this worked better for presentation and does nothing to change the flavor.
More to come on the specifics of our luau, but for now it’s efficient to simply say it was “brok’ da mout”! That’s Hawaiian for “really delicious”!
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| Enjoying our meal together |
