Saturday, June 30, 2012

GUERRERO TOSTADAS

GUERRERO TOSTADAS
DINNER AT HOME

Picked up some Guerrero Tostadas at Foodland Farms.  These things are great if you want to make a quick and easy tostada without frying corn tortillas in oil.  I spread some Rosarita Refried Beans on the Tostada.  Then added some of my smoked chicken slices from yesterdays dinner.  Popped this in the microwave for 45 seconds to heat.  Topped with shredded lettuce, grated cheese and tomato, onion and cilantro.  Add your favorite hot sauce and you have a great homemade Tostada in about the same amount of time as making a sandwich.

BEAN AND CHICKEN TOSTADAS

GUERRERO TOSTADAS.
FORGET BRINGING OUT THE FRYING PAN AND OIL

EWA BEACH GOLF CLUB

EWA BEACH GOLF CLUB
EWA BEACH, HAWAII

EWA BEACH GOLF CLUB
91-050 FT. WEAVER ROAD
EWA BEACH, HI  96706
808-689-6565
808-689-4208 FAX

Blessed to play another round of golf in Paradise.  The Ewa Beach area is a golfers dream.
There are so many courses to play within a five mile radius.  The Ewa Beach Golf Course is nice.  Pretty straight forward.  If you can hit the ball straight (I cannot) you can score low here.
Started my round with a Breakfast Sandwich ($6) in the Restaurant that is located above the Pro Shop.  They serve a full breakfast and lunch menu but I just wanted something to start the day.  The breakfast sandwich served here is basically an egg on bread with your choice of  bacon, ham or Portuguese sausage.  I went with the sausage.  Pretty bland sandwich.  I added some pepper and Tabasco Sauce but that didn't help much.  Coming around after the third hole the course has a snack shop.  We picked up some cold beverages, sandwiches, Spam Musubi and a Hot Dog.  The Dog was good for $4.
UPDATE: 12/21/13 - Added photos of the Ewa Golf Club Menu.  After a round of golf where I did exceptionally well and won our company Club Championship, we enjoyed a light lunch.  The Chicken Wings ($9.95) were large and meaty and had a pretty good sauce.  Lacked heat though.  Wings needed a bit more sauce and some heat.  The Cold Ramen Salad ($7.95) was liked by one of my co-workers.  I enjoyed the Taco Salad ($9.25).  Meat was well seasoned and the greens were fresh.  Liked the jalapeƱos that I found near the bottom of the dish.

RESTAURANT HAS GREAT VIEW OF PUTTING AND CHIPPING AREAS 
LARGE TABLES AND NATURAL SUNLIGHT.
RESTAURANT WAS VERY CLEAN WITH NICE WAITRESS
PRETTY BLAND BREAKFAST SANDWICH.
EGG AND PORTUGUESE SAUSAGE
BEAUTIFUL FIRST HOLE WITH HAWAIIAN ARTIFACTS
SNACK SHOP ON COURSE RIGHT BEFORE 4TH HOLE.
SANDWICHES, BEER, DRINKS AND HOT DOGS SOLD HERE
GRAB A HOT DOG OR SANDWICH DURING YOUR ROUND OF GOLF
EWA BEACH GOLF CLUB ENTRANCE OFF FT. WEAVER ROAD 
ENTRANCE LEADS TO PRO SHOP - RESTAURANT IS UPSTAIRS
LARGE RESTAURANT OVERLOOKS PUTTING GREEN
REALLY GOOD CLUB SANDWICH 

 EWA BEACH GOLF CLUB RESTAURANT MENU 12/21/13

 BREAKFAST SERVED ALL DAY

 SALADS AND SANDWICHES

 MORE SANDWICHES, BURGERS AND HOT DOGS

 PLATE LUNCHES, SAIMIN AND RAME

 DAILY SPECIALS

 PUPU'S, NOODLES, SAIMIN AND CHICKEN

 COLD RAMEN

 CHICKEN WINGS

TACO SALAD
VIEW TOWARDS EWA BEACH FROM RESTAURANT
FIRST HOLE AT EWA BEACH GOLF CLUB
THE KAUHALE IS LOCATED ON LEFT OF FIRST HOLE TEE BOX
THE KAUHALE






FOLLOWING FROM THE GOLF CHANNEL REVIEW OF EWA BEACH GOLF CLUB

EWA BEACH, Oahu, Hawaii -- The Ewa Beach Golf Club seems to defy logic.
The 6,711-yard course sits in one of the driest spots on Oahu, roughly 40 minutes from Waikiki, yet the place is wall-to-wall green like it's wetter than Ireland.
"It is always in terrific condition. The greens are impeccable," said Fred Bogert, a golfer from Hawaii Kai who had just finished a round in January. "It doesn't rain around here too much. For the price, it's amazing you can't find a brown spot on the course."
Bogert quit gushing about Ewa Beach, then spoke in more hushed tones.
"I don't want to say too much because I don't want the best-kept secret in the [Hawaiian] islands to get out. For us, it's phenomenal [to play here]. The weather is always beautiful. I would hate for it to get out."
Too late, Fred.
The secret of Ewa Beach
Ewa Beach Golf Club opened in 1992 as the first course in Hawaii to plant Seashore Paspalum. This environmentally friendly grass, which is tolerant to saltwater, provides prime playing conditions that stay lush when other courses brown out.
The first thing golfers will notice is the unique archeological site -- one of several on the property -- next to the first tee. The "Kauhale" is a reconstructed residential complex that dates to the earliest record of occupation on the island somewhere between 1000 A.D. and 1695 A.D.
The Robin Nelson design starts out playing tight and unforgiving for the sprayer. The oddly shaped trees and branches of a Kiawe forest pinch the fairways of the first nine holes.
Justin Neal, who lives nearby, said Ewa Beach plays much different than the more open Hawaii Prince Golf Club just down the street.
"If you mishit, you are under trees," he said. "It's a beautiful course with great scenery, but you've got to play safe golf."
Five ponds impact eight holes, many on the more open back nine. The largest lake creates a dramatic stretch starting at No. 10, a strong par 5. The same hazard protects the 13th and 15th greens as well. No. 2, a par 4, and No. 16, a par 3, share a huge putting surface, the only double green on the island.
Bogert said the contrasting nines force him to change strategies off the tee.
"The first nine gets real tricky," he said. "With the narrow fairway, you must place the ball. I club down to a 3-wood. It's not about the hazard. It is about the placing and direction."
Ewa Beach Golf Club: The verdict
Ewa Beach looks and plays like one of the top public golf courses on Oahu, joining the ranks of the Ko Olina Golf ClubKo 'olau Golf ClubTurtle Bay Resort's two courses and theHawaii Prince Golf Club. The front nine plays tougher than the back, even though the potential to lose more balls comes later.

RIBS AND CHICKEN COOKED IN MASTERBUILT ELECTRIC SMOKER

MASTERBUILT ELECTRIC SMOKER
DINNER AT HOME

Picked up a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker on QVC for $199.  The product was shipped to Hawaii and in my backyard within 4 days of ordering it online.  I had never smoked before so I went online and searched for cooking techniques and recipes.  Watched a few youtube videos and then went to work.
I cooked pork ribs and two whole chickens at the same time in the smoker.  Pretty easy to use.  First you season the smoker by heating it up and then adding smoke chips.  I used hickory chips that I purchased at Williams and Sonoma for my BBQ.  I was amazed how much smoke comes out of this smoker.  My entire neighborhood smelled like a smokehouse.  Don't know what the neighbors thought but the smell was really heavy.  Still lingers out there.  Started by mixing up a really good dry rub that is provided with the smoker.  Rubbed it all over the ribs and chicken.  Wrapped them in foil and let them marinate overnight.  The recipe book said to marinate in rub for two hours.  The next evening I heated the smoker to 225 degrees.  Put in the hickory smoke chips and the ribs and chicken.  Smoked for 3 hours and then wrapped the ribs in foil and basted them with bbq sauce.  Smoked wrapped in foil for another two hours.  I left the chickens in for the entire five hour cooking time.  This was a little too much.  I added hickory chips that I soaked in water about every hour.  Just takes about a cup at a time.  The final smoked ribs and chicken were fantastic.  The ribs really took on the hickory flavor and were moist and delicious.  The chicken was a bit dry but the rub worked well and filled the birds with flavor. Really like this smoker.  Easy to use and big big smoke flavor.  Can't wait to do some more smoking this summer.

SMOKED CHICKEN

MASTERBUILT ELECTRIC SMOKER
4 SMOKING RACKS AND RACK FOR RIBS
ELECTRONIC TEMPERATURE CONTROL AND TIMER
DRY RUB RECIPE FROM MASTERBUILT SMOKER
SLAB OF RIBS FROM COSTCO
SPREAD DRY RUB ALL OVER THE RIBS
TWO WHOLE CHICKENS FROM COSTCO COST $6
TWO WHOLE CHICKENS WITH HEARTS, LIVER, GIZZARD AND NECK
COATED CHICKENS WITH THE DRY RUB 
RIBS REMOVED FROM SMOKER AFTER AROUND 5 HOURS
ADDED BBQ SAUCE FOR LAST HOUR OF SMOKING.  RIBS WERE MOIST AND DELICIOUS
SMOKED CHICKENS
SMOKED CHICKENS WERE A BIT DRY BUT DELICIOUS.
NEXT TIME I WILL REDUCE SMOKING TIME
SMOKED RIBS AND CHICKEN WERE GREAT!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

MAHI MAHI WITH VEGETABLES

MAHI MAHI WITH VEGETABLES
DINNER COOKED AT HOME

Wanted to cook up some fresh fish after having lots of meat in New York.
Took vegetables we had in the refrigerator and added some lemon grass, white wine
and butter to make a delicious and light dinner. 

MAHI MAHI WITH VEGETABLES

CHOP UP ALL THE VEGETABLES YOU HAVE IN THE FRIDGE.
ONIONS, GARLIC, BELL PEPPER, CARROTS, CELERY, ZUCCHINI
AND LEMON GRASS
FRESH MAHI MAHI AT $18.99 PER POUND
PLACE VEGETABLES ON BOTTOM OF ALUMINUM FOIL
PLACE MAHI MAHI ON TOP OF VEGETABLES
SALT AND PEPPER THE FISH AND VEGETABLES.  PLACE A
FEW PIECES OF BUTTER ON FISH AND POUR WHITE WINE
OVER FISH.
WRAP UP FISH AND VEGETABLES IN ALUMINUM FOIL
PLACE PACKETS ON GRILL AND COOK FOR AROUND 15 MINUTES
CLOSE GRILLE WHILE FISH AND VEGETABLES STEAM TO PERFECTION
FISH AND VEGETABLES ARE COOKED TO PERFECTION
TOP FISH WITH A BIT OF CILANTRO