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FOOD FOR THOUGHT By
Wanda A. Adams
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| • | Cool off with cukes |
I've spent my evenings for the past few months working on a new cookbook about Island-style entertaining and last week, I took a few days off to help with the photo shoot for the book.
What a blast! It was a huge amount of work for our team to prepare 24 recipes in three days, but when you see what a skilled photographer like Romeo S. Collado can do with the food you've prepared, the hours on your feet chopping and grilling and mixing are worth it.
These days, the work is done digitally, meaning that the photographer's sophisticated camera is hooked up to a TV monitor and you can see what you've shot within seconds, projected on a full-size screen. It's fascinating to watch the stylist and the creative director use all kinds of secret magic to make the food leap off the page.
A high point for me was when everyone raved about one of the recipes that I invented: a version of haupia that's rather different — creamy, not like gelatin. It's about as simple as a recipe can be. But it's extremely versatile and can be anything from a sauce to a pudding to a cake filling.
WANDA'S HAUPIA
Reserve 1/2 cup of coconut for later use and toast 1/4 cup coconut (place on baking sheet or pie pan and place in 400-degree oven; check every few minutes until the strands begin to color and brown).
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine coconut milk and condensed milk and whisk until incorporated. Add salt and stir; cook until small bubbles form around the perimeter; do not boil. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water to make a slurry; slowly whisk into saucepan and continue whisking just until thickened. Add the reserved 1/2 cup coconut. Serve or refrigerate.
* For a soft coconut sauce, use 2 tablespoons cornstarch. For a creamy textured pudding, use 3 to 3 1/2 tablespoons. For a stiff haupia filling for a cake or other dessert, use 4 1/2 tablespoons.
Makes 6 servings.
Send recipes and queries to Wanda A. Adams, Food Editor, Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Fax: 525-8055. E-mail: wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.
For more information about our 150th anniversary cookbook, call 535-8189 (message phone; your call will be returned). You can order the cookbook online.
