Ono Hawaiian Mac

While in Hawaii this past week I was inspired to include the local culinary delicacies in my mac.  With help from my trusty side kick Jenai (who you may remember from here, here and here) and Leighton,

I set out to prepare a savory Hawaiian mac.  Hawaii's culinary environment stems from early plantation workers and a strong military influence creating a wonderful blend of Asian, Polynesian, Portuguese and American flavors.  And because I am such an eclectic culinary creator, I added anything and everything interesting that happened to be within eyesight.

 We diced the spam (yum, spam),

Added some Velveeta cheese, chili garlic sauce (aka rooster hot sauce), mustard, chilli powder and seasoned with salt and pepper.

 Stir in the prepared elbow macaroni.

At the very end we added some fish cake.  It is important to add this at the very end because it can become soggy if added too early.  The fish cake adds a punch of color along with a wonderfully sweet flavor to the mac.

Mix well.

Serve as a fantastic side dish to grilled sausage and asparagus,

Steak and grilled onions.

Next time you want a taste of the islands, prepare a savory and oh so ono local mac and cheese.

Sacramento In The House!!

What is true happiness? Is it money? Is it a big house or a fancy car? Or is it visiting friends and eating a fine mac and cheese dinner? For me, it is definitely the latter.

Pretty, pretty princess Jenai lives in Kauai.  Obviously she is a papaya farmer.  Anyway, it is a whole lot easier for me to visit her when she visits her family in Sacramento than making the trek to Kauai. Although I certainly don't mind visits to Kauai!  During her last trip to Cali, I flew on up to visit.  Because she is the most fantastical friend, she had mac and cheese waiting for me upon my arrival from the airport.

Obviously by the time I arrived, most of m&c had been eaten by pretty, pretty princess' family.  I honestly can't blame them because I wouldn't have been able to resist the cheesy goodness either.

In making this delightful dinner, pretty, pretty princess used Paula Deene's Creamy Macaroni and Cheese recipe but she doubled it (she knew how hungry we were) and added some pepper jack cheese.  It was an especially nice addition to pork loin, asparagus and caprese salad.

Even cute little babies love this recipe!

Cute little baby Leighton

This was the perfect way to start my vaca in Sac-town!  And in fact I ate it as a late night snack after dinner and again for breakfast. Equally amazing each time. Try it with your fav hot sauce.  Pretty, pretty princess recommends Tabasco^® Chipotle Pepper Sauce.

What is true happiness for you? I would love to hear!