By Request

BETTY SHIMABUKURO

Wednesday, June 27, 2001

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STAR-BULLETIN.COM
Seafood Primavera can be made with any favorite pasta.

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Two tasty weekend winners

A whole lot of people are a whole lot rounder today, having chewed their way through the two dozen food stations at Taste of Honolulu over the weekend.

The annual event drew more than 50,000 people and raised about $260,000 for Easter Seals Hawaii. Billy Gabriel, vice president of development for Easter Seals, called the total a great 10th birthday present for the event.

A Taste tradition, besides over-eating, is to poll the crowd for their favorite dishes. Here are two of the top vote-getters.

Diane Agabides, chef and owner of Diane's Boston's Best Seafood in Kailua, says the ingredients and quantities listed for this Seafood Primavera dish are approximations and suggestions. She recommends that you substitute the vegetables and seasonings you like, and taste as you go.

The dish was the winner in the pasta category.

Seafood Primavera

1 cup EACH celery, onion, bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, julienned
1 stick butter
1 pound Boston cod or haddock (or substitute with local fish)
1/2 pound fresh scallops
1/2 pound shrimp
1/4 cup crab meat

2 cups half-and-half
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 cups cooked pasta of choice
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning, or to taste (see note)
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté all vegetables in butter over medium heat. Add fish, then Old Bay and salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning to your liking. Sauté vegetables and fish until tender. Add scallops and shrimp. Sauté another 6 to 8 minutes. Add crab meat.

Pour in enough half & half to cover the seafood and vegetables. Add cheese. Continue to cook at medium heat 4 to 5 minutes. Serve over pasta. Serves 4.

Note: Old Bay seasoning is a packaged mix of Cajun-style herbs and spices sold in supermarket spice aisles and sometimes near the seafood counter. You can substitute your favorite herbs.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (based on Rotini pasta and not including salt to taste): 980 calories, 36 g total fat, 20 g saturated fat, 240 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,100 mg sodium, 92 g carbohydrate, 68 g protein.*

Ciao Mein's Bistecca. Top tastes Taste of Honolulu winners: Best Beef: Ciao Mein, Bistecca Best Dessert: Canoes at the Ilikai, Roasted-Apple Spring Roll Best Pork: Tony Roma's, St. Louis-Style Pork Ribs Best Pasta: Diane's Boston's Best Seafood, Seafood Primavera Best Poultry: Tony Roma's, Barbecue Chicken Best Salad: Planet Hollywood, Caesar salad Best Seafood: Chai's Island Bistro, Katifi-Crusted Jumbo Prawns Best Vegetarian: Musashi, Vegetarian sushi

Winner in the category of Best Beef was Bistecca, served as a trio of seared slices, brushed with garlic butter.

Bistecca

4 7-ounce New York steaks
>> Marinade:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons minced shallots
4-1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
8 large basil leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon course black pepper

Pound steaks to tenderize. Combine marinade ingredients and pour over steaks. Marinate overnight.

Broil steaks to desired doneness, then brush with garlic butter (below).

Garlic Butter

1 block sweet butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup minced parsley
1 teaspoon chopped basil
1 teaspoon chopped oregano

Thoroughly combine all ingredients; refrigerate.

Nutritional information unavailable.

Food Stuffs: Morsels

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.