By Request
When a restaurant dish tastes good; people like it. But when they like it enough to remember it and come back for it again -- that's when a recipe proves its staying power. Dishes that are worth
a repeat visitJust about every restaurant has a dish or two that can't be removed from the menu because the customers won't let them go. Today's requests cover restaurant specialties that have what it takes to stick around.
Keep in mind with both these recipes that the restaurants make them in large quantities, so portions had to be reduced to make them practical for home use. This explains some of the odd proportions (such as 1-3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chicken stock). Your results may be slightly different from what you've had at the restaurant, but you should be within striking distance.
Howard Yamasaki's favorite dish from Ryan's Grill is the Cajun Chicken Fettuccini. Him and a whole lot of other people.
Chef Bill Bruhl says the recipe came from Paul Prudhome's New Orleans restaurant years ago when Prudhome trained several Ryan's chefs on Cajun seasonings and Cajun dishes.
"It's an item I would never even think of removing from the menu."
The complexity of the dish is what makes it work, Bruhl says, specifically the seven dry spices in the Spice Mix that flavors the sauce.
"It's really a great, great sauce," Bruhl says. It's made by layering flavor upon flavor."
Cajun Chicken Fettuccini
3 tablespoons Spice Blend (recipe follows)
2 pounds chicken tenderloins, in 1-by-1-inch pieces
1/2 pound unsalted butter
1-1/2 pounds fettuccini, blanched al denté
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Green onion curls, for garnish (see note)
>> Sauce:
6 ounces (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/3 medium onion, in 1/8-inch dice
3 whole garlic cloves
1-1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
Scant 2 teaspoons thyme
1 heaping teaspoon cayenne
Scant teaspoon white pepper
Pinch black pepper
Scant 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1-3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons chicken stock
1-1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 teaspoons Tabasco
3 cups tomato sauce
1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 bunch green onions, in 1/8-inch slicesTo make sauce: Melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions and whole garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and dry seasonings. Cook until onions are dark brown.
Add stock, Worcestershire and Tabasco. Bring to a rapid simmer and cook 20 minutes.
Add tomato sauce and return sauce to a simmer. Stir in sugar and onions and continue to simmer for 1 hour.
To prepare pasta: Rub spice blend into chicken pieces.
Melt butter over medium heat. Add chicken and sauté until just cooked. Add sauce and cook 1-1/2 to 2 minutes. Add pasta and toss to coat. Continue to sauté until sauce clings to pasta.
Serve in large dish, garnished with Parmesan and green onion curls. Serves 8.
Note: To make curls, slice green onion thinly on the bias. Soak in ice water; slices will curl.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (not including Parmesan garnish): 830 calories, 45 g total fat, 26 g saturated fat, 240 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,500 mg sodium, 66 g carbohydrate, 40 g protein.*
Spice Blend
3 tablespoons Kosher salt
1 tablespoon white pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
5 teaspoons cayenne pepper
3 teaspoons black pepper
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1-1/2 teaspoons dried basilCombine all ingredients and store in an airtight container.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per teaspoon: 5 calories, no fat or cholesterol, 580 mg sodium, 0.5 g carbohydrate, no protein.*
A SALAD DRESSING may not be your idea of a true restaurant dish, but customers can grow quite attached to them.
Joe Edwards found the Umeboshi Dressing served at Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar to be an attention-getter over and above the actual salad it was served on.
Chef Sean Kinoshita says the dressing -- made with ume, or Japanese pickled plum -- has been on the Sansei menu since before the restaurant expanded from Maui to Oahu.
It's served with mixed greens, but Kinoshita recommends serving it with a Thai grilled beef salad or as a drizzle over grilled fish.
At home he uses it as a dip with simple wedges of iceberg lettuce, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. "It's awesome ... Instead of a fork, I just use my hands. Tastes good that way."
Umeboshi Dressing
3/4 cup ume
1/2 cup liquid from ume jar
1-1/2 cup rice vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
3-1/2 tablespoons hondashi
3-1/2 tablespoons finely chopped Maui onion
2 teaspoons finely ground white pepper
3-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
3/4 tablespoon dry mustard
3/4 tablespoon chopped garlic
2-1/4 cups cottonseed oilRemove seeds from ume and mash, to make 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of ume paste. (Note: If your jar of ume doesn't yield 1/2 cup of liquid, place seeds in small amount of water and rub with the back of a spoon to release juice. Discard seeds and use flavored water to supplement liquid from the jar.)
Combine ume paste, ume liquid and all the other ingredients except the oil. Purée in blender. Drizzle in oil and continue blending until emulsified. Makes about 3-1/2 cups.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per 2 tablespoon serving: 200 calories, 20 g total fat, 4 g saturated fat, no cholesterol, greater than 500 mg sodium, 10 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein.*
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.
