I didn't expect to see a sheet of white outside my window. Fluffy snowflakes fell from the sky consistently throughout the day. The snow just kept piling on cars and sidewalks. Another snowy day in DC- This time conveniently on a federal holiday so we weren't deeply affected by the storm.
Today was the day to take out the Staub.
For years, T and I always wanted a Staub (yes, Team Staub! Not Team Le Creuset!).
It was always on our lists- Our Christmas list, our Birthday list, our "when-we-get-married-and-start-a-registry" list, our "kid's-birthday-present" list.
Every year, we telepathically communicated to Santa for a Staub pot. Whenever something lucky happened like getting an auspicious note from a fortune cookie, we bought lottery tickets in hopes of winning a million dollars so we could spend a small fraction on a Staub pot.
Well, well. When preparation meets opportunity, what happens? SUCCESS!
The universe aligned with us a few months ago.
While window shopping at our favorite cookware store, we spotted a Staub on sale! It was hidden under boxes like buried treasure. We immediately took the box and headed to the register without any hesitation.
Meet Amelie, our Staub. Isn't she a beauty? (...yes, we named it Amelie cause Staub is French).
With the help from Amelie, I decided to turn this snowy DC day into a warm Hawaiian paradise.
I decided to make Kalua pork with cabbage today.
Kalua pork is a Hawaiian dish that traditionally requires an imu, an underground oven. Kalua literally means to cook in an underground oven. The most iconic illustration of a Kalua pig is a whole roasted pig served at a luau, feast.
I spent the entire day creating a luau spread. Other than Kalua pig with cabbage, I made lomi lomi salmon, mac salad, and steamed rice.
Back home in Hawaii, you can get a plate of these dishes anywhere. Ah the local plate lunch. I miss it so much.
We invited my FPIL (future parents in law) and HOLY SHMOKES... (I dont want to toot our horn, but...) everything was super duper delicious! Taste of home sweet home!
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| From top to clockwise- Steamed rice, cabbage with Kalua pork, mac salad, lomi lomi salmon. |
Go get a dutch oven (....on sale) and try to create your own luau spread! :)
Kalua Pork with Cabbage
Ingredients:
4 lb. pork butt
coarse salt (Hawaiian salt would be most authentic but kosher salt works just fine)
orange juice
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Slice top and bottom of pork butt in a checkered pattern (quarter inch deep). Rub coarse salt all around the pork butt. Place pork into dutch oven with fatty side up. Splash some orange juice in dutch oven. Cover with lid and bake for approximately 4 hours.
Within last hour, add big slices of cabbage. Cook for a hour (or until fork tender).
Lomi Lomi Salmon
Ingredients:
yellow onion
green onion
smoked salmon (we used wild caught sock eye)
salt
tomatoes
Finely dice onion, green onions, smoked salmon, and tomatoes. Combine in bowl and mix. Salt to taste. Refrigerate before serving.
Local Mac Salad
Ingredients:
elbow macaroni
mayonaise
carrot
onion
paprika
salt and pepper
Boil macaroni and cook till al dente. Drain and run cold water on macaroni. Grate onion and carrot. Combine macaroni and carrot/onion in a bowl. Add mayo. Season with salt, pepper, and paprika.
-mai
Mishka commentary
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| The entire apartment smelled and felt like Hawaii. I wanted to take out my Aloha shirt and just hula all day long. |
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