Pesto Bruschetta

Ingredients:

1 sourdough baguette (sliced into thin rounds)
1/4 cup olive oil
3-4 tomatoes (diced)
1 handful fresh basil leaves (chopped)
1 clove garlic (grated)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup store bought or homemade pesto

Directions:

Lay out the slices of bread on a baking tray. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Once the oven is hot, TURN IT OFF, and place the bread/baking tray in the warm oven for approximately 10 min. This process will dry out the bread.
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Mix grated garlic, chopped tomatoes, chopped basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Set aside.
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Remove the dry bread pieces from the oven and brush (or spray) one side of the bread with olive oil. Sprinkle salt and fresh ground pepper over the bread and return to the oven. Re-heat oven to 350 degrees and cook the bread pieces until they are toasted. This process will take approx 2-4 minutes. Watch the oven closely as dry bread pieces will toast very quickly.

Remove toasted bread from the oven and spread a thin layer of pesto over the bread. Top bread with tomato mixture and serve.
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Ingredients For Homemade Pesto:

1 bunch fresh basil (approx 2 cups of leaves)
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cloves garlic (chopped)

Place garlic in a food processor and pulse till finely chopped. Add all remaining ingredients and pulse until smooth. Add extra olive oil or a tablespoon of water if the mixture is too thick. Leftover pesto freezes well.

Potato Macaroni Salad

A must have at all hawaiian dinner parties : )

Ingredients:
2 cups elbow macaroni
3 russet potatoes
3 eggs (hard boiled)
1 cup celery (cut into a small dice)
1/2 small yellow onion (minced finely)
1/2 jar Best Foods mayonnaise
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Optional = 1/2 lb bacon, cooked till crisp and then crumbled on top of the salad

Directions:
Dice potatoes and boil till they are tender, set aside to cool. Boil macaroni and set aside to cool. Boil eggs till hard boiled stage and set aside to cool.

Combine chopped egg, cooked potatoes, cooked macaroni, diced celery, minced onion, salt, pepper and mayo. Use as much or little mayonnaise as you like. Some families add bacon and frozen peas (thawed) for color/texture

Poke

Ingredients:
1 pound ahi tuna
1/4 cup green onions (chopped)
1/8 cup sweet maui or vidalia onion (minced finely)
1/2 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 hawaiian chili pepper, seeded and minced (use any hot pepper to taste)
roasted sesame seeds -- use as a garnish

Directions:
Cut your sashimi grade ahi tuna into bite sized chunks. Mix all other ingredients and serve cold.

Add 1/2 teaspoon kukui nut, fresh seaweed, and/or 1/2 teaspoon hawaiian salt as additional flavor components.

Haupia

This is my Aunty Donnie's recipe for the hawaiian coconut milk dessert, haupia. It's a cross between almond jello (color/texture) and coconut pudding (flavor). At times I have substituted splenda for sugar and Lactaid for regular milk. While the mixture takes only minutes to cook it will require a few hours in the fridge to cool and set. Cut the haupia into squares and serve cold.

Ingredients:
3 cups coconut milk (2 cans/13.5 oz)
2 & 1/4 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Combine cornstarch, vanilla and regular milk in a bowl and stir until there are no lumps. Set aside. Combine the coconut milk and sugar in a saucepan and cook over med heat, stirring until the sugar completely dissolves.

Add the cornstarch/milk to the sugar/coconut in the saucepan and stir constantly. Cook everything together until the mixture starts to bubble and get thick. Pour into 9x13 baking pan, cover with plastic wrap and let the mixture cool for a few hours (or overnight) in the fridge. I would let the mixture cool for 15 min on the counter before you put it into the fridge. Piping hot food should never go directly into the fridge.

Cut into squares and serve cold.