Hawaiian Moli'i Fishpond

I traveled to Hawaii for the Les Dames d'Escoffier International Annual Conference. It proved to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. One of our first stops on Oahu was a tour of Kualoa, a place where visitors can get a taste of Hawaiian agriculture and fishing.
The Moli‘i fishpond dates back 800 years. Over 100 acres in size, it once provided the Hawaiian royalty with bounties of fish. Small openings allowed little fish in the pond and once the fish grew, they were too large to return to the open water.
We toured the pond by a flat-bottomed boat; we were told that if we fell out, just stand up because the water is only 4 to 5 feet deep.

Guavas on Oahu

These guavas are still soaking up sun on the west side of the island of Oahu. At a glance, I thought they were limes. The closest I normally get to a fresh guava is in a jelly jar. This was the first time I had ever seen the fruit on a tree.

Honolulu Fish Auction

We were lucky enough to take a tour of the Honolulu Fish Auction. It was amazing! There are only 2 auctions of its kind in the world. Fish were being brought off the boats at daybreak and we were able to see the live auction where the fish were sold to wholesalers and restaurants.

These pictures show Ahi tuna, some nearing 125 pounds. The flesh is cut and placed on small pieces of paper for the purpose of setting the starting bid. The darker red flesh brings a higher price.

Cooking at Blackhawk

I taught a class this weekend in a beautiful kitchen with a perk unlike any other class. The Soquee River was winding through the trees right outside the window. When we fired up the grill, the sound of the water moving downstream was heavenly.

Check out Blackhawk (it's a fly fishing stream with a cooking school) to see what I saw. Sadly, there was no time to fish after we left the kitchen. I'll definitely go back again for a trout of my own.

Shooting Food

This is my friend Dennis McDaniel shooting a roasted Cornish hen with grits and roasted lemons. The photos for my citrus story in the November issue of Athens Magazine were shot Wednesday at a local restaurant, Farm 255. With the natural light and rustic interior, it made for a beautiful location. I was cooking most of the day, so I can only take credit for the food. The staff at the magazine outdid themselves with styling the photos.

Gift from Heaven

When the UPS man dropped off an unexpected package at the back door, I was more than curious. After tearing into the box like a child on Christmas morning, I found the gift of Pickled Okra. Jeff Murrie, a student in my class in Charleston, told me after class he was going to mail me a bottle of his special okra. After telling me how to use the pickled okra juice in dirty martinis, I was intrigued, to say the least.
Jeff's okra may very well be the best I have ever tasted. Here's a toast with my martini to Jeff!

Fun in Chapel Hill

I have just returned from a wonderful trip to Chapel Hill, NC. I taught a sold-out fried chicken class at Southern Season on Sunday afternoon. I was truly in awe of the store and the cooking school is one of a kind. The store is a cook's dream with 60,000 square feet of all the things I love. This is a photo of my class. They were champs at frying chicken. We didn't have a single piece burned or undercooked!

I enjoyed a delightful dinner at Crook's Corner with prolific food writer and cookbook author Jean Anderson. We had the treat of Chef Bill Smith sitting with us for much of our meal. Every forkful was unbelievably delicious. The meal was one of the best I have ever had. I brought home a copy of Bill's book to add to my recipe collection.

After a breakfast of country ham and biscuits at Mama Dip's, I completed my trip, stuffed and happy.