Hawaiian Manapua

A few weeks ago, I decided to try my hand at something totally new to me. Our neighbor Dennis was about to have a birthday and as a surprise, I decided to try and make a dish from his native Hawaii. I remembered him bringing back some delicious lightly sweet rolls that were stuffed with a delicious sweet and savory barbecue pork filling. After a little research, I realized that these Hawaiian delights are called Manapua. I am proud to say that my first attempt at making them was a success and was greatly appreciated by both our neighbor and our other friends who got to try them.

Hawaiian Manapua

Bun Ingredients

1 package dry yeast 

3 tablespoons lukewarm water 

2 cups warm water 

1-1/2 tablespoons cooking oil or shortening 

1/4 cup sugar 

3/4 teaspoon salt 

6 cups sifted flour 

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil 

Filling Ingredients

1 cup pineapple juice

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pound char siu, diced

BUNS: Sprinkle yeast over 3 tablespoons water and allow to stand until yeast begins to bubble. Heat water, add oil or shortening, sugar and salt, stirring until melted or dissolved. Cool. Add yeast mixture. Place flour in a large mixing bowl or a heavy-duty mixer and add most of the liquid. Begin kneading. Add remaining liquid to make a very heavy dough. Continue kneading or mixing until you have a smooth ball that springs back to the touch of a finger. Remove dough from bowl and rinse out bowl. Pour sesame oil into bowl, return dough and turn it around until covered with a thin layer of the oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until double in bulk -- about an hour in a warm room. Placing the dough in the refrigerator and allowing it to rise there, 3-6 hours, develops the flavor. Proceed with the filling or gently deflate the dough and allow it to rise for a second time, which will further enhance the flavor. 

FILLING: In a pot, combine pineapple juice, cornstarch and salt until dissolved. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add char siu.

ASSEMBLY: Heat a steamer with plenty of water. Cut 12 (3-inch) squares of waxed paper and coat 1 side with 1/2 second coat of nonstick cooking spray. Punch down dough and divide into 12 pieces. Roll each into a ball. Flatten into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. Make the dough as thin as you can and try to keep the edges thinner than the center. Place the circle of dough in the palm of your hand. Spoon in a couple of tablespoons of filling, cupping the dough around it. Then, with the thumb and finger of the other hand, pinch the edges of the dough as if you were making a fluted edging on a pie crust. Pinch the folds together, twisting them as you do so. Local manapua are usually served fold-side down, and Vietnamese manapua with the twirl of dough on top. Place the completed manapua on a square of greased waxed paper. Allow to plump up into a globe with a taut exterior. Place in steamer on their squares of paper about 1 to 2 inches apart. Cover and steam vigorously for 15 minutes. If using a metal steamer, place a folded tea towel across top of steamer, holding it in position with the lid. This will prevent steam from dropping onto manapua. If using a bamboo steamer, this is not necessary. Remove steamer from heat, let stand 5 minutes, then open. Serve hot. Makes 12 buns. 

NOTE: Tradionally Manapua are steamed, but they can also be baked. Brush the tops of the buns with a little canola oil and bake 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Char Siu Recipe

4 pounds pork butt, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons Hawaiian sea salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon whiskey
1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder 

Rub pork with Hawaiian salt and refrigerate 1 hour. Combine marinade ingredients. Soak pork in marinade in refrigerator 24 hours. Place meat on a rack over 1/4 inch of water in a shallow roasting pan. Roast 1-1/2 hours at 300 degrees. You can also roast overnight in a crock pot on low heat.

Love of the Irish!

A Stephanie's Cucina take on Irish Soda Bread complete with authentic Irish coffees at the O'Sullivan house in honor of St. Patrick's Day this weekend! 

Cranberry Soda Bread

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken
1 egg
zest of 1 small orange
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine 4 cups flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add butter and mix on low speed with paddle attachment until butter is all mixed into the flour.

Combine and lightly beat egg, buttermilk and orange zest. With mixer on low, slowly add the liquid. Toss cranberries with 1 tablespoon of flour and mix into the dough. Switch to dough hook and knead the dough for about a minute. Dough will be sticky. 

Transfer to the sheet pan, shape into a round loaf and cut an X across top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a knife or cake tester comes out clean.

Serve warm with Kerrygold Irish Butter!! 

Campfire Beef Stew & Fire Roasted Hot Peppers

I went on my very first camping adventure last weekend on Mt. Laguna. The nights were cold, so I was tasked with coming up with some food to warm everyone up. 

Campfire Beef Stew

Before I left home I marinated about 3 pounds of stew beef overnight in a bottle of red wine (HINT: Use a nice burgundy or pinot noir. It does't have to be expensive, but be sure it is something you would enjoy drinking). The next day, I drained the beef, reserving the excess marinade, and dried the pieces with paper towels. I seasoned the beef with a little salt and pepper and seared it in olive oil, working in batches. I then tossed all the beef with a couple tablespoons of flour and returned it to the hot pan, tossing just until the flour was browned. I let the beef cool and packed it away for the trip. 

In the meantime, I cut up about 3 carrots, 3–4 stalks of celery, about a pound to a pound and a half of little fingerling potatoes (halved), a sweet onion and about 6–8 cloves of garlic. I seasoned the veggies with a little salt and pepper and poured the reserved marinade over them before packing them away for the trip.

When the time came to cook the stew at the campsite, I combined the beef and veggies (including their marinade) with 1 quart of beef stock in a cast iron Dutch oven and let it cook on the campfire for several hours. Serve with crusty bread for a one-pot meal to warm any cold night! 

This is a collection of jalapeño, serrano and 

cayenne peppers I grew in pots on my front porch. 

They were simply tossed in olive oil, sea salt 

and freshly ground black pepper, then 

roasted on the fire in an iron skillet 

until soft. Fiery yet delightful!!

4th of July Rum Cake!

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 pinch salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup spiced rum

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 stick butter

1/4 cup cold water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup spiced rum

Preheat oven to 300ºF. Butter and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Mix whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar.

In another bowl, mix together eggs, oil, rum and water. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until thoroughly combined.

Sprinkle chopped walnuts in the Bundt pan, then pour the batter on top of the walnuts. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove cake from pan to make sure it is not stuck then return it to the pan. Pierce the cake 20-30 times with a wooden skewer to prepare for glazing.

Prepare the rum glaze. Melt the butter in a saucepan with the water, then bring to a slow boil. Stir in 1 cup sugar and continue to boil, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and SLOWLY add the rum. Let cool 5 minutes and slowly pour over and around the cake, allowing it to sit in the pan and absorb all the glaze. Remove from pan and serve.

It is That Time of Year Again.... Fresh Tomato Time!

I picked up these gorgeous little red grape and yellow cherry tomatoes at the supermarket the other day. I had more more than I could each fresh, so I roasted some in the oven with olive oil, sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper and thyme. Slow roasting tomatoes at 300º for an hour or so really concentrates the flavor. They will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge. Roasted tomatoes are great on sandwiches, with goat cheese on crackers or bread as an appetizer and so much more!

Coffee-Chocolate-Bacon Cake

Perfect for Father's Day or anytime! Coffee, chocolate and bacon all in one place... does life get any better??

Butter for greasing cake pans

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup good cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup buttermilk, shaken

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Chocolate frosting (see below)

1 pound bacon, fried until crispy, but not burned, then crumbled

Preheat oven to 350º. Butter 2 8-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With the mixer still on low, add the coffee and about 1/3 to 1/2 of the bacon and stir until just combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake 35 – 40 minutes, until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 min, then turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place one layer, flat side up, on a plate or cake pedestal. Spread the top with frosting. sprinkle 1/4 of the back over the icing. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the remaining frosting evenly over top and sides of cake. Top with remaining bacon. (NOTE: You can alter how much bacon you put where to your own taste.)

Chocolate-Coffee Frosting

6 ounces good semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 sticks butter, at room temperature

1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

2 packets Starbucks VIA Italian Roast

Melt chocolate in a double boiler, set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 more minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 tablespoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't Whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

... At Least the Sandwiches Were Good!

Sadly the Steelers lost, but I think I won the Primanti Sandwich challenge! Here is a photo recap.

Roast beef and capicola combo topped with provolone on the griddle.

Meat and cheese on homemade Italian bread.

Add salt & pepper slaw...

then tomatoes...

... and finally fresh cut fries!

Stephanie's Cucina version of a Pittsburgh classic!