Doughnut Land

 LA is many things, Home of the stars and fancy restaurants. it's known for In and Out Burgers and taco trucks> It's also a mecca for doughnut shops too.

Regular contributor Tejal Rao wrote abouth Los Angeles dougnut culture in yesterday's New York Times Food section. There are several right now , all popular , all offeringa wide variety of textures and flavors

Holey Grail ,a Hawaiian onehas tropical influeces in theirs. Colorado Donuts have a old fashioned vibe but uses bright colpr and flavors to sell theirs. Newer generations like Mochi Dochi pull a aprt ones. like mobhi onesThere is even Alice Gu's movie Doughnut KIng which highlights the LAS pastry scene.

Doughnuts are fun. Imagine them in a glam setting like LA. They're even more fun.

Utah Mecca Of Hawaiian Food

Utah is known for many things - great skiing, the Great Salt Lake and great Hawaiian food. It's true. This landlocked state is now famous for producing  island treats It's like a taste of a sunny paradise in the middle of the mountains.

Priya Krishna, a regular contributor and author of Ultimate Dining Hall Hacks, wrote this unique and interesting article for today's New York Times Food section.She interviewed the force behind the Hawaiian food movement, brothers Kalani and Kimo Mack. Their restaurant , Mo Bettahs (it means the best in  local  Creole Pidgin dialect) is in Salt Lake City and it's one of the most popular out there How did the food get there in the first place? Thank the Mormons. The first missionaries went to the islands in the 1840's , trying to convert islanders to their religion.It is why now Polynesia is rife with them.The islands host six temples and several church sponsored schools. Many modern missionaries are sent there for two or three years and develop a taste for Hawaiian food.They miss the variety and different flavors. Mo Bettahs satisfies that culinary  itch  The brothers came into it by happy accident. Mormons themselves, they moved to Salt Lake City in 2008 because the cost of living was cheaper than the islands along with being Mormon. There were no job prospects and the brothers were more beach bums than academics. They brainstormed coming up with ten ideas, including selling tents and  creating kiosks for people to download Ipod songs.

The third idea - running a restaurant resonated with them. There was only one problem - the Mack had no clue on how to run a restaurant but knew they wanted to make their favorite foods. Fortunately they had their Hawaiian - Korean mother's recipes and their work experience at the exclusively Hawaiian chain, Zippy's  One menu must have was the  popular plate lunch , consisting of a multicultural meal of meat, rice and macaroni salad!It was a staple of the 19th century sugar plantations, Other dishes offered are chicken katsu, a kind of fried chicken with a panko crumb coating.and kahlua pork, shredded pork  butt  seasoned with liquid smoke and Hawaiian sea salt.There's also the more familiar shrimp tempura and pulehu steak, a strip rubbed, again, with Hawaiian sea salt, garlic and sugar. What's surprisingly is there is no shaved ice - the cool treat the Obamas made popular and haupia, a kind of custard made with coconut  milk,cornstarch, sugar  and waterMaybe the brothers will expand their menu to include these in the future or even set up a separate but connected stand  Still Utahans love the food, thanks to Kalani's campaign on Facebook and the missionaries longing for Hawaiian food. There will be six more branches opening up in Utah and one in Idaho. Nevada and Missouri are also on their radar too.

Utah seems like an unlikely place for katsu chicken and pulehu steak,. Yet the Mack brothers are making sure it's a standard  in a landlocked state.It's a chance to enjoy paradise in the Beehive State.

Girls NIght In

It's Saturday night and you know what that means - a round of drinks, yummy food and even yummier dishing . However the bar and restaurant scene can be a bit too noisy - and you never know who's sitting a booth or table away. That's when it's time to bring the party home for a girl's night in.

Of course there will be drinks (but as the hostess be aware that you'll be to blame if there's any drinking and driving. Set a designated driver before hand or just let them sleep over if they've had too much). Theme the drinks with what you'll be serving. Margeritas are always served with Mexican food but you can also make mojitos too.Chili is the easiest dish to make and serve, perfect for a frosty Saturday night.A more fun idea is to serve tacos or fajitas. This way those on a diet can make them the way they want to , without the sour cream and cheese. Have different toppings as well as a choice of meats and veggies too. A different dessert to serve is chocolate mole cake. This is a typical chocolate cake made with trimoline sugar filled with a mole ganache. Mole is a sauce made from different spices, peppers and unsweetened chocolate. You could even make chocolate  mole cupcakes with a Kahlua icing. Another idea is having a Hawaiian night  with roast pork and pineapple sliders or shrimp kabobs.Serve a big platter of Huli Huli chicken wings . These are wings that have been brushed with a marinade of pineapple juice . white wine, chicken broth along with ketchup and ginger. Worcester and soy sauces balance out the sweetness , tempering it with a savory flavor.With this have frosty pina coladas , complete with those little umbrellas.

A girl's night can easily be classy, sophisticated and French. Think about making dinner crepes.These can be bought in your local supermarket like Stop & Shop or the A&P however they're easy enough to make at home. There are only six ingredients, all purpose flour, eggs milk , water salt and butter for cooking. Crepe batter works best when it is chilled for exactly one hour. The fillings can be as simple as a Provencale ratatouille or as complex as a beef burgundy from Burgundy. Spinach and mushroom crepes are wonderful, especially served with a Gruyere or cheddar sauce. Have the crepes with an appropriate wine or if you haven't celebrated the New Year together, a good bottle of French champagne. If you want, you can save the crepes for dessert, turning them into a magnificent Crepes Suzette or a simple Parisian street crepe with lemon, butter and powdered sugar. Serve a French bistro style dinner first . This could be the delicious steak Diane, small filets of beef in a rich cognac sauce or tasty and diet friendly Salad Nicoise, , loaded with tuna, , hard boiled eggs,garlic and capers. Of course , a  girls night in could be a simple wine and cheese party. Have everyone bring their favorites or set out a cheese table, that also has fruit, cold cuts, sliced French bread and crackers

Nothing beats an evening full of eating and catting. Have a fun girls's night in at home. Make sure there's plenty of good food and drinks to go with all that good gossip..

Foodie Predictions 2009

This is only the second day of the New Year but already there are predictions as to what will be the foods of the year. 2009 might be the year of innovation but it might also be the year that we discover old favorites. What will our palates crave in these next 12 month?

It seems the New York Times Food section has already predicted that salted caramel will be hot in '09. Our president and first lady elect , the Obamas are mad about homemade caramel that has a shot of smoky sea salt added. These are created by Fran's a longstanding Seattle candy company. More mainstream companies like Hershey's and Russell Stover will be jumping on this bandwagon and giving us these unique goodies (although they've long been a favorite in Brittany where they originated from).

I think shaved ice, that Hawaiian classic and Barack Obama's favorite boyhood treat will also be popular. People will be rediscovered Hawaiian cuisine thanks to our new president. Another prediction is that Chicago will be rediscovered as a foodie town , again due to President elect Obama's roots there. Why not? The town has a rich tradition of good Italian, German and Polish food. It's also has a lush history of the meat industry and producing hearty steaks and burgers.
Other predictions? New York State residents will drop regular soda from their diets thanks to the tax Governor Patterson has proposed. More fast food restaurants like Wendy's and Mc Donald's will be putting out more salads and following Subway's menu of healthier sandwiches. On the home front , people may be reaching back to Fifties recipes, thanks to movies like "Revolutionary Road" (Jello salad, T-bone steak and highballs, anyone?)

OK, foodies, what do you think will be the culinary hits and misses of 2009? Write in and let me know.