Cook N Bake Hawaiian Series: Haupia

Dear Readers,

Four recipes down, one more to go and then we will sadly say goodbye to the Hawaiian Series that brought to us all some sunshine during this cold, chilly winter time. If you have been reading about our previous dishes it’s time now to put on a pa’u skirt (the traditional Hawaiian skirt), warm up the oven and throw a wonderful Luau! But wait… you need one more dish to complete the menu, a great dessert to refresh the palate and end the night on a sweet note that will bring a smile on your face: Haupia.

Haupia is coconut pudding. There is no other flavor better than coconut that so well summarizes in a spoon-full the happiness and warmth of Summer. Anyone has at least one memory that coconut with its textured taste brings up to mind, whether from the childhood or from the most recent exotic trip.
In Hawaii Haupia is usually served as a gelatin dessert, however its pudding aspect before becoming firm made it popular as cake topping, particularly on wedding cakes. The Hawaiian local “Haupia pies” are the equivalent of our Western apple pies!
Haupia‘s dense consistency is due to the mixture of coconut milk with ground arrowroot starch (the Polynesian Arrowroot called pia), or cornstarch. Traditionally, nothing else was added, but nowadays sugar and salt are popular additional ingredients, which are then heated with the cornstarch and the coconut milk until smooth and thick. This packed-with-flavor dessert is to be served in very tiny portion, possibly small cubes to accompany a ti tea.

Enjoy Haupia at a party with friends or with a hot cup of tea while listening to the sound of pouring rain. No matter how cold it is outside, Summer is never too far with this coconut delicacy!

Ingredients:

2 cups coconut milk
1 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 tsp vanilla (optional)
toasted coconut for topping (also optional)

Into a saucepan pour one cup of the coconut milk and combine it with sugar, cornstarch and vanilla. Turn on the heat on low and keep stirring until thickened. Add the rest of coconut milk with one cup of whole milk. Keep stirring. Pour into 8 inch square pan and chill until firm. Cut into squares and garnish with some toasted coconut.

~Enjoy!
Image from http://www.tastingkauai.com/haupia-hawaiian-coconut-pudding/

Happy Hour Tuesday: Ghoulada Punch

Have you already taken out your Halloween costume last weekend and went out partying until late with Frankensteins, Vampires, Batman and an uncountable number of witches? If you haven’t, or even if you have!, tomorrow night don’t forget to cheer with a spooky drink, Ghoulada Punch!

Ghoulada Punch is made with fruity ingredients mixed with lemon or orange-flavored soda, and although the original recipe does not include Rometti Limoncello, we did add some to it and found that it brings out the zestiness and sweetness of the punch.

As you might have already guessed, this drink is very similar to the pina colada, so why is it renamed ghoulada? For those you who don’t know, “ghouls” are the imaginary monster that consume human flash by the graveyards, and seem to have originated in the Arabian folklore. Ghoul means in fact “demon”. The term appeared in English for the first time in an orientalist novel back in 1786.

Ghoulada Punch is the perfect drink to wash down all those treats your kids brought home (or the treats you’ve been eating from the stash you put away while waiting for the little ones to knock at the door!). So take out the blender, and make sure that there is no Rometti Limoncello in the cups you will offer to the candy-hunter-kids!

Happy Halloween!

Ingredients:

1 (46-ounces) pineapple juice, chilled
2 cans cream of coconut, (12 ounces each)
a splash of Rometti Limoncello to taste
8 cups ice
8 cups Fresca, or other citrus-flavored soda, chilled

In a blender puree pineapple juice, cream of coconut and ice. Pour into a punch bowl. Add citrus-flavored soda (like Fresca) and stir. Add some Rometti Limoncello to taste to the adults’ glasses, so the kids can still enjoy this fun, tasty drink!
If you like you can also add some blood to the glasses by mixing 3 tbsp of corn syrup with 1/4 tsp of red food coloring, and dipping the rim into the mixture.

~ENJOY!

recipe and photo from http://www.marthastewart.com (Rometti Limoncello was not an original ingredient)

Happy Hour Tuesday: Piña Colada Limoncello

Hello Rometti followers!

This week our Happy Hour Tuesday blog takes you to Puerto Rico with a sweet, creamy and delicious drink called Piña Colada Limoncello.
Piña Colada takes its name after two Spanish words: piña, “pineapple”, and colada, “strained”. It seems to have originated in Puerto Rico in 1954, by Ramon “Monchito” Marrero, bartender in the Caribe Hilton’s Beachcomber bar in San Juan. One of the ingredients, the coconut cream, was created the same year in the University of Puerto Rico. When Mr. Marrero was awarded for selling the three-millionth Piña Colada in 1978, Puerto Rico made it its official drink.
Piña Colada is a Summer drink (it’s not by chance that the first Piña Colada was sold on August 15, 1954) which will delight your palate. Its smooth and sweet taste is accentuated by the velvety texture of the coconut cream, and the tartness hint of the pineapple juice. The smoothness of the rum brings adds some warmth while blending in perfectly with the other ingredients. At last, the limoncello cream, which has a different citrusy sweetness, plays almost as an energy booster in the whole exotic mix.

Ingredients:

0.5 oz Rometti Limoncello Cream (coming soon!)

2 oz Pineapple juice

2 oz Coconut cream (Coco Lopez)

1.5 oz White rum

1 oz Dark rum

Put the ingredients in an electric blender with some crushed ice. Blend briefly at high speed. Strain into a glass and garnish with either a slice of pineapple or a cherry.
~ENJOY!