Guest Author - Michelle Taylor
Last month we had my daughter’s end-of-season party for her cheerleading team. We wanted to do something that would be nice, but still fun for the girls (who run in age from 10 – 18). One of our moms volunteered her pool, so we thought “luau”.
But, being the caterer’s daughter I am, I did not want the old standard luau that we get here in the stateside US. You know – pineapple chicken, white rice, and then a bunch of side dishes that don’t make sense.
So I decided to do a “fusion luau” taking some flavors from Thai and Caribbean cooking to add some fresh flavor to what everyone was expecting.
Here’s what I came up with:
Smoked Pork Roast - (One tip – the pork needs to be started the day before the party)
1 cup water
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/8 cup fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
Several cups of ice
1 - 5 lb boneless pork butt
Montreal steak seasoning
1. Bring water almost to a boil in saucepan. Remove from heat.
2. Add kosher salt and brown sugar, stir until dissolved
3. Add garlic, teriyaki, peppercorns, and ginger to the marinade.
4. Add enough ice to cool the marinade to room temperature.
5. Pour marinade over Port butt roast.
6. Marinade in refrigerator at least 12 hrs to overnight, or you can chill it in a cooler filled with ice (just make sure the pork is in a watertight container)
7. When ready to smoke – set up charcoal grill using coal and chunks of Hickory wood for best taste. When Smoking meat, the meat should not be directly over the fire, but to the side, and the ideal temperature for the grill is around 200-250 degrees.
8. Rinse the marinade off the meat, then dry with paper towels, and roll in montreal seasoning.
9. Meat should be smoked to an internal temperature of 155-165 (about 6-8 hours). Using one of the remote meat thermometers comes in very handy here.
10. Allow to rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
Macadamia Coconut Jasmine Rice
3 cups water
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 Tbsp dark sesame oil
1/2 Tbsp kosher salt
2 1/2 cups jasmine rice
1/4 cup sliced scallions (green onions)
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1. Combine water, coconut milk, ginger, sesame oil, & salt in large nonstick pot.
2. Add Rice and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20-30 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed. Some rice may turn brown on bottom, this is fine, it is just caramelized, and should be stirred into the rest of the rice.
4. Add the chopped macadamia nuts & scallions.
Sesame Vegetable Medley
5 Cups cut up fresh vegetables such as Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots, Yellow squash, Zuchinni
1 - 8 oz package Baby bella mushrooms, cut into chunks
1/4 Cup Olive oil
1 Tbsp Dark sesame oil
3 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Shallots, minced
3 Tbsp Sesame seeds
Kosher salt to taste
Cracked black pepper to taste
1. Choose your favorite vegetables and cut them into chunks, toss them into a bowl with a lid
2. Add the cut mushrooms to the vegetables
3. In a medium size bowl, mix the olive oil, sesame oil, garlic, and shallots together
4. Pour dressing over vegetables – add sesame seeds
5. Put lid on bowl and shake vegetable to evenly coat with dressing and sesame seeds.
6. Sprinkle veggies with salt and pepper just before cooking.
7. Veggies can either be grilled on a flat grill pan, or can be roasted in the oven at 425 for 20 minutes.
For dessert we served a simple chocolate fondue (chocolate chips melted with 1 Tbsp butter in a fondue pot) with fresh fruit (including of course pineapple!), brownie bites, pound cake bits, and large marshmallows. I also did a homemade vanilla ice-cream and whipped cream, and everyone could make their own sundaes. The girls thought this was fantastic!
Everyone had a great time, and I kept catching one dad walking around with what he called a “man-cookie”, (a piece of smoked pork). We haven’t let him forget it yet.
Finally, if the Montreal seasoning is a little too spicy for your taste, there is a great dry rub recipe at AllRecipes.com
