Grilled chicken

Fried chicken wings

Spam musubi

Shabu Shabu

I found the freshest ingredients I could find - thin sliced rib eye, chicken thighs, pork and chicken meatballs seasoned with sesame oil, a little bit of sherry, salt and pepper, aburage, tofu, mushrooms, noodles and chinese cabbage, and added to a boiling broth. Served with a ginger ponzu and rice.

Cubano

This is a modified Cubano, as I didn't have swiss cheese or pickles. I started with french bread, added some mayonnaise, some sliced carnitas, ham, havarti, and pickled banana peppers, then grilled it on the panini press.

Nachos

The organic tortilla chips at Costco are really good. I topped them with cheese, and ground turkey seasoned with cumin, chili powder, cayenne, oregano, salt and pepper, and fried with minced garlic and onion. After a quick broil in the oven to melt the cheese, I added some diced Hamakua tomatoes, thinly sliced banana peppers, and my current favorite salsa - Safeway Select.

Pork Loin and Roasted Potatoes

I browned this roasted pork loin in my big wok, with salt and pepper. I added a ton of garlic to the pan, some dried rosemary, and some white wine, covered, and put it in the oven at 350 for about an hour and a half. When it came out, I took the loin out and let it sit while I deglazed the pan with some more white wine, and added some gravy mix to make the gravy. I also roasted some potatoes with seasoning salt and dried onions, tossed with olive oil.

Plantation sushi

This is an old recipe that my mom used to make for us as kids, modified for my own kids' tastes. I started with nori on the bottom of the pan, added a layer of rice, then a layer of canned tuna, cooked in shoyu and sugar, then another layer of rice, and finally some katsuo furikake.

Buttermilk baked chicken

I saw Pat and Gina Neely make this on Food Network and wanted to give it a try. As usual, I followed the spirit of the recipe, but not the exact quantities. I started with chicken thighs and I left the skin on, but I butterflied them to open em up and get more surface area. Like the Neelys, I soaked the chicken in a mixture of buttermilk, garlic, onions, thyme, tabasco and salt and pepper, but I substituted lime for lemon because I didn't have lemon juice. After a few hours, I removed from the buttermilk and coated with crushed cornflakes, thyme and grated parmesan. I baked it at 400 for about 45 minutes and it came out perfectly, though since I didn't have a wire rack, the bottom was a little mushy. Next time I'll probably leave out the parmesan, add paprika and more pepper, and find a wire rack to cook it on.