And more from my honorary home the island of Hawaii…
Actually, this is somewhat more about the vessel than the food. It’s not a valuable piece–I bought it at a garage sale for 5 bucks and I have no idea what its curious shape would be traditionally used for (sugarcubes?), but it was so rococo regal kitsch I had to have it. Upon receiving Grandma’s homegrown homeroasted macadamia nuts in the mail (unfortunately, the last batch before she cut her ailing tree down), there seemed no better throne for the most delectable nut in the world. Doubtful that you’ve never had a macadamia nut, but if not, get some. Creamy and delicious…dessert-worthy, even.
In fact, macadamias are so prime that it’s a bit of a heresy to provide a recipe (do people send scripts to Meryl Streep asking her to play sideshow?), but I love this one for two reasons. It’s yummy, of course, but also there’s something so cheekily ‘Hawaii’ about making a cheese spread with macadamia nuts. A lot of of people think of Oahu and think lanais and paradise–and it is that–but it’s also the place where Spam goes on sale (think about it–where else does Spam go on sale??), where whatever kind of take-out you get, be it a burger, Korean BBQ, Malaysian roti canai, Vientamese pho, Japanese soba, Chinese saucy stir-fry…it must come with the obligatory ice-cream scoop of goopy macaroni salad, (you can buy that stuff literally by the barrel, by the way, at the local fast-food joint Zippy’s, right along with oxtail soup), and the best shave-ice on the island you get from a tiny window carved out of a liquor/convenience store. We’re talking about the same place that pioneered the popularity of spam musubi (essentially sushi…with spam–look it up) and sells it everywhere, from the 10th tee on the golf course to 7-11, and where flip-flops are acceptable footwear in church. A macadamia nut cheese dip just seems right.
Filed under: Clean Food Daily, appetizer, cheese, hawaii, nuts
