LIHU‘E — Dedicated golfers of the Puakea Golf Course in Lihu‘e trek the course to get rounds in whenever they can. But when they do so, they can get pretty hungry. So, to fill their empty stomachs, they put their
LIHU‘E — Dedicated golfers of the Puakea Golf Course in Lihu‘e trek the course to get rounds in whenever they can.
But when they do so, they can get pretty hungry.
So, to fill their empty stomachs, they put their clubs down, and walk on over to The Grille at Puakea, where they can feast on burgers, sandwiches, loco moco, or some of Chef Kurt Hanson’s daily specials.
Hanson grew up in Kailua, O‘ahu, and studied culinary arts at Kapi‘olani Community College before moving to Kaua‘i.
He worked as a chef for the Po‘ipu Beach Broiler and at Gaylord’s Restaurant at Kilohana.
Now he’s in charge of The Grille at Puakea.
“Everything we make here is from scratch,” he said.
“I learned from my mom, Sarah. She raised me with down-to-earth cooking and made everything from scratch. So that’s how we make things here.” Hanson doesn’t like to waste food, so he uses just about every part of the fruits and vegetables he has.
“When I chop up tomatoes, I’ll have the tops and the bottoms. I’ll use ends of celery (for cooking broth). A lot of times it brings out the flavor,” he said.
If you don’t make it to The Grille for his specials, here Hanson shares his mother’s recipe for Basil Chicken.
Basil Chicken
2 pounds chicken (any cut of choice)
3 tablespoons dried basil
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons granulated onion
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
3 cups white wine
1/2 teaspoon melted butter, for each cut of chicken
1 packet chicken gravy mix
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking pan with foil. In baking pan, place chicken with melted butter. Sprinkle chicken with basil, garlic, onion, pepper and poultry seasoning, then add white wine.
Cover pan with foil and bake for approximately one hour, or until chicken is done.
Add more white wine if chicken dries out during the baking process.
Serve with your favorite sides of macaroni salad or rice.
Lanaly Cabalo, lifestyle writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or lcabalo@kauaipubco.com.
