Lisa’s Pop-Up Dinner at Liquid Life

My friend Lisa Atkinson held her debut pop-up dinner in Keaau at Liquid Life recently. I knew that I enjoyed Lisa’s yummy handpies and I have seen photos of the food she makes. The talks that she and I had about food made me excited to join in on the fun. (Side note: I have never been to Liquid Life before and I think that I might have to make a visit to try their menu offerings.) On this evening, Lisa used the Liquid Life cold kitchen to prep and serve some of her culinary creations.

On this evening, 12 of us ventured out during the break in the rain to head to Keaau. What did we eat?

Oyster duo – I love oysters! Two preparations? Yes, please!
Sweet potato vichyssoise — I loved the creamy and refreshing vichyssoise with the sweetness of the sweet potato harvested from Lisa’s garden.
Uni chawanmushi — Again — winner. An ingredient I love in a dish familiar to me made for the perfect combo. The buttery uni was a perfect pairing with the savory, silky chawanmushi.
Seasonal salad with toasted macadamia nuts
Tangerine, ginger, and champagne sorbet — I can’t remember what kind of leaf was served with the sorbet, but the sugar crusted leaf was the perfect complement to the citrus and ginger flavors of the sorbet.
Seared duck with Native harvest wild rice — The duck and its accompanying sauce was my favorite. We were so lucky to be able to try this Native harvest wild rice harvested by Native Americans by hand. It is an ingredient so special and sacred to the culture and knowing the history behind it made it even more delicious.
Harvey Wallbanger cake with lilikoi whipped cream and fresh fruit. — Dessert was YUM!

I was so impressed with Lisa’s ability to bring out such a wide variety of dishes despite not having a full kitchen or a full staff to help with the kitchen and the front end duties of the evening. The flavors of the ingredients were featured and enhanced on each pretty plate that was served to us. Lisa even gave us a surprise of variety of sweet treats to take home at the end of the evening. Wow! My daughter and I enjoyed sharing the sweets together.