Plantation House Restaurant
Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii
Executive Chef Alex Stanislaw’s professional journey toward Maui’s Kapalua coast started on the eastern seaboard of the continental U.S. After studying cinematography at Syracuse University, Stanislaw landed a job in the kitchen of an exclusive club in Virginia Beach, Virginia. During his five years in a southern kitchen, he discovered his vocation and developed a deft touch with seafood.
Deciding he could benefit from formal training, Stanislaw applied to the Culinary Institute of America, graduating with honors 15 months later. When a dream offer of a job at Kapalua Bay Hotel came from Rock Resorts, he made the move to Maui. He spent three years at Kapalua Bay Hotel, before moving to Erik's Seafood Grotto as executive chef. Seven years later in 1991, the offer came to join The Plantation House team as Executive Chef/Partner.
At Plantation House, Stanislaw blends his own family heritage with professional experience and 26 years of Maui residency, to give traditional Hawaiian hospitality his own unique spin. His knack for blending the freshest ingredients from island and ocean with the earthy flavors of his Mediterranean and Eastern European ancestry set him--and Plantation House cuisine—apart from other resort fare. Though the flavors are bold, the food is as light and healthy as the soothing climate of the islands. Local honeys, flavored oils and combinations of spices and herbs allow the wonderful flavors of fresh fish, meat and produce to shine.
To create his “Famous” Scallop Skewers with Applewood Smoked Bacon and Lehua Honey Glaze, Stanislaw experimented with many flavors before he discovered Lehua honey. "While first putting this dish together, we played around a lot of flavors, like guava and passion fruit, cane sugar juice and molasses (because sugar was such a large part of Hawaiian agriculture early on), but I found none of them really worked. Each option either lacked depth and complexity, was too sweet or not sweet enough. Then one day, my sous chef asked why we couldn't use honey, and suggested a rustic one like lehua or kiawe. The Lehua honey added an attractive gloss and intensity of flavor - almost spicy - without being too sweet. So here we are. We can't take them off the menu!"
Famous" Scallop Skewers with Applewood Smoked Bacon & Lehua Honey Glaze
Executive Chef Alex Stanislaw - The Plantation House
Yield: 4 servings, 3 skewers each.
Teriyaki Sauce
3 |
cups sugar |
2 |
cups water |
2 |
cups shoyu (soy sauce) |
2 |
finger-size pieces ginger, smashed |
Bring all ingredients to a boil. Lower heat, add cornstarch to thicken, strain, reserve.
Skewers
8 |
oz. Hawaiian Sun Guava concentrate, thawed |
3-4 |
oz. Lehua honey |
3-4 |
strips applewood smoked bacon, par-cooked |
24 |
each scallops, 20-30 count |
Chopped chives |
|
Chive oil |
|
|
Shichimi tagorashi chili powder |
Mix the honey and guava concentrate in a small sauce pan, bring to a simmer for 6-8 min. Take off heat and let cool. Pour into a squirt bottle.
Cut cooled, par cooked bacon in half. Wrap each scallop in 1/2 piece bacon, and skewer with a 5" bamboo skewer, putting two wrapped scallops on each skewer. Place skewers on a sheet pan, squirt 1/2 the guava-honey glaze on the skewers and bake at 450° until scallops are just cooked. Remove from oven.
To serve, place a small pool of teriyaki sauce in the center of 4 plates. On top of the teriyaki, make a squiggle design with the other half of the guava-honey sauce. Drizzle around the plate perimeter with chive oil and sprinkle with chili powder. To build the skewers: place 2 side by side. Stand the third skewer upright by anchoring it into one of the horizontal skewers. Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve with a glass of Riesling or a cold, crisp-flavored beer.