I met my friend Lucy Lean through Diane & Todd a couple of years ago in Los Angeles. At that time, she was the Editor of Edible Los Angeles and we chatted for hours over bottles of red wine and plates of cheese and charcuterie. It turns out, Lucy has 2 kids around the same age as mine and on our next trip out to L.A., we brought the kiddies out to a massive children’s park near Griffith Park.

As the kids went all crazy on the playground, Lucy and I sat on a nearby bench, straining our eyes to catch up with each of our kids, as they were darting from here to there to who knows where. Imagine 8 different play structures, 50 little kids, and probably 29 pounds of sugar running through their veins.

It’s pretty tough to hold decent conversation whilst trying to make sure your children don’t beat up on another kid, try to take cutsies or wander off. But Lucy and I did manage to have one very important conversation that afternoon:

Lucy: I think I want to start a blog, what do you think?

Me: Sure! That’s a great idea! Do you have a name for it? What do you want to write about?

Lucy: I have the perfect name – Ladles & Jellyspoons, you know, like Ladies & Gentleman, but cuter. Oh, and food related. But I don’t know…..I don’t know if I could do it.

Me: Lucy! That’s a fab name for a blog! Did you get the URL for it already? 

Lucy: No, not yet. I don’t even know how to use WordPress or anything. Well, maybe I’ll ask Didier (her husband) to help me when I get home. Maybe.

Me: Sweetheart, listen to me. That URL could be taken If you don’t buy the name like *right now* I’m going buy it and then sell it back to you for 10x the price! (as I’m logging into my GoDaddy account on my phone). It’s now or never, baby!

So *of course* she bought it. I’m can be pushy like that LOL! Lucy launched Ladles & Jellyspoons, cooking with chefs past, present and future blog and a little while later snagged a book deal to write a book called Made in America: Our Best Chefs Reinvent Comfort Food and is now a casting judge for Master Chef television show.

Wow, right!? She’s amazing. Here’s a recipe we chose to share with you from the brand new book! ~Jaden

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Merriman’s has been the destination restaurant in Waimea on the Big Island since it opened in 1988. The Los Angeles Times named chef and owner Peter Merriman “The Pied Piper of Hawaii regional cuisine,” and he’s proud of showcasing local ingredients on his menu.
There are toasted Hawaiian macadamia nuts in the jasmine rice for extra texture and flavor, a good example of how he integrates ingredients to present them at their best. Originally, he sourced local produce simply because it tasted better, encouraging farmers to cultivate varieties never before grown on the island.
With the creation of Hawaii regional cuisine, many local farmers and ranchers are now providing Merriman with a vast array of ingredients—from fresh organic mushrooms and greens to award-winning goat cheese and free-range, hormone-free lamb and beef. All find their way onto Merriman’s extensive menu with 90 percent of the ingredients from Hawaii.
Merriman also grows a lot of his own herbs, fruits, and vegetables for the restaurant in a little kitchen garden that the dining room overlooks. A couple of tomatoes cling to a drying vine from a season long since over in the rest of America; a large bunch of bananas are about to ripen; black sugarcane stands tall; and tiny, bright, super hot red peppers dot a low bush.
Merriman shows off the abundance, bending to smell an herb and happy to share his stories. “These are all canoe crops,” he tells me. “Brought to Hawaii hundreds of years ago. The only indigenous species are coconuts and kukui nuts [their oil is used as the fuel in tiki lamps].” ~Lucy Lean
Her book is available on Amazon here, Made in America: Our Best Chefs Reinvent Comfort Food!

Kalbi Ribs with Macadamia Nut Rice

This Korean twist on the American classic comfort food, short ribs, is supereasy and quick,” says Merriman. “It’s also a guys’ recipe. It should be cooked outside on the grill. It goes great with a beer.
Recipe copyright Peter Merriman
Prep Time 8 hours
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 4 - 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 jumbo onion
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh ginger
  • 2 cups low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 5 pounds 1/2-inch-cut beef short ribs, use prime or choice corn-fed beef (you need the fat)
  • 12 ounces jasmine rice
  • 2 tablespoons garlic butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped toasted macadamia nuts<
  • 1/2 cup chopped scallions

Instructions
 

  • Purée the onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and brown sugar in a food processor. Pour over ribs and marinate for 8 hours.
  • Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold water, place in a small saucepan, and pour in enough water to cover rice and come to 1 inch above it. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. turn off the heat and let the rice rest for 15 minutes without opening the lid.
  • Grill the ribs over charcoal until medium rare.
  • Serve on jasmine rice tossed with garlic butter, toasted macadamia nuts, and chopped scallions.

Notes

Chef Merriman’s Tip:
Half-inch pieces of beef absorb the marinade better, stay more tender, and cook more evenly—so have your butcher cut them down.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!