Tiki Week: Frozen Key Lime Pie Cups

Tomorrow is Mother�s Day, and that means we�ve hit the end of tiki week. Hopefully this little series has inspired you to do something fun and different for your ma this year. Put away the bubbles and scones and shove a rum drink and rumaki in your mom�s hand, for once! 


Although I�m a big proponent of #dessertfirst, I�ve saved the dessert for last this time. This is actually as much for your tiki mom�s day party as it is for your anytime summer party, especially if you live with someone who�s as obsessed with key lime as Evan is. 

All of my tiki week recipes have been pretty simple (minus that several ingredient cocktail), and this dessert is no exception: a three ingredient, no-bake key lime filling, quick graham cracker crumb layer, and simple vanilla ice cream topping. Frozen key lime pie cups! 

I actually didn�t intend for these to be frozen. They were supposed to have whipped cream on top, not ice cream. But then the day of my photo shoot, just as I was finishing up my garnishes and stuff, my mixer bowl was in the running dishwasher. I�ve made whipped cream by hand with a whisk, and it�s a muther-effer to do, so I decided to try the shake-a-jar whipped cream method. You guys, I shook that stupid jar for like 10 minutes, and Evan took a few turns, and my weak baby arms were jello, and I still just had runny liquid cream. HOW DO YOU DO IT!? 

So anyway, I was ready to do my photo shoot and didn�t want to run back to the store for pre-whipped cream, so decided to fake it for the photos, with vanilla ice cream. Sorry, it�s true. Sometimes we fake it. But then afterward, I stuck the assembled cups in the freezer (since you know, they were topped with ice cream), and later, once everything was frozen, I took a bite, and holy-sweet-tropical-limes, it was better than the original! A tropical, frozen dessert to tie up tiki week!

And there you have it. A happy accident, which is really the reason so many people celebrate Mother�s Day to begin with�amiright!? 

Frozen Key Lime Pie Cups
Makes 4-6 cups, depending on size

Filling:
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened to room temp
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (key limes if you can find them)
Zest of 1 lime

Graham Crumble:
1 sleeve graham crackers
3 tablespoons melted butter
Zest of 1 lime

Vanilla ice cream

Beat cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, and lime zest together until smooth and combined. Divide evenly among serving glasses.

In a food processor, pulse graham crackers until they're a fine crumb, then add melted butter and lime zest, and pulse until combined. Layer on top of lime mixture, and gently press down (not too firmly).

Top with ice cream, and freeze for a couple of hours until ready to serve. Top with lime zest or slices for decoration.

Tiki Week: Coconut Shrimp Rangoon

Tiki week appetizer #2! If crab Rangoon and coconut shrimp had a baby, that baby would be coconut shrimp Rangoon! And then we would eat the baby. Er. Is that a weird thing to say on a food blog?!


Yesterday I mentioned that rumaki is faux-Polynesian�the brainchild of Donn Beach. When he started the tiki restaurant craze, his food menus were mostly Cantonese, with a little south Pacific flair and a mid-century American twist. Trader Vic followed suit, and the tiki pu-pu platter was born. Mid-century tiki bar pu-pu platters typically consisted of Americanized-Cantonese dishes like egg rolls, chicken skewers, and spare ribs. Then there were things with Hawaiian/Tahitian influence, and things with ambiguous �Polynesian� origins�. ie: California, USA. Rumaki is definitely one of those things, and from what I can tell, so is the beloved crab Rangoon: cream cheese and crab inside a wonton wrapper, fried up until crispy, with a sweet and sour dipping sauce.

I decided to combine those tasty little nuggets with another tiki favorite: coconut shrimp! Sweet shrimpies, toasted coconut, and cream cheese� wrapped up like a hug and dipped in sweet/tart dipping sauce made with peach jam and sambal! Also, I baked mine, because #bikiniseason, but feel free to rev up the deep fryer. It's for sure the preferred method, if you�re so inclined. Donn Beach and Trader Vic would be proud of you!

Coconut Shrimp Rangoon
Makes about 30 pieces 

1 lb boiled/cooked shrimp (deveined with tails/shells off)
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 squirt sriracha
2-3 green onions, diced 
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted (under broiler for a about 30 seconds to a minute) and 1 tablespoon untoasted 
Wonton wrappers 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Roughly chop shrimp into smallish bits. Stir (using stand mixer or by hand) cream cheese, soy sauce, onions, and coconut until well combined. Stir in shrimp. 

Scoop about a tablespoon of mixture into center of each wonton wrapper, and fold up like an envelope, using a little bit of water or whisked egg to seal. Place on prepared baking sheet, and brush top with olive oil (or spray) and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden and crispy on each side. 

If frying, make sure you seal them extra well (maybe even try a different rolling/bundling technique) to get them to stay sealed. Deep fry in vegetable oil for 1-2 minutes, until crispy and golden brown.

Serve with dipping sauce. 

Sweet and Sour Peach Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup peach (or apricot) jam
1 teaspoon sambal oelek (chili garlic sauce)
1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon soy sauce

In a small saucepan, whisk together ingredients, and heat over medium-low heat until combined. Serve warm or room temp with Rangoons.  

Tiki Party: Rumaki

You can�t have a tiki party without some classic tiki snacks! Have you ever had rumaki? We had it all the time when I was growing up, which is why I knew my ma would love this Mother�s Day tiki party! 


Rumaki�marinated chicken liver and water chestnuts wrapped in bacon�is a classic tiki pupu platter addition. It was created either by the godfather of Tiki, Donn the Beachcomber, or the second godfather of Tiki, Trader Vic, and was a popular menu item at tiki restaurants and parties in the mid-20th century. It�s totally faux-Polynesian. Which makes my version, which uses chicken breast instead of liver, faux-faux-Polynesian. That�s why we�re calling it ru-mock-i! 

I used basic ol� chicken breast (feel free to use thighs!) instead of liver, to appease the picky taste buds of my household. Sorry, mom. Evan won�t touch chicken liver with a ten-foot toothpick. I loved chicken liver when I was a kid (especially marinated and grilled!), and I loved the rumaki my parents made. As I�ve gotten older though, I�ve sort of lost my taste for the stuff. Isn�t that backwards? Isn�t your palate supposed to become more adventurous the older you get? Either way, these little bites are fun and addictive, with hints of all five basic tastes: sweet, salty, umami, bacon, and bacon. 

Check back for the rest of my tiki party menu! Yesterday I shared the star of the show, the Three Dots and a Dash tiki drink, and tomorrow I�ll be combining two classic tiki treats into one tasty little bite: coconut shrimp and crab Rangoon! 

Alright, are you ready to roll (some chicken and water chestnuts inside some bacon)!?

Ru-mock-i (Mock Rumaki)

Adapted from here and here

Makes about 45 pieces. I use thinner bacon, for better roll-ability. If you use thicker bacon you might need toothpicks to hold them together. If that's the case, be sure to soak toothpicks in water for at least an hour.

1/2 cup soy sauce

3 Tablespoons dark brown sugar

1  inch-long chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Fresh ground black pepper

2 chicken breasts (about 1 pound), cut into small bite size pieces

1 can of whole water chestnuts, halved

1 lb package of bacon, cut in 3rds

In a large bowl, whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and pepper. Add chicken and water chestnuts, and marinate in the fridge for at least an hour (several hours is even better!).  

Heat oven to 425. 

Strain marinade off of chicken and chestnuts, and set aside. To assemble, wrap one chestnut piece and one chicken piece in one of your pre-cut 1/3rd size bacon slices, and roll up tightly. Repeat with remaining pieces, and place rolled rumakis on a baking sheet. Brush with reserved marinade. 

Bake until everything is cooked through and bacon is just crispy, about 25 minutes.