Tiki Night/Luau Menu

I am planning on having a Tiki Night/Quasi-Luau etc... sometime this summer. I am going through all my books and magazines for menu suggestions. This will be more of a Cocktails and PuPu platter kind of event. I am interested in some menu selections that have been successful with other TC members events.

Thanks!

I'll post the menus for this weekend's Brevard Pre-Hukilau party in this space next week. Still keeping a few things as surprises until the party.

And Tampa's not too far away from us - especially for a tiki party! We've been meaning to make it over there and see the new Dali museum makeover.

Some perennial favorites from our annual shindig...

terkiyaki beef/chicken nibbles (on toothpicks)
chicken wings
mini fruit kebabs on toothpicks, serve with or without a lime-yogurt dipping sauce
Chinese delivery chicken fingers, wontons, crab rangoon, scallion pancakes - anything "finger foodie"
banana rum coconut cookies (a big hit!) - http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/banana-rum-coconut-cookies-10000001173794/
haupia - http://www.polynesia.com/recipes/haupia.html

Since I don't want to spend the night in the kitchen, I generally do everything as a make-ahead and heat it later. Also, I've found that breaking up the food to 1/3 home-made, 1/3 packaged and microwaveable (Trader Joe's has some good options), and 1/3 Chinese delivery really works well and let's me actually hang out with my guests!

Tonga, have you checked out that Hawaiian food stand on South Dale Mabry- "da Kine?"

Thanks for the advise and the tip on "da Kine"! - I will have to try it out. It sounds like the perfect place to cater part of the event....

ive only been once- liked it, but dunno if it fits folks' expectations re 'polynesian.'

Costco carries some good Tiki-able finger foods, if you're only up to heating up stuff: Crab rangoon, mini spring rolls, potstickers, teriyaki meatballs, etc.

Grill up a batch of huli-huli chicken wings or scallop rumaki, and maybe some coconut shrimp and you're good to go.

Polynesia – Southern California Style Here's one of my sample menus that I often use for parites.

Introduction to Exotica

Trader Vic’s
Mai Tai: 1 oz Appleton 12 yr, 1 oz St. James Martinique,
juice of 1 lime, ¼ oz. Orgeat, ¼ oz Simple Syrup, ½ oz Orange Curacao, shake and add a float of dark rum - optional

Mixed Juiced Narratives

Scorpion: 1 ½ oz Lemon Juice, 2 oz Orange juice, 2 oz Puerto Rican White Rum, ½ oz Brandy, ½ oz Orgeat - shake

Samoan Fog Cutter 2 oz fresh lemon juice, 1 oz orange juice
½ oz Orgeat, 1 ½ oz light Puerto Rican rum, ½ oz Brandy, ½ oz Gin, ½ oz sweet Sherry float - shake

Film Noir – Spicy, for Mature Audiences Only

Navy Grog: ¾ oz lime, ¾ oz grapefruit juice, ½ oz honey mix, ¼ oz Pimento Dram, 1 oz gold rum, 1 oz dark Jamaican rum, 1 oz Demerara, 1 oz club soda – flash blend (Phil Spector had two of these at Trader Vic’s before he was arrested for you know what)

Zombie Punch
(1934): ¾ oz lime juice, ½ Don’s Mix, ½ oz Falernum, 1 ½ oz Jamaican Appleton V/X rum, 1 oz gold Puerto Rican rum, 1 oz 151 Demarara rum, dash of Angostura bitters, 6 drops Absenthe, 1 tsp. grenadine, 6 oz crushed ice, flash blended.
Don Beachcomber
Rum Barrel: 1 oz lime juice, 1 oz grapefruit juice, 1 oz orange juice, 1 oz pineapple juice, 1 oz honey mix, 1 oz light Puerto Rican Rum, 1 oz Jamaican gold rum, 2 oz Demarara rum, 1 tsp Falernum, 1 tsp Pimento Dram, 6 drops Absenthe, 6 drops grenadine, dash of bitters, 8 oz crushed ice – flash blended

Appetizers

Luau Spread with Wheat Crackers

Whipped Cream Cheese mixed with an island blend of pineapple, pecans, and grated ginger

Hawaiian BBQ Pork on Hawaiian sweet roles

Slow roasted pork simmered in tropical sauces and spices all served on fresh baked Hawaiian sweet rolls.

Rumaki

This legendary appetizer of water chestnuts, sweetbread, and bacon first found life at Don the Beachcomber’s. What cocktail party in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s didn’t have this dish to help soak up some rum.

Lobster Rangoon

First served at Trader Vic’s in Saint Louis, this twist on the famous treat starts out with Lobster instead of crab.

Samoan Chicken Meatballs

Chicken is an essential ingredient for any self respecting Samoan in need of cutting through a thick ocean fog.

Bongo Bongo Soup

This rich velvety blend of oysters, clams, spinach, and seasoned memories of Americana is sure to transport you back in time and on an island of your own delights.

[ Edited by: telescopes 2011-04-13 22:36 ]

You have some very lucky friends. I refuse to mix Tiki drinks for more than 4 people at a time(incl. myself), which usually leads me to make one big bucket of Admiral Vernon's Grog for parties.

Great menu Telescopes! Makin' me hungry :)

On 2011-04-14 06:56, Kill Devil wrote:
You have some very lucky friends. I refuse to mix Tiki drinks for more than 4 people at a time(incl. myself), which usually leads me to make one big bucket of Admiral Vernon's Grog for parties.

The secret is to prep up to two days before. I put everything in either crock pots, i.e. Hawaiian pork, or in the fridge in casserole dishes or lined cookie sheets before the guest come over, My wife drops everything into the oven and serves them throughout the evening as part of a revolving pupu. By serving the drinks in flights, I have most of the ingredients I need close by for those rounds. It takes up to 50 tiki mugs to do a whole party. I used to be a chef for an Italian restaurant so I treat everything as prep, placement, and move things in blocks. The key for me is to have someone willing to serve and anticipate the needs of the guests - and my wife does a great job with that. By the time the third round is over, most people are simply tuckered out. Strangely, many of the women guests like drinking from communal bowls - and those are easy and quick to make.

In my second life, I would have been a bartender. I love it.

Thank you MDM for the thumbs up.

[ Edited by: telescopes 2011-04-14 20:50 ]