Coquito's a Hidden Gem on The West Coast

After a beautiful morning at the beach yesterday my husband & I were in search for lunch. Puerto Rican food to be exact. We've been watching a lot of FoodNetwork's Tripple D with Guy Fieri and he's been featuring a lot of Latin food lately. So that was the reason for our quest to find an authentic Puerto Rican eatery. I searched for places on Yelp, and since we were hanging at the Lagoons at Ko'olina I decided to see if there were places near by that served authentic Latin cuisine. This is when I stumbled upon Coquito's. 

I actually remember my girlfriend posting things about this place on her Facebook page. She is also married to a wonderful man who is of Puerto Rican decent. So naturally, if they go there... It must be 

good! Right?!

Coquito's is located on the west side of Oahu deep in the heart of Waianae. There's is only one way in and one way out of this town, so you can't miss it. You'll find it towards the end of Waianae, diagonally across from the second McDonalds Restaurant on the right & Coquito's will be on the left coming In from town. It's a really cute place, and truly a hidden gem on the west coast. 

As you walk up the stairs of this cute little place, you'll find a few tables for seating outside. Then when you get inside you're welcomed to a sunny place with yellow walls, and beautiful tropical art. I've never been to Puerto Rico, but if I did go, I'd imagine it would be a place that's warm and cozy like this. 

We had our two children with us, so the first thing to order was their food. They have a very kid friendly menu, but not your typical French fries & chicken nugget type of deal. We order the keiki's grilled ham & cheese sandwiches. Not your ordinary grilled ham & cheese. They served it up on their specialty bread, pressed on the grill, panini style, & served with plantain chips. The kids tore that apart, they loved it! 

There is a popular Puerto Rican dish here in Hawaii, which is Pastele's. It's plantains seasoned &  mashed to almost a paste, mixed with seasoned pork, olives, wrapped in Ti leaves & steamed. My favorite by far! However being that my husband & I are total foodies we were in search of Mofongo! We've seen it on the FoodNetwork quit a few times and have always wanted to try it. And finally, we have! 

Mofongo is made in a wooden mortar, they mash up plantains with Latin seasonings, ours had bacon in it too. They ball it up & serve it with your choice of meat. As you can see the Mofongo here has been made & shaped into a bowl with our choice of meat in it. My husband had the marinated steak, & I got the shrimp. The shrimp was sautéed in butter & garlic. Placed in the Mofongo bowl with some of that wonderful melted butter. OMG, my husband & I were in heaven!!!! We were so stuffed as we had ordered some appetizers too. We had the Colombian Empanadas. That was tasty as well. Even though we were stuffed, we couldn't leave with out dessert! 

We had the Tres Leches cake. A vanilla cake soaked in three milks & topped with whipped cream. We also had, I'm not sure what it was called, I chose it from their dessert case up front. It was a strawberry cake with flan (custard) on the top. The kids loved it! The desserts were simple, yet so amazing! 

Coquito's offers a wide arrange of things on their menu, like:

Caribbean Jerk Wings

Cuban Sandwiches

Pastele's

Argentinian Flank Steak

Just to name a few. Check out their website here to see their menu & hours of operation. My family & I will definitely be back for more! I encourage you to check it out, try something new. You won't be disappointed. Also note to self, they do not serve alcohol there, but we did see a couple next to us that brought their own. So I'm definitely bringing in a bottle of wine with me the next time I go! 

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Like many out there, I have a sweet tooth that likes to be satisfied all the time! Though since I've been on a healthy kick, I managed to put this recipe together for a semi-healthier version of a chocolate cupcake. And let me just say, I think this is the best chocolate cupcake I've ever made from scratch. So decadent & flavorful, it's out of this world! You'd never know that there are healthier choices in this sweet treat.  Recipe as follows.... 

For the cupcakes, makes 24: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two 12 count cupcake pans. 

**If you can find all organic ingredients, fantastic! However, it is not mandatory. 

DRY INGREDIENTS

1&1/2c All Purpose Flour

3/4c Organic Sprouted Wheat Flour

2c Organic Coconut Sugar

1/4c Organic Cacao Powder

1/4c Unsweetened Dark Chocolate Powder

1&1/2 teaspoon baking SODA

1 teaspoon baking POWDER

1/2 teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt

1 scoop of Purium's Rice Bran Solubles

1 scoop of Purium's LOVE (Live. Organic. Vegan. Energy.)

WET INGREDIENTS

1c Purium's Organic Tropic Oil

1c Organic Buttermilk

1c Strong Brewed Coffee 

3 Organic Eggs

1 teaspoon Chocolate Extract 

***NOTE: You can find a good chocolate extract on line or at a local specialty cooking/kitchen store. If you can't find any, you may substitute with pure vanilla extract. 

Optional: 60% Cacao Chips (Ghirardelli Brand)

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add all of the wet ingredients, then turn the mixer on low. Gradually turn the speed up till well incorporated. You'll notice the batter will almost be like a soupy consistency. Do not be alarmed, this is exactly what you want for fluffy chocolate cupcakes. 

You can spoon the batter into your lined cupcake pans filling each cup 3/4 of the way or you can easily use an ice cream scoop to fill them uniformly. If you have some cacao chips available, you can place about 8 chips in each cup. I like to do this after because the batter is so soupy. 

Bake for 20 minutes till an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then take them out of the pan, place them on a wire rack & let them cool completely before frosting. 

*You may have some batter left over. You can line a few more cups in a 3rd cupcake pan & bake them up after your initial 24 cupcakes are done. 

FOR THE FROSTING:

3 sticks of butter just at room temp

1 block of Philly Cream Cheese

3c SIFTED Organic Powdered Sugar

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Place butter, cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar & vanilla extract into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Turn on low & gradually increase speed till mixed well. Add another cup of sugar, start on low & increase speed till incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape sides, add your last cup of sugar & repeat steps till mixed well. Scrape the bowl down one last time & whisk till nice & fluffy. Done.

**NOTE: I actually made a salted caramel flavored frosting for the cupcake pictured. To do that I substituted the vanilla extract for a gourmet caramel extract & added 1/2 teaspoon of Pink Himalayan Salt. Caramel extract can be found on line. 

Frost the cupcakes by hand or with a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. You can garnish with some gold sprinkles & slivered almonds. Ultimately, I would have wanted to top these off with some crushed salted pretzels & a drizzle of chocolate ganache, but I didn't have those things on hand. 

However, if you have those ingredients on hand, I'd love to see your final product! Follow me on Facebook: Kapakahi Me or on Twitter: @GiveMe_10days, would love for you to share your pic with me. For more info on Purium products or to purchase, you may click the link at the top right under "My Favorite Finds...". If interested, prior to purchasing, email me & I'll give you a $50 gift card to try some products. Thank you so much for stopping by! Aloha & ENJOY! 

Email: giveme10days@gmail.com