UH-mazing Holiday Recipes 2024

The UH holiday season was ʻono again with the 2024 UH-mazing recipes from our UH ʻohana!

Sarah Burchard’s Grandma’s Date Sticks
Kapiʻolani Community College student Sarah Burchard, who is also a staff writer for Kapiʻo News, shared her grandmother’s recipe for date sticks. Her grandparents lived in Palm Springs, California, which is known for its date farms. “These soft yet crunchy, sugary treats were placed in one of those royal blue butter cookie tins (the same ones she stored her sewing supplies in) and kept on the coffee table in the living room for the taking.”

Shawn Sumiki’s Thai Salad
Hawaiʻi Community College Culinary Instructor Shawn Sumiki is an alumnus of the program he has lead since 2008. “[The salad] is a super-fast dish to prepare. It’s also very refreshing and healthy. My family loves this dish during the holidays due to its fresh and vibrant flavors!”

Daisy Church’s The Berry Manilow
Daisy Church, an assistant professor of animation at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, shares a family staple. “When I moved away from home, from the East Coast to the West Coast, this became my signature dish to bring to all the many Friendsgivings I attended and hosted. My friends quickly morphed the original name of the recipe, ‘Berry Mallow Casserole’ to ‘The Berry Manilow,’ which is how it will forever be known to me.”

Val Melle’s ʻUlu Butter Mochi
Valerie Melle wears multiple hats at Kauaʻi Community College as a natural resource program associate, bee educator and researcher with the campus’ apiary and ʻUlutopia project. “This familiar treat using ʻulu is a tradition of sorts for my family to welcome and send blessings to loved ones and inspiration for the next new year.”

Roy Yamaguchi’s momʻs green beans
Chef, restaurateur and Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Kapiʻolani CC Director Chef Roy Yamaguchi shares his mom’s Okinawan-style recipe with familiar ingredients such as bacon, tofu, green beans and miso, creating a flavorful holiday side. “One of my all-time childhood favorite dishes to make during the holidays is my mother’s green bean dish.”

Tori Hiro’s Pinakbet
Hawaiʻi CC’s Tori Hiro, a culinary program instructor shared her family’s stew made from pork and local vegetables and is distinctly flavored with bagoong (a condiment made from salted and fermented seafood). “This was one of the first dishes my apo (grandfather) taught me how to cook using vegetables grown in their backyard in Laupāhoehoe.”

Kohlby Soong’s Garlic ʻUlu Mash (plant based)
Kapiʻolani CC’s Kohlby Soong, internship support specialist and facilitator of the Māla Māunuunu shares his twist on mashed potatoes. “ʻUlu is an important food to the Hiva Moana (Oceanic) people because this tree crop can sustain a village. It is essential that my family reclaims their ʻono and diet towards a more sustainable Hawaiʻi by eating the foods that are birthed from our soils.”

Libby’s Ribby Roast
Hawaiʻi CC Communications and Marketing Specialist Katie Young Yamanaka shares a recipe from her mom Libby Young, a retired Windward CC professor of English and journalism. “It’s the centerpiece of our dinner table—a dish Mom says is fool-proof. The roast is often accompanied by cauliflower mash, roasted vegetables and lots of creamy horseradish.”

Charlie Clausner’s Charlie Casserole
UH Mānoa College of Education EdD candidate Charlie Clausner shared his family’s corn casserole recipe, which was modified from a recipe his mom found in a cookbook. “I grew up in the cornfields of central Illinois,” Clausner said. “It’s a great Thanksgiving day dish and always delights. Give it a try!”