Something many Land of Marvels readers might not realize is that I love to cook.  It’s always been a big passion of mine and baking, cooking, and hosting dinner parties is something that I love to do and try to do as much as my schedule permits.  Food is also such a huge part of travel and as Nick and I have ventured around the world, we’ve fallen in love with so many cultures through their food.  So in this Land of Marvels series, as I learn to cook different cultural food from around the world, I’ll share the process and recipes here so you can have an exotic culinary adventure yourself as well!  Welcome to Global Food: A Night in the Islands!

This Summer has been a whirlwind of travel and events, making it seem like time was flying by us.  It had been a while since I’d had a group of our friends over for a dinner party so I figured it was the perfect time to get together and try a new theme of cultural food for everyone.  Since we had been making multiple trips to Hawaii this Summer for work, I decided on a Night in the Islands!

Our dinner party consisted of tropical foods, Hawaiian flavors and typical local dishes from Oahu and the other Hawaiian islands.  I love tropical flavors and they were easy to adapt to make lots of food for a group of 8 people.  This cultural menu is great for a Summer get together, when the weather is warm and the nights are long!