Thanksgiving on Maui

Thanksgiving on Maui

Aloha Family & Friends,

We recently noticed the encouraging reports regarding the airport’s preparations to ensure seamless arrival and departure experiences for the upcoming holiday season. While reviewing the current Maui News website, the prominent presence of Thanksgiving-themed content prompted us to reflect on the unique ways our incoming visitors might choose to celebrate “Turkey Day” on Maui. To help you shape your holiday experience, we’re delighted to share a few distinctly Maui options.

For instance, if your primary goal is island relaxation and enjoyment but you still wish to partake in a traditional Thanksgiving meal without the demands of cooking, Maui’s exceptional restaurant scene offers excellent alternatives. For a truly memorable celebration, we recommend Merriman’s in Kapalua. Their holiday menus expertly combine classic seasonal flavors with their signature Hawaiian Regional Cuisine; all set against an incomparable ocean view.

If you’re leaning toward a more casual dining environment infused with the distinctive Maui beach vibe, we highly recommend considering Aloha Mixed Plate. They are featuring a convenient all-day Kalua Turkey Dinner. This satisfying plate encompasses all the traditional fixings—mashed potatoes with gravy, savory stuffing, green beans, cranberries—and is delightfully topped off with the locally cherished dessert, pumpkin crunch.

For those who envision a distinctly Hawaiian celebration, a Thanksgiving Lūʻau is an unforgettable option. Here in West Maui, you may find yourself with the pleasant dilemma of selecting between two excellent choices: the celebrated Old Lāhainā Lūʻau and the popular Sheraton Maui Lūʻau. Both offer a generous buffet of well-known Hawaiian cuisine, including delicious lomi lomi salmon and kālua pig. We also encourage you to try the poi; you might discover a new favorite!

But if your condo has a full kitchen and you’d prefer to make your own meal, it’s time to hit the grocery store. We have several chain grocery stores – all well stocked and clean – but we also have some smaller out-of-the-way options. Maui Prime Fine Food is a great option. Established in 2006, it specializes in choice cuts of meat, fresh seafood and premium wines and cheeses. Another great local food store is Island Grocery Depot. Stocking as much local product as possible and offer warm, welcoming aloha to all. Also, they figure in to our most emphatic recommendation.

If you visit our island and take advantage of only one of the wonderful options in this newsletter, it’s got the be an S&J Bakery pie. Seriously. They create some of the best pies either of us has ever eaten! You can order directly, but the pies are available at Island Grocery. And believe it or not, they are only $12.99! How’s that for a holiday treat?

We’ll pause here for now. Although we have more ideas to share, duty calls— with all our snowbirds coming in this time of year and the height of our real estate season just around the corner, we’ll be on the move for sure!

Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving!

Aloha, Greg & Leah

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This chocolate cream pie recipe layers a buttery crust, a chewy caramel macadamia nut base, and a silky chocolate pudding top. Inspired by Hawaiʻi dessert tables, it’s simple, sliceable, and always the first pie to vanish.

Classic Chocolate Cream Macadamia Nut Pie

Instructions

Pie Crust:

1. Add flour, salt, and sugar to a food processor. Pulse 2-3 times until combined.
2. Add cubed butter over the flour mixture and process until the dough looks crumbly.
3. Then add in the iced water. Pulse until the dough starts to come together. Add in teaspoon of water if the mixture still looks a little dry.
4. Remove the dough and form it into a ball. Cut the ball in half and form each half into a disk. Wrap one disk in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
5. Roll remaining disc 1/8-inch thick. Fit into an 8-inch pie pan. Let it gently fall into the pie pan. Trim and crimp and dock bottom with a fork. Chill 20 minutes in the fridge. Or quickly chill it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
6. Blind-bake at 400°F: line with parchment paper then line it with foil to provide extra support. Add pie weights or beans; bake for 10 minutes. Remove weights/foil and bake ~20 minutes more until golden. Cool completely.

Caramel–Macadamia Layer:

1. Cook sugar on a medium saucepan over medium heat. Continously stir until the sugar melts to a deep amber caramel.
2. Take off of the heat and whisk in room temperature butter and warm cream. Stir until it is nice and glossy. Stir in chopped macadamia nuts. Cool for 10 minutes.
3. Spread evenly in cooled crust, and chill 20–30 minutes to set.

Chocolate Pudding Layer (soft, sliceable):

1. Whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Slowly whisk in milk and cream until smooth.
2. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick and bubbling; let bubble 30–60 seconds to activate the starch.
3. Off heat, whisk in chocolate, butter, and vanilla until smooth (strain for ultra-smooth texture, optional).
   Cool 10–15 minutes (warm, not hot). Pour over caramel layer, smooth the top, and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface.
4. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight until fully set.

Whipped Cream:

1. Whip the cream with a hand mixer until it begins to create soft peaks; add sugar and whip to medium peaks. Spread or pipe on top before serving.
2. Optionally garnish with chocolate shavings.

Enjoy!

Classic Chocolate Cream Macadamia Nut Pie Recipe from Ono Hawaiian Recipes