James MacArthur may have spent his career solving crimes as Danny "Danno" Williams on Hawaii Five-O, but off-screen, he had another role to master: cooking.

According to a 1973 interview with the Tallahassee Democrat, after his divorce, MacArthur realized there was one thing he wasn’t quite ready to give up: good food.

"My ex-wife was a good cook and after our divorce I decided I still wanted to eat good food...there's only one way to do it and that's to do it yourself," MacArthur said.

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And so, cooking became more than a necessity. It became a hobby. MacArthur had a particular appreciation for dishes that were best when prepared with a little extra care.

"I took it up because there are certain things I like such as Cesar salad, eggs benedict, clams casino, oysters Rockefeller, that are at their best only when they're carefully prepared at home," MacArthur said.

But there was another reason MacArthur wanted to sharpen his skills. According to the interview, he wanted to make good use of the vegetables he grew at home, and living in Hawaii gave him plenty of inspiration.

"We live here the way Hawaiians do," MacArthur said. "I don't mean in a little grass shack, but life's very casual. Living in the islands makes it much easier to get into this because the vegetables grown here are very fresh."

His home cooking reflected that laid-back island lifestyle.

"What we cook at home is brown rice until it is dry and crisp. Or casseroles made with a lot of vegetables," MacArthur said.

There wasn't much MacArthur wouldn't try when it came to food. For him, a good meal was about more than what was on the plate. It was another way to enjoy life. Turns out Danno knew his way around the kitchen, too.