Dinner Archives - Page 33 of 46 - My Lilikoi KitchenMy Lilikoi Kitchen

Beef, Dinner, Japanese, Lactose Free, Recipes

Seared Filet Mignon with Sautéed Shallots & Shiitake Mushrooms

March 22, 2015

Umami = Deliciousness. The New Yorker’s March 2015 article: You Think You Know Umami describes it in two sentences: “That deep, dark, meaty intensity that distinguishes seared beef, soy sauce, ripe tomato, Parmesan cheese, anchovies, and mushrooms, among other things. It hits the back of your throat and leaves you craving more.” This simple dish is all about umami. Steak, seared and served with shiitake mushrooms, shallots and soy sauce. That’s it. Simple and delicious.

Mana Foods in Paia is my favorite market. Their shelves are stocked full of goodies and hard to find items (for residents of Maui) such as Muscovado sugar, Einkorn flour, specialty vinegars, oils and more. Particularly superb is their produce department. It is well stocked with many fresh locally grown products, including the best selection of fresh mushrooms here on Maui. Beautiful golden chanterelles are hard to find here but Mana has them when they are in season. They even sell fresh fava beans! Gorgeous shiitakes are always available at Mana.

The mushrooms and shallots are sliced thin and quickly sautéed for a few minutes. Soy sauce will be added to the mushrooms just before they are served.

Seared Filet Mignon with Sautéed Shallots & Shiitake Mushrooms

Adapted from Linda Furuya’s San Francisco Chronicle article

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 teaspoons canola oil (or other neutral oil)

1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots

8 – 10 (about 6 ounces) medium-size shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced thin

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 filet mignon (about 8 – 10 ounces 1 1/2″ thick) sliced into two 3/4″ thick medallions

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

Preparation

Heat the canola oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and mushrooms, and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

In the same skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the steak with a little kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the steak to the pan and sear on each side for about 2 – 3 minutes, or enough to leave the insides pink and juicy. Remove steak from the heat, but leave the juices in the pan.

Lower the heat to medium. Return the mushrooms and shallots back to the skillet to warm gently. Once heated, remove the skillet from the heat, add soy sauce and stir until mushrooms and shallots are well coated.

Cut the steak into thin slices and scatter the mushroom mixture over and around the meat. Serve with steamed rice.

Beans, Chicken, Dinner, Recipes

Indian-Spiced Chicken with Chickpeas

March 15, 2015

I have a new appreciation for chicken thighs. There. I’ve said it. I never thought I would, but I’ve learned they are essential in certain recipes, such as this Indian Spiced Chicken. It is exceptional.

The spices that flavor this dish are incredibly fragrant. Your kitchen will be over whelmed with wonderful aromas!

After just an hour in the oven, the chicken is tender and moist. The sauce is so tasty you’ll want to spoon it over your rice, which I quickly did (after taking a few snapshots of the dish). My stepson, Ivan, loves Indian cuisine, but I have always been on the fence. Now however, I’m in love with this Indian recipe.

Indian-Spiced Chicken with Chickpeas

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil

4 each, bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks, skin removed (you may also use 8-10 boneless skinless thighs)

1 tablespoon Earth Balance butter (or unsalted butter)

2 large onions, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons grated peeled ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed (if you want to have lots of chickpeas add another 1/2 can)

2 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon sour cream

salt to taste

fresh cilantro

Preparation

Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 325°. Heat oil in a large oven proof pot over medium high heat. Season chicken with salt. Working in two batches, cook chicken, reducing heat as needed to prevent over browning, until golden brown on all sides, 8 -10 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.

Add butter and onions to pot, season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until onions are soft and golden brown, 10 – 15 minutes.

Stir in garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne. Cook, stirring constantly, until spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in chickpeas and 2 cups broth. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to pot. Add more broth if needed to cover chicken about three-fourths of the way up. Bring to a simmer. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Braise chicken until fork-tender, 50 – 60 minutes.

Using tongs transfer chicken to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Remove pot from the heat and stir sour cream or yogurt into cooking liquid. Season with salt. Return chicken to pot and warm over low heat (do not boil or sour cream may curdle).

Transfer chicken to a large deep platter, Pour sauce over and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with wilted spinach and basmati rice.

Dinner, Lactose Free, Recipes, Side Dishes

Creamy Chive Potatoes

March 8, 2015

This simple and delicious potato side dish is a dream come true. Everything except the chives goes into a pot and simmers, for a short time until the half & half reduces and becomes a luscious coating for the creamy Yukon Gold potatoes. Luckily for me, being lactose intolerant, Organic Valley makes a lactose free half & half which is carried by Mana Foods in Paia.

It seems I’m never able to catch up with all the food magazines that I subscribe to. There are stacks of them all over the living room and they get higher and higher as the months go by. So every now and then I’ll plop down in my comfy chair and spend an hour or two looking through these food magazines wondering what I might have missed. This recipe is a good example. It comes from Bon Appetit’s May 2013 issue that was delivered to my home nearly 2 years ago.

What I love about this recipe is that it has just four ingredients, it’s ready in 30 minutes, and, most importantly, it’s delicious!

These potatoes make a great side dish for steaks, roasted or grilled chicken, pork tenderloin or pork chops. They are so good I even have the leftovers with eggs for breakfast.

Creamy Chive Potatoes

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2″ cubes

1 1/2 cups half & half (I used lactose free Organic Valley half & half)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)

kosher salt

1/4 cup finely chopped chives

Preparation

Combine potatoes, half & half, and butter in a large saucepan; season with salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer very gently, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender (the tip of a paring knife meets no resistance) and sauce is thick, about 20 minutes.

Season with salt; stir in most of the chives. Top with remaining chives before serving.

Dinner, Lactose Free, Recipes, Side Dishes, Soups

Hearty Tomato Herb Soup

February 19, 2015

I enjoy soup but it is not something I would typically order in a restaurant. More often than not, they contain dairy and being lactose intolerant, I have to pass. So when I’m in the mood for soup I make my own at home, and lately, I’ve been in a soup mood. Maybe it’s due to the weather here on Maui. It has been pleasantly cool and we’ve had more rain than we have seen in years. We can go months and months without a drop! So a bowl of hearty soup in February seems just right for lunch.

This soup is full of vegetables and fresh herbs. There’s a tad of butter for sautéing the vegetables, but other than that, it’s fat-free.

Luckily, we have some nice tomatoes in the garden now. Tomatoes are not the easiest fruit to grow. They need a lot of attention (in our area), but with patience, you will be rewarded with the most delicious, juicy tomatoes ever. If you don’t have fresh tomatoes for this soup, there are many good canned tomatoes you may use instead.

I appreciate our beautiful basil, Italian parsley, thyme, and oregano growing happily in the back yard. They add a wonderful fresh flavor to this soup. By the way, this soup can be quickly prepared in an hour or so.

Hearty Tomato Herb Soup

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter or olive oil (I use Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup diced carrot

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced zucchini

2 cups peeled, seeded, diced tomatoes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 bay leaf

3 cans chicken broth (14 ounce)

3 cups water

1 cup cooked, chopped green beans

1 cup cooked rice (brown or white)

salt and pepper

grated parmesan, optional

Preparation

In a large saucepan sauté onion, carrot, and celery in butter over medium heat for 5 – 7 minutes. Add zucchini and sauté another 4 minutes or so. Add tomatoes, herbs, bay leaf, broth, and water to saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes.

Add cooked green beans and rice to pan. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle grated parmesan over soup if desired.

Appetizers, Chicken, Dinner, Fish, Lactose Free, Recipes, Sauces, Vegan, Vegetarian

Avocado-Lime Sauce Vierge

January 31, 2015

This fantastic recipe from Bon Appetit is a winner. Sauce Vierge is a French sauce literally meaning virgin sauce because it is not cooked. There are so many variations, often using tomatoes as the base of the sauce. The main ingredients found in most of the recipes are olive oil, fresh herbs and lemon juice. This recipe includes luscious avocado, the juice and pulp of a lime, and jalapeño pepper. Brilliant!

The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup olive oil and a half of an avocado. I switched it around a bit and used a whole avocado and 1/4 cup of olive oil. I don’t care for sauces or dressings that are heavy on the oil so this worked out perfectly.

The article suggests serving this sauce with grilled fish, roast chicken, or huevos rancheros. We served it with a roast chicken and dipped tortilla chips in the leftover sauce the following day. It was so good, I made more right away.

Avocado – Lime Sauce Vierge

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

1 medium avocado, pitted, diced

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 small jalapeño, seeded, finely chopped

1 small garlic clove, finely chopped

1 teaspoon finely chopped shallot

1 – 2 limes, halved (our limes from the garden are large and juicy so I used just 1 lime, taste as you go)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Dice avocado and place in a medium bowl. Coarsely crush some of the avocado. Stir in olive oil, jalapeño, garlic, and shallot. Squeeze limes into avocado mixture. Using a spoon, scrape pulp out of limes into mixture. Stir to combine. Do Ahead: Sauce can be made a few days in advance. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on surface of sauce. Cover and refrigerate. Bring sauce to room temperature before continuing.

Stir basil and cilantro into sauce just before serving. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with extra olive oil if desired.

Chicken, Dinner, Lactose Free, Recipes

Grilled Lemony Chicken with Fresh Herbs

January 23, 2015

Our lemon tree is full of fruit and we have more than we can use. Such is the case with our lilikoi vines as well. It’s a bit overwhelming at times, wondering just what to do with all the fruit that’s piled high in baskets on the dining room table. Much of it we give away. I’ve always wanted to make preserved lemons so that might be my next project. This time, I made a quick lemony marinade for chicken breasts that would be grilled on the charcoal grill with a couple of wood chunks thrown on the coals for a touch of smoke.

Though the few lemons I did use in the recipe didn’t make a dent on what’s left on the tree, the chicken turned out better than any version of grilled herb chicken we have made before. It’s a keeper. Any leftovers are delicious in a sandwich or served on a Caesar salad.

I used fresh thyme, parsley, basil, marjoram and rosemary from the garden. You aren’t required to use all of these if you make this recipe though I do feel the thyme, basil and rosemary are essential. And maybe the parsley too.

I always pound the chicken breasts so that they are an even thickness. Doing this ensures they cook evenly and stay moist and tender.

Instead of mixing the herbs into the olive oil-lemon juice marinade, I sprinkle them evenly over both sides of the chicken. The herbs don’t get lost in the marinade and there’s plenty of fresh herb flavor on each piece.

Grilled Lemony Chicken Breasts with Fresh Herbs

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts – lightly pounded to a uniform thickness

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

3 garlic cloves, crushed

dash of red pepper flakes (optional)

1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley

1 tablespoon chopped basil

2 teaspoons chopped thyme

2 teaspoons chopped rosemary

1 teaspoons chopped marjoram (optional)

Preparation

Season both sides of chicken breasts generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Combine olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, chili flakes if using, and garlic.

Place marinade in a dish just large enough to hold chicken breasts in one layer. Place chicken in marinade, turn to coat the other side. Divide the herbs in half and sprinkle over both sides of chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 1/2 hours or up to 2 hours, turning the chicken half way through.

Remove chicken from marinade and transfer to a plate. Grill chicken for a few minutes on each side. It is done when an instant read thermometer reaches 160°.

Older Posts

Newer Posts

Dinner

Seared Filet Mignon with Sautéed Shallots & Shiitake Mushrooms

Share this:

Indian-Spiced Chicken with Chickpeas

Share this:

Creamy Chive Potatoes

Share this:

Hearty Tomato Herb Soup

Share this:

Avocado-Lime Sauce Vierge

Share this:

Grilled Lemony Chicken with Fresh Herbs

Share this:

Follow My Lilikoi Kitchen