Recipe for Cilantro Lime Pesto Roasted Chicken

I love all the fun pesto concoctions you can find these days!  Different nuts, different herbs...  I have my standby pesto recipe that I adore but I found a locally produced cilantro, lime, macadamia nut pesto here on Maui and wow is it good!  I had a nice organic free range chicken in the fridge and tried the pesto out in my usual roasted chicken recipe.  This was a flavorful, easy dish. 

This roasted chicken technique turns out perfect every time.  I did, however, almost drop this one transferring it from the pan to the cutting board.  Hence the torn up skin where I clamped down with the tongs!  Never fear, the chicken made it to the table just fine!

Recipe for Pear and Prosciutto Appetizer

When I move to San Francisco, one of my neighbors ended up being a co-worker and good friend.  She is part Italian and introduced me to prosciutto wrapped melon which we used to lap up as an afternoon snack with a glass of wine on our roof top deck (on those days when you could enjoy the sun outside in San Francisco without a coat on).  The light and salty flavor of the prosciutto complemented the sweetness of the melon perfectly.  Those Italians know how to do food right!


Now in Maui, we can enjoy the outdoors pretty much any day we like (don't hate me!).  I still love prosciutto wrapped melon and thought it would be perfect as a nibble for when our friends were coming over to do some trip planning.  (Oh, and also some wine drinking).  However, I couldn't find a decent melon to save my life, so I improvised with the pears.   Turns out, the Mr. of the couple doesn't like ANY melon...things work out for a reason sometimes-I've learned not to fight it!  And the pears were beautiful with the prosciutto!

Recipe for Oven Roasted Rack of Lamb

Not everyone likes lamb.  I used to think I didn't like it, probably from having some gamey tasting mutton somewhere in England as a kid!  Today's New Zealand, Australian, or Colorado lamb is wonderful and, if you trim the fat well, it has none of the possible gamey flavors that turn some people off.  We even have lamb being raised on Maui now through the Maui Cattle Company.  I haven't tried any yet but can't wait.   This rack came from Australia via Costco.  I've found their Australian lamb to be very good and competitively priced.

Recipe for Baked Goat's Cheese

I had baked goat’s cheese years ago in a tapas restaurant, probably in San Francisco, and have loved it ever since.  It’s easy to prepare and is delicious spread on crusty bread.  It is best bubbly hot out of the oven (be careful!) but is also good room temp.  The better quality of cheese you buy, the better the experience.

Ingredients:
4 oz. good quality goat's cheese
1/4 cup homemade or store bought pesto


Method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.


Place goat's cheese on oven proof dish and pour pesto over cheese. 

Bake for 25 minutes or until browning and bubbly. 

Depending on the pesto you use, you may have to carefully pour off some of the excess olive oil that bakes out during cooking.  Before serving, stir any remaining oil back in to the pesto sauce.

Serve with crusty whole grain bread or crackers.

Printable Recipe

'Aipono Dinner to Benefit Maui Culinary Academy

Ai means food and pono means good, goodness, benefit (and about a hundred other similar things) in Hawaiian so you get the general drift of the ‘Aipono Dinners that are sponsored by Maui No Ka ‘Oi Magazine to benefit the Maui Culinary Academy.  The students work in the kitchen with local chefs to produce wonderful menus, using as many local ingredients as possible, and the wine distributors arrange for sponsor wineries to work with the chef and sommelier to pare wines to the food.  It’s always fun and benefits a good cause so we try to go to them when we can.

Recently we went with good friends to the ‘Aipono Dinner at Spago where Executive Chef Cameron Lewark, his staff, and the students created a lovely spring feast.   The photos were taken with my camera phone so…you know…as the night got darker, the photos got harder to capture.  Plus, wine was involved…

Recipe for Inside Out Turkey Cheeseburgers



It was burger night and I had ground turkey breast defrosted.  I rotate between turkey breast, bison, and Maui Cattle Company beef for our burgers.  It was one of those afternoons where the dinner hour was rapidly approaching; I had already had a glass of wine, and had zero inspiration for dinner.  Luckily for me, Mr. ELEB eats anything I put in front of him and with a smile and usually a compliment for the chef.   Luckily for both of us, these turned out really yummy, so we both were happy at the end of the day!  I mean, look at that gooey cheese, would you?

Recipe for Flourless Chocolate Torte



I’m not even going to do the calculation on this torte for nutritional value-it will be off the chart.   So obviously this is a special occasion “Eat Big” recipe.  I made it for Easter dinner, shared with friends.    I only made a few changes from the original recipe that I found on the Food Channel website (used butter and cream instead of margarine and fake creamer; added espresso to the ganache for another layer of flavor).  This is a labor of love and unless you are comfortable with baking, not a recipe I’d recommend tackling.  Having said all that, it was amazing:  tasty, rich, decadent, and beautiful.

Recipe for Pimiento Mac-N-Cheese

I wanted to do something with pimiento cheese as part of the Master’s party we threw last week (if you aren’t Master’s followers, pimiento cheese sandwiches are a major food draw at the golf course).  I knew the other ladies were bringing pretty healthy stuff so I figured I could splurge a bit and do a mac-n-cheese.  Plus a lot of the guys generally don’t get too much in the way of carbs at home (don’t feel too sorry for them, they eat plenty well!).   Well, the March edition of bon appétit (which, par for the course, arrived here on Maui in early April, just in time for the party) featured a yummy looking mac-n-cheese on their cover, made with pimiento cheese, so I was “good to go”.

19th Hole. And all good things in moderation.

There's nothing better than getting together with a group of friends to share laughs, food and beverages. 

Recipe for Beef and Lamb Pastitsio

Oh my!  I try not to be too OTT about recipes but this one is amazing.  I served it to friends and family and everyone loved it, even my friend who is not a fan of lamb (I believe he had seconds).  The original recipe called for all lamb but I wanted to be sure my friend would eat it so I described the recipe to him and we agreed half lamb and half beef would work.  I used local Maui Cattle Company lean ground beef and lean ground lamb. 

The seasonings-nutmeg, oregano, cinnamon, and cloves-give a really unique flavor to the dish.  Go and buy some if you don't have them-they make this Greek version of lasagna so good.  And, bonus, your house will have an amazing smell while you are cooking!

Recipe for Olive and Cheese Whole Wheat Bread

We are really enjoying having fresh artisan bread any time we want by just plucking some dough from the fridge and baking off a loaf.  The basic whole wheat recipe is wonderful plain or with butter and/or jam.  I love it with almond butter.  The dough also takes well to variations like this savory olive and cheese bread, with a hint of rosemary.

Recipe for Dirty Martini Steak Kebabs

This concept behind this recipe sounded fun and tasty-using martini ingredients (vermouth, olives, onions) as a marinade and accompaniment for beef.  It was good, but nothing to write home about and not a recipe I’d repeat.  The meat was very tender as I marinated it overnight. But the flavor from the marinade was pretty basic.

I followed the recipe as written except for adding some green bell pepper to the skewers for some added veggie.  The recipe didn’t include instructions for soaking the skewers.  If you are using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them for several hours in plain water to prevent them from burning on the grill.  I didn’t make the salad included in the original recipe.  Instead I served my mushroom rice. 

We had company for dinner and we all ate our skewers so don’t get me wrong, there was nothing bad about it.  But, meh, just an okay meal.



Each serving Calories:418, Fat:24g, Carbohydrates:19g, Fiber:3g, Protein:28g

Original Recipe

Recipe for Crispy Potato Roast

If you want a “WOW” recipe for company or just for a special evening for yourself, give this recipe a try.  If you don’t have a mandoline, a sharp knife and some patience would be imperative.  Next time, and there definitely will be a next time, I’ll just strip the thyme off the sprigs and sprinkle it around.  It looked pretty placed whole on top but I think the flavor would be enhanced by taking the leaves off the sprigs.  The big change I made from the original recipe was adding in the pancetta-it was a good add!

Makes 10 servings, each approximately 234 calories, 5.4 grams fat, 31 grams carbs, 2.7 grams fiber, 6.8 grams protein, 6 WW Points+

Quick Valentine's Treat

If you're looking for a quick treat for your Valentine, it isn't too late.  Grab some strawberries, dark chocolate, chopped nuts and kosher salt and in less than half an hour, you'll have a sweet treat for your sweetie.

Recipe for "Not Just For Special Occasions" Roasted Chicken



I mentioned last week that my use of store bought rotisserie chicken would probably decrease due to an amazingly quick, easy and tasty way to get a great roasted chicken at home without hours of cooking.  This is based on Mark Bittman’s high heat/Dutch oven method found on his “how to cook everything” website (Thank you Mark!)

Recipe for Raspberry Lemon Bars

Here’s a "special treat" recipe I developed for a contest (sponsored by Earth Balance but I wasn't paid or given product to participate or blog about it).  It was a bake off and we had to bake some type of brownie or bar.  I thought about submitting my Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies but wanted to try something new.  The recipe didn't win the contest (but my pie won in the pie section!)

Recipe for Leek and Bacon Tart

I had 2 large leeks hanging out in my fridge from our week’s veggie delivery.  The rest of this came together in my head during my morning bike ride.  Great flavors, if I do say so myself!  This would be lovely for brunch.  We had it for dinner, room temperature, with some grilled sausages and then I had it cold from the fridge the next couple of days for lunch with a small green salad.

Recipe for Cauliflower Sformato

This recipe for Cauliflower Sformato definitely goes on the “Eat Big” list!  At 283 calories per small serving, you can see why.  It’s also full of eggs, milk, parmesan, butter, olive oil, flour…  I lightened up the original recipe as much as I thought I could get away with and switched out regular flour for white whole wheat and it turned out quite good.  Delicate and soothing, like comfort food!

Recipe for Sardine Salad Appetizer

OK, this will either be something you love or not.  I’d never eaten sardines before.  They just freak me out-little fishy things with teeny bones. Eww.

But, I keep reading how good they are for you, packed with all those omega-3s and tons of B12.  Plus they are a good source of lean protein.

So I bit the bullet and bought some when I came across cans of sardines packed in water, no bones, no skin.  So great, now what do I do with them?  Well, I needed an appetizer for Thanksgiving and I wanted something light and healthy so I figured I could make up a light fish salad kind of thing and spread it on some slices of cucumber.  Here’s how it turned out.  I liked it a lot.  Others did too, but not everyone!

Recipe for French Yogurt Cake

It was a rare rainy afternoon here in paradise and I got the itch to bake.  I really didn’t want to go to the store so I looked at my list of recipes “to try” and found a Dorie Greenspan recipe for French Yogurt Cake, adapted and published in the NY Times.  I checked the pantry and had what I needed.  Easy decision.

I did my own adaptation by substituting some whole wheat pastry flour for some of the AP flour and some sucralose for some of the sugar, and instead of glazing with marmalade, I layered the cake and put jam between the layers.

This is so simple tasting, yet elegant at the same time.  It reminds me of some of the simple cakes my Granny and Nana made when I was young growing up in England.  Faintly almond flavored, not very sweet, perfect actually for breakfast or afternoon tea (I’m hoping you’re holding your little finger out, I am).