SEARED SCALLOPS WITH CAVIAR

APPETIZER AT HOME

Valentines dinner at home began with an incredible appetizer of Seared Scallops with Caviar on a bed of Lobster Risotto.  My goodness this was better than any restaurant and set the stage for a great evening.  We never go out to restaurants on Valentines Day.  Always celebrate this day at home which is nice.

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH CAVIAR 

SCALLOP ON BED OF LOBSTER RISOTTO

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH RISOTTO

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH RISOTTO

DINNER AT HOME

Wanted to give my girls a really good seafood dinner without spending a lot of money and did not want to serve them fish.  Went for some nice scallops that were actually on sale.  Served them Scallops with Risotto.  This was a delicious meal that was really pretty easy to prepare.  Tasted as good as a restaurant about about 1/4 the cost.  Started with a tablespoon of butter and tablespoon of olive oil.  Heated in pan and then added lots of chopped garlic.  Cooked the garlic and then added chopped mushrooms and asparagus.  Cooked until mushrooms were cooked and asparagus was cooked through but still a little crunchy.  Seasoned with salt and pepper and set aside.  Made a Risotto and then added the mushrooms, garlic and asparagus mixture along with some regular butter and a tablespoon of Truffle Butter.  Mixed well.  Cooked the scallops in olive oil for around two minutes on each side.  You want a nice sear on each side but do not want to overcook the scallops.  

SEARED SCALLOPS AND RISOTTO AT HOME 

SLICED MUSHROOMS, ASPARAGUS, GARLIC SAUTEED IN OLIVE OIL AND BUTTER

MEDIUM SIZE SCALLOPS

COOKED RISOTTO AND THEN ADDED IN THE MUSHROOMS AND ASPARAGUS MIXTURE

ADDED PARMESAN CHEESE AND A BIT OF TRUFFLE BUTTER

FINISHED RISOTTO  

FRESHLY CRACKED PEPPER AND SEA SALT ON SCALLOPS

HEATED OLIVE OIL IN PAN AND PLACED SCALLOPS IN WHEN IT SIZZLED 

SEARED ON EACH SIDE FOR TWO MINUTES

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH RISOTTO - DINNER AT HOME

SEARED SCALLOPS

WITH RISOTTO

DINNER AT HOME 

Had to use up some Basil and Tomato so I bought some freshly made Mozzarella Cheese and an Avocado.  Made a little stack and served it with a rich Balsamic Vinegar.  Very fresh, light and delicious.  I made some Risotto and added bacon and grated Parmesan Cheese.  Seared Scallops in butter and olive oil.  Scallops were sweet but my Risotto was a little mushy.  Need to work on that.  This was a light and tasty meal that was under $20 for three people.

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH RISOTTO,
BACON AND PARMESAN CHEESE

TOMATO, BASIL, MOZZARELLA, AVOCADO, RED ONION
AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR

HALIIMAILE GENERAL STORE - HALIIMAILE, HAWAII

HALIIMAILE GENERAL STORE

HALIIMAILE, HAWAII (MAUI) 

Bev Gannon, the owner of Haliimaile General Store is one of the founders of Hawaii Regional Cuisine.  She is probably the most accomplished and recognized female chefs in Hawaii.  She now has at least four restaurants on Maui but the Haliimaile General Store was her first and most iconic restaurant.  The setting is a pineapple plantation field basically in the middle of nowhere.  Miles off the main highway sitting near a few small homes and shade trees.  The dirt parking lot is usually full so you park across the street near what looks like old storage warehouses.  When you arrive here you are transformed to another era. The days of sugar cane harvesting and plantation workers.  The Halimaile General Store was originally a store where the workers could by meat, produce and just about everything else that was available at the time.  The time was 1987 when Bev Gannon purchased the store.  On Oct 14, 1998, there were over 100 people waiting to get in her new restaurant.  At the time, the restaurant only had five or six tables and 30 chairs total.  Since that day the restaurant has been expanded and you don't know who you will run into when dining there.  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alice Copper, Sharon Stone and Rachel Ray are among the dozens of celebrities that visit here.  The menu changes here during different seasons so Bev can utilize the bounty of fine food products grown in the area.  We were seated at a nice table close to the cooking area with a view of the main dining room that is like sitting on someones porch or veranda.  The room was filled with smiling faces and conversation.  We began our meal with the Duck Tostada appetizer ($14).  Delicious pieces of duck meat perched between crunchy tortillas and covered with a cole slaw type salad.  A bit of Hoisin Sauce complimented the duck.  This was good but was missing something to make it great.  Next we tried the Beet Salad with Tempura Fried Goat Cheese ($14).  Local greens topped with very fresh colored beets and served with a fried ball of Goat Cheese.  The cheese was tart and added a big punch when mixed with the beets and greens.  Would have liked a little more aggressive dressing on this one.  The Seafood Sashimi Napoleon ($18) was a tower of mixed sashimi (mostly ahi tuna and salmon) between crunchy tortilla like stuff.  Bev Gannon herself came to our table when this dish was presented.  Her and her husband both showed us how to crunch the dish up and eat it.  Bev asked if we liked the meal and we all said "yes".  That was very nice of her to stop by.  The Lobster Roll ($6) was an appetizer that was shared.  Nice pieces of lobster with a little too much mayo served on a delicious bun.  This was good.  The Seared Scallops ($38) came to the table looking beautiful.  Perfectly seared scallops on a bed of Risotto.  The scallops were a little under seasoned but cooked perfectly.  I loved the risotto but did not know why there was a quarter inch of oil on the bottom of the plate.  All the oil kind of spoiled the dish.  The Kids BBQ Rib Meal ($12) was a huge hit.  Fall of the bone ribs smothered in a sweet bbq sauce that was delicious.  Served with mashed potatoes and coleslaw.  Everything on this plate tasted great.  For Dessert we shared the Chocolate Truffle Cake ($10).  Simple delicious.  Chocolate and more chocolate.  Could not improve on this dish.  We all loved it.  I highly recommend the Haliimale General Store.  Great atmosphere, service and food.
Click link below for updated post on Haliimaile General Store;
https://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2017/07/haliimaile-general-store.html

HALIIMAILE GENERAL STORE

BEV GANNON'S HALIIMAILE GENERAL STORE

HALI'IMAILE GENERAL STORE ON MAUI

RELAXING FAMILY KITCHEN ATHMOSHPHERE

OPEN KITCHEN TO SEATING AREA

SMALL BAR IN MIDDLE OF DINING ROOM

KITCHEN OVERLOOKS DINING ROOM

FRESH BAKED ROLLS ARRIVED WARM AND SOFT

DUCK TOSTADA WITH COLE SLAW

BEET SALAD WITH TEMPURA CHEESE BALL ON TOP

KIDS BBQ RIB MEAL

THE REVIEW WAS EXCELLENT ON THIS DISH.  LOVED IT

SASHIMI NAPOLEON WITH AHI TUNA AND SALMON

LOBSTER ROLL

SEARED SCALLOPS WITH RISOTTO AND A LOT OF OIL

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE CAKE - YUMMY!

PICKED UP A COOKBOOK BY BEVERLY GANNON

COOKBOOK SIGNED BY THE GREAT HAWAII CHEF