Restaurant Redo: Hawaiian Steak and Grilled Artichoke. (Houstons/Hillstone)

    You might be wondering what I mean by "Restaurant Redo". Well, "Mr.IWantMyGrassToGrowAlready" (Michael/Fiance) and I used to do take out on Wednesday nights but with wedding payments and such we have decided to cut back on that a bit. (Normally it consisted of mainly sushi. I get almost painfully bad cravings for it so often.) So I decided why not try making a few of our favorites from different places at home.

     A little while ago we stopped by "Hillstone", an upscale steak house down the street (and nationwide). His favorite is the Hawaiian rib-eye! We ordered two of those with sides and a grilled artichoke with a creamy, zesty remoulade (dipping sauce) for an appetizer. IT WAS GREAT, I understood why he loved it so much! When starting this blog I already had the steak marinading in the fridge because it takes 2-3 days. I had no idea I was starting a blog. I wasnt even going to blog tonights feast. That is until my friend Goose stopped by this morning and convinced me to blog it anyways. He can sometimes be wise, witty or helpful, sometimes. ;-) (Kidding buddy!)

    Well after eating it I feel it needs to be shared with everyone, it was far to delicious and flavorful not to share it! We spent around $120 or so after tip for lunch at Hillstone. LUNCH! I found a recipe online right after that for how to make it and figured it was worth a shot. Well that first time it was good but wasn't as close as I had hoped. So I did what I usually do. I tried again, my own way this time. This recipe is adapted from Here.

My "Hillstone Mock": Hawaiian Steak

 2 steaks (Ribeye traditionally, I used petite sirloin)

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

8 ounce can sliced pineapple 

1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons minced garlic cloves

2 teaspoons ginger (I use frozen cubes of ginger by dorot)

1/8 cup Worcestershire Sauce

2 tablespoons of honey

Mix everything but the can of pineapple in a pot. Pour the pineapple juice in and squeeze as much juice out of the slices as you can. Then roughly chop the pineapple and throw it in with everything else. Heat to medium-low on the stove for about five mins, Whisking as it heats. (Make sure to keep it moving and don't let the sugar and honey sit on the bottom or it will burn.) Let it cool.

Toss your steaks into a tupperwear or large ziplock bag. Pour the mixture it. Let it marinade for 2-3 days. Flipping every 12 hours. (Or just every now and then when you walk to the fridge. It feel like such a long wait. But it does pay off!)

  

After waiting between 48-72 hours, it is finally ready! Take the steaks out and let them sit while you fire up the grill. (you should let meat warm off from the fridge a little before tossing them on the grill right away, cold.) Cook to desired doneness. 5-8 mins perside usually. (depending on the cut and thickness of your meat as well as your preference of how well you like it done best.) 

*remember to let it sit for a couple mins to redistribute all the juices before you cut into it.You will lose a lot of flavor if you dig in to soon.

Like I said, we also ordered grilled Artichoke that day so I decided why not grill the artichoke in the fridge along with the steak and just recreate the whole meal. (Well our favorite parts at least!) I looked up a recipe for the Hillstone grilled artichoke and dipping sauce. (I thought it was an aioli style base.) I found this! Of course changed it up a little bit! Here is my version.

My "Hillstone Mock": Grilled Artichoke and Remoulade (Dip)

Grilled Artichokes

1 large artichoke
3/4 lemon, quartered
3/8 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Remoulade

 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use olive oil mayo)
1 1/2 tablespoons green dill relish
1 garl0ic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon capers
1/2 teaspoon spicy mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 to taste salt & freshly ground black pepper (capers have enough salt IMHO)

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinager

Cut off the tops and ends of leafs (cut off 1/4 of an inch off) from the artichokes with kitchen scissors, cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out all the the purple leafs and fuzzy stuff. Watch out for the purple leafs, they will be SHARP!  Squeeze on lemon to prevent browning. 

(**tip my mom showed me to get more juice out of fruit, roll it against the counter or table with your palms back and fourth for 10 seconds before you cut it.)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add artichokes into boiling water, and cook for about 20 mins or steam for about 30 in a steam basket. Drain well. !t this point I drizzled on a little olive, pepper, and squeezed on some lemon and wrapped it in foil with the lemon and put it in the fridge for 4 hours (while I was at work.)

Squeeze the left over lemon into a medium bowl. Stir in the olive oil and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Time to fire up the grill! Brush the artichokes with the garlic dip, and place them on the preheated grill.

Grill the artichokes for 5 to 10 minutes, basting with dip and turning frequently, until the tips are a little charred. Serve immediately with remoulade.

 

Remoulade:.
In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients (I used my great grandmas ceramic dish to mix and serve it)
Season to taste.

   I was extremely impressed with the flavor this time. It was pretty spot on! It would have been better if I had done a ribeye in Michael's opinion but he loves the ribeye cut. Usually the ones that are higher in fat are his preference because they do normally naturally have the most flavor. He being the expert in the house hold on this particular steak said that it was "perfect! The flavor is Perfect!" I'm going to call that a win! I didnt charge him $60 for it but he did take out the trash and even pick up my plate for me! He might just be in a good mood since his grass is "finally growing"! (He started 8days ago on the grass quest! I think its cute how determined he is. He is very proud of the progress.)

    The steak had so many flavors and they all went together perfectly. The steak stayed juicy and delicious all the way to the end. The diced pineapple that clung to the steak on the grill caramelized nicely. It was a great addition to the slightly sweet, slightly salty, very yummy flavor that you got in each bite. We will definitely be doing it again! Although, probably with rib-eyes next! Even with a three day wait I can honestly tell you it was worth every second of waiting, just for that first bite!

    The grilled artichokes were fantastic! Letting them sit and soak up the garlic and lemon, for the four hours I was at work, was a great idea. They absorbed so much flavor. Truth be told I mostly did it because I didn't want to clean it out and boil it when I got home. Michael wanted it a little more tender. I probably would have steamed it in the basket if I wasn't running low on time before work. He LOVED the dip! He is even requesting we have it again soon. Might even opt to pair them together again. It was a perfect balance.

    On another note: After making Goose feel the cacti like purple leafs and him watch me cleaning it all out he said "Ya thats not something I'd ever want to have to do. Too much work!" You can get a degree in biochemistry but won't clean an artichoke? See what I mean by the comment from before. :-)

Thank you for taking the time to read and encouraging me to continue! Time to catch up on some tv and enjoy my over sized couch.

-Mandy