Lilikoi Recipes: For a Great Holiday Dinner Party!

If you are like my husband and I, we like to celebrate the holidays by having friends and family over for great meals and cocktail parties, you are going to love this post. I’m going to give you all the recipes and links to be able to make a great meal for your friends along with appetizers, cocktails and even dessert!

Let’s start with the pupus, in Hawaii that is what we call appetizers. Both of the recipes below can be made up ahead of time and put out when the first guests arrive.

Appetizers

Passion Fruit Ceviche with Pita Crackers
Made simply with the Passion Fruit Puree

Won Tons with Brie Cheese and Lilikoi Butter

Or keep it simple with some cream cheese or brie cheese covered with Lilikoi Chili Pepper Sauce and crackers – Platter the cheese, cover with the lilikoi chili pepper sauce and put crackers on a plate or in a basket next to the cheese.

As your guests are helping themselves to the appetizers you can take their cocktail orders. I would suggest having maybe two or three for them to choose from to make it easy and cost effective.

Cocktails

Tropical Egg Nog
It is the holidays after all!

Tall Nani
Uses Vodka and Soda Water

Coconut Passion Fruit Martini
Uses Vodka, Malibu Rum

Kona Kooler (For your non drinking friends)
Uses the Lilikoi Cocktail Mix and Soda Water

All three of the alcoholic drinks use either the Lilikoi Cocktail Mix or the Lilikoi Puree. The egg nog you can have made ahead of time and stored in the fridge. Have your glasses already set out and ready to go.

Give yourself some time to enjoy your guests before you serve dinner. Hang out and have a cocktail with them. Put on some fun holiday music. Who knows maybe someone would even enjoy dancing to it.

Main Course

Crispy Roasted Duck with Passion Fruit Sauce

Spinach Salad with Lilikoi Chili Pepper Sauce Dressing

Wild Rice – I like Lundberg Farms wild rice mixes

You can put the wild rice on ahead of time in your rice cooker. It will keep it hot while you entertain your guests during cocktails and appetizers. The spinach salads can be made up ahead of time with the dressing on the side for your guests to put on themselves at the table. Have the duck come out of the oven about 30 minutes after the guests arrive. It can rest for 10-15 minutes after it comes out of the oven. If you carve it at the table while everyone is serving the other dishes things will go smoothly.

Finally, the best is always saved for last.

Dessert

Lilikoi Coconut Mousse

This is always a big hit at my dinner parties. It is very easy to make using our Lilikoi Coconut Butter and just 3 other items. It can be made ahead so you aren’t slaving away in the kitchen when your guests arrive. Once you make it, put it in pretty glasses or bowls and stick it in the fridge to stay cool. I top mine with mint sprigs and a mix of whatever berries I can find. If all you can’t find fresh frozen will work just fine.

If I were you I would choose just 1 cocktail and 1 appetizer to keep things simple. I wanted to give you some options so you could do what you were comfortable with. If you aren’t comfortable with duck then use the same Passion Fruit Sauce recipe on a chicken. The Passion Fruit Sauce is equally as good over a chicken. Just bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour. Heck maybe you want to just make the sauce and get a rotisserie chicken from Costco that is already cooked. No matter what you decide to do be sure you have time for yourself to enjoy your guests. That’s the whole point of having a dinner party.

Luckily, Da Vine Foods has a holiday special posted right. You can purchase all the lilikoi products you need, in one order, for the above recipes. Just a few more items from your pantry or grocery and you will be set to go.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. Enjoy your friends and your family and remember to drink responsibly.