Pesto Sauce

217. Summer time is here and my garden is growing happily, due to all the rain these past two weeks. During the night the rain falls and then the sun warms everything during the day. My plants in my garden and in my herb boxes are just singing!!

The basil is growing so rapidly so we needed to make Pesto. I love when you are forced to use your garden veggies and herbs because there is so much.

This recipe for Pesto is my honey's. He's been making this recipe for years and it always turns out perfect.

Pesto Sauce

2 cups fresh basil leaves, rinsed and tightly packed

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup grated Romano or Pecorino Romano Cheese

1/2 cup chopped pine nuts or walnuts

1 teaspoon sea salt

Black pepper to taste

1/2 cup olive oil, or to desired texture

In a food processor or blender, chop garlic and nuts.

Add basil and process till a pasty consistency is reached.

Add cheese, salt and pepper.

While processor (blender) is running, add the olive oil by pouring in a slow stream until completely combined.

It is up to you if you would like your pesto very thick or runny. Adjust with your amount of olive oil.

Sauce will be a beautiful color green and a smooth, consistency. Do not over mix.

This recipe is enough for 1 pound of cooked pasta.

Just boil your pasta, drain and place in a serving bowl. Mix pesto into hot pasta and toss to coat evenly.

This is the main event! A hot bowl of Pesto Pasta and Italian bread! Dinner on the patio. That's what I like about summer!

This recipe is very short on time but very rewarding for your family and guests. You'll get never ending compliments.

Storing Pesto:

If you have any pesto unused you can store it in a small jar and cover with a little olive oil and refrigerate. Then, the next day, make a pizza and spread with pesto then cheese. It is great as a meal or appetizer!

Pesto will keep in a jar, covered with olive oil in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Do Not Freeze. Basil will turn black and the flavor changes as well.

"Pesto is the quiche of the '80s"

~N. Ephron

Bell Pepper and Onion Crostini with Pesto

141. If you are looking for a "drop-dead", fabulously yummy, can't get enough of, appetizer...you need to try this! I read over the recipe and had all the ingredients and of course, love pesto so I gave it a try. The flavors meld together so beautifully...you could make a meal of these little babys! I found the recipe on Epicurious and you can link to it here.

Bell Pepper and Onion Crostini with Pesto

Gourmet | July 2002

Yield: Makes 60 crostini Active Time: 1 hr Total Time: 1 1/2 hr For toasts 1 (18- to 22-inch-long) baguette, cut into 60 (1/4-inch-thick) slices 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil For peppers and onions 6 assorted red, yellow, and orange bell peppers (3 pounds), cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips 2 large onions (1 1/2 pounds), cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar For pesto 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan (1 ounce) 2 teaspoons chopped garlic (or as much as you want) 2 tablespoons water 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1/3 cup olive oil Make toasts: Preheat oven to 350°F. Put baguette slices on 2 large baking sheets, then brush tops with oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in batches in middle of oven until pale golden, about 10 minutes. Cool on a rack. Cook peppers and onions: Cook bell peppers, onions, and garlic with salt in oil in a wide 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until softened, 20 to 25 minutes. Cover pot and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender and just starting to brown, 20 to 25 minutes more. Stir in vinegar and remove from heat. Make pesto while peppers cook: Pulse all pesto ingredients except oil in a food processor until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil in a slow stream and blend until combined well. Assemble crostini: Put about 1 tablespoon pepper mixture on each toast and top with about 1/4 teaspoon pesto.

I love to use the small leaf Greek Spicy Basil when it is in season. It gives the pesto an extra flavor boost. And they are beautiful as well as irresistible!"There is no such thing as a little garlic. "

~A. Baer

Lamb Chops

270. Easter Dinner this year was inspired by Rachael Ray. On her 30 Minute Meals show she made Lamb Chops with Greens and Crispy Orecchiette Pasta with Walnut Rosemary Pesto. It looked so delicious and easy to prepare.

The most difficult part was locating lamb chops. You will like this recipe if you enjoy bold flavors. Lamb has a unique flavor along with the rosemary pesto.

LAMB CHOPS WITH GREENS AND CRISPY ORECCHIETTE PASTA WITH WALNUT-ROSEMARY PESTO

by Rachael Ray | on 05/26/08

INGREDIENTS

• Salt
• 1 pound orecchiette pasta
• 1 1/2 cups walnuts
• 7-8 stems rosemary, 1/4-1/3 cup leaves, loosely packed
• 2 cloves garlic, cracked from skin
• Black pepper
• 3 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
• 1/2-3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 4 shoulder lamb chops, bone-in, 8-10 ounces each
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Grated nutmeg, to taste
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 large heads kale, dinosaur kale or chard, chopped
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2-3 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar

Serves 4

PREPARATION

Bring water to a boil for pasta, salt water and cook to al dente.

Toast walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden and fragrant, a few minutes then cool. Add the nuts to a food processor with rosemary, 1 clove garlic, salt and pepper and turn processor on. Stream 1/3 cup EVOO into food processor to form pesto then scrape into a bowl and stir in about 3/4 cup grated cheese.

Rub chops with cut clove of garlic then season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chops and cook 4 minutes each side for medium rare doneness.

While lamb cooks, drain pasta and return pot to heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and butter in pasta pot and melt over medium heat. Place the pasta back in the pot and crisp 4-5 minutes, toasting the pasta. Season the pasta with salt and pepper and a little nutmeg.

Remove lamb from skillet and cover with foil to let meat settle. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO over medium-high to high heat. Add onions and greens and sear them. Season the greens with salt and pepper and wilt down, 3-4 minutes. Add chicken stock and vinegar and turn greens to coat in vinegar.

Serve a chop alongside greens. Top greens with toasted pasta and drizzle some pesto over everything.

I did not want to cover the chops with the greens and pasta, so we plated them side by side.

I also made buttered carrots for color on the plate.

We also enjoyed a coconut cream pie for dessert.

Happy Easter!

Our table was decorated with Polish sugar animals.

"The story of Easter is the story of God's wonderful window of divine surprise."

~Carl Knudsen

Spaghetti Squash with Pesto & Sausage

345. I've heard so many people say, "Spaghetti squash is too scary!  

I don't know what to do with it."

This recipe will show you how very "doable" spaghetti squash really is and not to mention, so delicious and satisfying!

First, prep the spaghetti squash:

Cut the squash in half and scrape out the seeds.  Prepare a baking sheet with sides by lining with parchment paper or a large baking dish greased.  Turn the cut squash halves open side down.  Place in a 300 degree oven and bake till the squash is tender when pressed, approximately 1 hour depending on the size of the squash. Leave in the oven till tender when pressed. 

 Remove from oven and turn over to cool slightly.

While the squash is baking prepare the sausage & pesto sauce. 

 Prepare pesto recipe HERE

Crumble a pound of Italian Sausage into a pan and brown.  Drain off any fat in the pan.  Add a large chopped onion and salt and pepper.  Add quartered cherry tomatoes and heat.

Then scrape the squash away from the sides of the skin with a fork.  The squash will come away and resemble spaghetti-like strings.  Place in the pan over the cooked sausage mix.  Add several scoops of pesto and mix all together gently.  

Reheat then plate and top with parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

The squash will be hearty, succulent and so satisfying.

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"Let my words, like vegetables, be tender and sweet, for tomorrow I may have to eat them."

~ Author Unknown

Zucchini Noodles with Pesto

393.  While cutting back on bread intake, I'm adjusting and adapting recipes.  As the saying goes, "Necessity is the mother of invention", and it was necessary to find a replacement for pasta.  

So with all the recipes using squash as a replacement, I wanted to spiralize but due to this quarantine  in place, I can't go to the store.  So, how to create noodles from zucchini?  

The idea to use my hand lemon zester came to mind...and it was genius!  Because the zucchini is softer squash, I had to be careful to go slowly with gentle pressure to make long strips.

I sautéd a quarter of a red onion in a pat of butter, then added the zucchini just to heat it up but not to cook it because the noodles would wilt.

I then heated up a bit of pesto recipe here, and pan seared salmon.

I plated the gently warmed zucchini, spooned pesto over the noodles and then place the seared salmon and topped with pesto.  I don't have to say how flavorful and the textures were so very similar to pasta noodles.

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The recipe is so delightful, light and satisfying.  

"Necessity is the mother of invention."

~Anonymous

The author of this proverb is unknown. It is commonly misattributed to Plato to Benjamin Jowett's popular idiomatic 1871 translation of Plato's Republic, where in Book II, 369c, his translation reads: "The true creator is necessity, who is the mother of our invention." 

Pizza with Asparagus, Pesto & Chicken

401.  An experiment with pizza toppings was in play today.  I had chicken breast, pesto, Mozzarella cheese, and asparagus.  But, I was craving pizza...so, this delicious combination was created. 

The dough was whole wheat crust layered first with pesto, next, chopped onion, Parmesan cheese, grilled chicken chopped in pieces.  Then topped with more Parmesan cheese, shredded Mozzarella cheese and finally asparagus spears cut in 4" pieces.

I baked the pizza at 425 degrees for approximately 40 minutes.

Amazing flavor, texture and the chicken was a hidden surprise with each bite.

"It's a lot harder to get people to 'ooh' and 'aah' over beets or carrots than it is to get them to 'ooh' and 'aah' over asparagus.  I enjoy being able to take these humble, 'low-brow' foodstuffs up a few notches and serve them with great exuberance."

~Charlie Trotter

Grimaldi's Pizzeria

86.  Today is my beautiful daughter's 22nd Birthday.  So we celebrated by going to a delicious pizza restaurant, "Grimaldi's Pizzeria".  The original restaurant is in Brooklyn. But we went to  Grimaldi's in Garden City, NY.  My daughter told me it was like no other pizza I've ever had.  She was so right!   The crust is so thin but so tasty and the sauce is bright with garlic and slightly sweet.

We first enjoyed an appetizer of Spinach Artichoke Dip with Chips.  It was hot and cheesy.

Then we ordered our pizza, half eggplant, half pesto sauce, and one personal plain cheese pizza for Maggie. While we munched on our chips and yummy dip, our pizza arrived!  We were surprise at how quickly it came...and we dug in right away!  Wow!  It was delicious!   But as we were munching we realized, there is more than just pesto and eggplant, there was mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and so much cheese with whole basil.

Our waitress came over to our table and said, "I am so sorry, we brought you the wrong pizza...this pizza was for another table."  And then we all commented..."We were wondering why there were so many more toppings."  Then the waitress went to grab the tray and her boss called her back to the side.  She came back to our table and said, "We made a mistake and we apologize,  your pizza is on its way and you can keep the wrong pizza too."  And then she leaned in close and said, "you guys don't realize all the extra toppings that are on this pizza!"  We then received the pizza we ordered...ahhh...so much pizza!  But it was so wonderful!  And the best part, they didn't charge us for the mistake!  I told Emily it was because it was her Birthday!  Thanks Grimaldi's!  If you are ever in Brooklyn, by the bridge, look for Grimaldi's...you will experience a fantastic pizza!

'Tis not the meat, 

but 'tis the appetite makes eating a delight. 

 ~John Suckling