Search: pesto

SPRINGING BACK INTO THE KITCHEN

April 17, 2011

It doesn’t happen often, but I fell out of the cooking mode for a few weeks. Recipes and food have been dancing around in my head, but life briefly got in the way. The upside is that I tried a few new restaurants and have spent no time cleaning the kitchen. But spring is here and that means fresh simple flavors are back! Because there are way too many inspiring cookbook on my shelf, I narrowed down my options and decided to cook from the Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook for a few weeks. This cookbook gift is full of innovative southern favorites that won’t let you down. First up…Veggie Minestrone with Pesto!

VEGGIE MINESTRONE with PESTO
adapted from the Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook

You Will Need:
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 leek, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 celery stalks, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
2 yellow squashes, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
4 cups vegetable stock or broth
1/2 cup english peas (fresh or frozen)
1 (8 oz) can white beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup small shaped pasta (orzo, macaroni etc.)
salt and pepper
pesto (homemade preferred)
*I chose to leave the vegetables chunkier than the original recipe. A smaller dice would be great too! Feel free to add more broth if its too thick for your liking.

Heat olive oil in a medium size pot over medium heat.
Add onion, leeks and garlic.
Cook until translucent, careful not to burn. About 5 minutes.
Add celery and carrots.
Cook for 5 minutes, stirring a couple times.
Add zucchini, squash and tomatoes.
Cook for a few more minutes.
Add the stock and bring to a simmer.
Stir in peas and pasta and return to a simmer.
Simmer until the pasta is not raw but not too cooked either.
Add the beans and heat through.
Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Ladle into a bowl and dollop pesto on top!

You will love this transitional dish! It has all the health and freshness of spring vegetables with enough warmth for cooler spring nights.

You will also love this cookbook. Stay tuned for more yummy spring meals!

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Preserved Pesto

August 23, 2010

Summer is coming to an end soon, and I will miss the abundance of it’s seasonal vegetables- sweet basil, homegrown tomatoes, crisp corn, squashes, cucumbers ….on and on. If you find any of these items on sale at the store or taking over your garden, preserve them! This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to pickle and can the summer veggies. I like to make batches of basil pesto to store in our freezer. There is nothing better than a meal reminiscent of summer in the middle of January.

Stay tuned for more preservation recipes such as tomato sauce, jam and pickles.

PRESERVED PESTO
makes 4 cups

You will need:
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pine nuts
9 cloves garlic, blanched
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh black pepper
1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, freshly grated*
To blanch the garlic:
Cover garlic in a saucepan with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat then immediately drain. Let garlic cool to room temperature. I think this is the key to good pesto!
*Try grating the cheese in the processor before you start the pesto. Take it out while you make the recipe.
Process walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in a food processor for 30 seconds.
Add basil leaves, salt and pepper.
Slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube while the processor is running.
Puree until the pesto is smooth.
Add the parmigiano-reggiano and puree for 1 minute more.
Pour in a portion size (1 cup) freezer container.

Coat with a thin film of olive oil.
Freeze until you crave fresh pesto on a cold winter day.
This is the base for the pesto in Pesto, asta and Peas.

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Catering Gig #2

October 13, 2009

Peachtree Planning invited me back to feed the office. I stuck with the chicken club and ham with pimento cheese sandwiches for the first lunch but added a few items.


Pasta, Peas and Pesto
I modified pesto recipes with recommendations from several of my fav cooks. The result is fresh sauce that can you can easily transform into a dressing, sauce or spread. The spinach keeps the pesto green.


Pesto:
You will need:
less than 1/4 cup walnuts
less than 1/4 cup pine nuts
4 garlic cloves
2 1/2 cups basil leaves
salt and pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup mayo

Process nuts and garlic in a food processor
Add basil, salt and pepper
Drizzle (slowly) olive oil while processor is running until finely pureed
Add Parmesan and pulse
Squeeze dry the thawed spinach
Add dried spinach, lemon juice
Add mayo and continue to puree
Store in fridge with a layer of olive oil and plastic wrap
Freeze unused portions
*the amount of mayo really depends on the consistency you need.

Pasta:
You will need:
3/4 pound fusilli
3/4 pound bow-tie pasta
pesto from above
1/2 cup Parmesan
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted*
*I buy them already toasted at Trader Joe’s

Boil pasta in salted water
Cool pastas to room temperature
Add pesto mixture- (you may need to add olive oil to the pesto to thin it out)

Add Parmesan, peas, pine nuts,
Mix well and season to taste
Serve at room temperature

Roasted Red Pepper Sandwiches

Like the pesto above, these marinated roasted red peppers are wonderful to keep in the fridge to add in sandwiches and salads.

Roasted Red Peppers:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees
Place whole red peppers on a baking sheet
Don’t oil them!
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until charred and wrinkled
Turn twice during the roasting
Remove from the oven and immediately wrap in foil
(this creates a steam room that will allow you to easily remove the skin)
Wait about 30 minutes until they are cooled enough to handle

Mix together 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 minced garlic cloves, S&P
Remove the stems, skins and seeds from the peppers
Try to keep any roasting juice
Cut into strips
Place in marinade

To assemble the sandwiches:

Cut a ciabatta loaf in half
Spread bottom half with goat cheese
Layer peppers, thinly sliced red onion and basil leaves

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Thanks to Gwyneth Paltrow, I have discovered the BEST crispy but soft, thin, old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies recipe. The best part is that you don’t have to use a clunky mixer – a mixing bowl and wooden spoon are the only utensils


You will need:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks salted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp water
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Whisk flour, soda and salt in a bowl
Mix butter with wooden spoon in another bowl to lighten it
Add sugars to butter and mix well
Add water, vanilla and eggs to butter-sugar mixture
Stir in flour mixture until just combined
Fold in chocolate chips
Drop cookies 2 inches apart
Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotate sheet after 4 minutes

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Georgia Shrimp Done Three Ways

August 28, 2009

As shrimp season comes to and end, it seems appropriate to reminisce over my three favorite ways to enjoy Georgia coastal shrimp. The first, a classic Low Country Boil, it simple and so fun to serve.

You will need:
2 pounds red potatoes
4-6 ears of corn
Sausage of your choice
1 pound of fresh shrimp- leave peel on
Old Bay

Boil 2 pounds of red potatoes in a large pot of water and full bottle of Old Bay
Add fresh corn and sausage
Boil another 5-6 minutes
Drop in shrimp and cook until just pink *3 minutes-ish
Pour out onto a table covered in newspaper
Equip table with stick of butter
With true southern style, use your hands to devour the boil.

While a shrimp boil is light (minus the corn and potatoes rolled in butter), the next dish is creamy, rich and decadent.

Vera’s Shrimp and Grits

This recipe is very adaptable but this jist is….


Saute 1/4 stick butter, 1 onion and 3 red peppers until soft
Add a couple garlic cloves, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes
Cook for a few more minutes
Add 1/3 bottle of white wine and some (around 4) fresh tomatoes
Simmer on low until the liquid reduces and the tomatoes break down


Add 1 pound of medium shrimp and cook until just pink


For decadent grits:
Boil together…
1 cup coarse ground grits
1 stick butter
4 cups whole milk

Serve shrimp over grits.
Garnish with 1/2 lemon and parsley

I can’t take credit for preparing the final shrimp feast (colleen made it for me)but I did eat every bite. Inspired by one of my favorite Atlanta sandwiches, this shrimp PO-boy will knock your socks off.

Shrimp Po-Boy with Pesto Pea Salad



Coat small shrimp with panko and s&p
Fry in a pan filled 1 inch with oil
Serve on a soft bun with fresh heirloom tomato, mayo and spinach.

For the salad:
Toss spinach with store bought pesto, toasted pine nuts and fresh peas.

Enjoy outside with great friends on a late summer night.

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