A couple of days this week I've had pesto chicken salad sandwich on focaccia with roasted red peppes and goat cheese for lunch. It was one of the sandwiches where I thought, "OH. SO GOOD." after every bite. I love those.
Every time I make pesto I wonder why I don't make it all the time. It's really - truly - easy. Whirl fresh basil, garlic, and olive oil* in the food processor. The last bit I made I poured into ice cubes and froze until solid. Then I put the ice cubes in a plastic bag in the freezer, ready in small portions for when I have a hankering for pesto.
Like for lunch this week. I thawed out two cubes of pesto and added the pesto to a spoonful of mayonnaise, about 1/3 to 1/2. I mixed it up and added some shredded chicken breast we'd cooked on the grill Sunday night. I refrigerated it overnight and daydream about it during the day.
* Mark Bittman cautions against adding the Parmesan cheese if you're going to freeze the pesto. He says when you're ready to use the pesto, thaw it and then add cheese.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Roasted Tomato Sauce
This may be the second-best thing I've made all summer. It, too, is a tomato dish.
Roasted Tomato Sauce
Based on a recipe from Pasta & Co. By Request
3 pounds of tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
8 medium to large garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup fresh basil leaves or 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
2 medium onions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Core the tomatoes, and slice in half horizontally. Place the tomatoes, cut side up, in a casserole dish.
Put the basil or rosemary, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor equipped with a steel blade. Process until the garlic is finely chopped.
Pour the mixture over the tomatoes
and bake for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours or until the tomatoes collapse and begin to caramelize. Your house and kitchen will smell amazing the entire time. Stir the tomatoes ever so often.
In the meantime, roughly chop up two onions and saute over medium heat in a bit of olive oil.
When they onions have some color to them, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Reduce heat as low as it will go, cover the onions, and let them be.
When the tomatoes are cooked down, remove from the pan from the oven.
Puree the sauce, plus the caramelized onions, through the food processor.
We had some the next day on pizzas and it was lovely. I froze the rest.
I plan to hit the farmer's market tomorrow for more tomatoes. This time, I'll double the recipe. I'm going to make as much of this as I can while the fresh tomatoes are still good. Just think: lasagne, all kinds of pasta, pizza, so much you can do with this sauce.
The original recipe says it yields 4 1/2 cups. I got right at 3 1/2 cups of sauce. Maybe I should triple it, now that I think about it. I want lots of sauce in the freezer to enjoy this winter.
Roasted Tomato Sauce
Based on a recipe from Pasta & Co. By Request
3 pounds of tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
8 medium to large garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup fresh basil leaves or 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
2 medium onions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Core the tomatoes, and slice in half horizontally. Place the tomatoes, cut side up, in a casserole dish.
Put the basil or rosemary, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor equipped with a steel blade. Process until the garlic is finely chopped.
Pour the mixture over the tomatoes
and bake for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours or until the tomatoes collapse and begin to caramelize. Your house and kitchen will smell amazing the entire time. Stir the tomatoes ever so often.
In the meantime, roughly chop up two onions and saute over medium heat in a bit of olive oil.
When they onions have some color to them, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Reduce heat as low as it will go, cover the onions, and let them be.
When the tomatoes are cooked down, remove from the pan from the oven.
Puree the sauce, plus the caramelized onions, through the food processor.
We had some the next day on pizzas and it was lovely. I froze the rest.
I plan to hit the farmer's market tomorrow for more tomatoes. This time, I'll double the recipe. I'm going to make as much of this as I can while the fresh tomatoes are still good. Just think: lasagne, all kinds of pasta, pizza, so much you can do with this sauce.
The original recipe says it yields 4 1/2 cups. I got right at 3 1/2 cups of sauce. Maybe I should triple it, now that I think about it. I want lots of sauce in the freezer to enjoy this winter.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Tomato Tart
It's true love!
Up until I made this tart, I didn't like tomatoes, not even a little bit. Not on a burger or sandwich or salad. Now, though...
For Tomato Tart:
pie pastry
1 garlic bulb
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups shredded fontina cheese, divided
handful fresh basil leaves
2 to 3 tomatoes tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
For the pie pastry, make your own if you are so inclined.
The recipe I use is my mom's:
Combine a cup of all purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cut in 1/2 cup shortening (it's not a bad idea to refrigerate the shortening first) and add ice-cold water, one tablespoon at a time. Stir with a fork until the dough forms a ball. Roll out on lightly floured surface.
Or use a refrigerated pie pastry.
Either way, press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch square tart pan (the kind with a removable bottom although you could bake this in a 9-inch round pie pan, too). Bake for about 8 minutes or until lightly golden.
Cut off the top of a bulb of garlic and place it on a square of aluminum foil. Drizzle garlic bulb with olive oil and fold in aluminum foil to seal.
Bake for 35 minutes. Unwrap garlic and let cool. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves onto the bottom of the baked piecrust. Smear it around and moan about how good it smells.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup fontina cheese over the roasted garlic.
Slice the tomatoes and place on folded paper towels. Sprinkle the tomato slices with salt and pepper and let sit for 10 minutes. The tomatoes look so pretty just like that.
Arrange tomato slices over shredded cheese. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese.
Bake for 45 minutes or until tart is lightly browned.
Eat and enjoy warm or at room temperature. Good stuff!
Up until I made this tart, I didn't like tomatoes, not even a little bit. Not on a burger or sandwich or salad. Now, though...
For Tomato Tart:
pie pastry
1 garlic bulb
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups shredded fontina cheese, divided
handful fresh basil leaves
2 to 3 tomatoes tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
For the pie pastry, make your own if you are so inclined.
The recipe I use is my mom's:
Combine a cup of all purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cut in 1/2 cup shortening (it's not a bad idea to refrigerate the shortening first) and add ice-cold water, one tablespoon at a time. Stir with a fork until the dough forms a ball. Roll out on lightly floured surface.
Or use a refrigerated pie pastry.
Either way, press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch square tart pan (the kind with a removable bottom although you could bake this in a 9-inch round pie pan, too). Bake for about 8 minutes or until lightly golden.
Cut off the top of a bulb of garlic and place it on a square of aluminum foil. Drizzle garlic bulb with olive oil and fold in aluminum foil to seal.
Bake for 35 minutes. Unwrap garlic and let cool. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves onto the bottom of the baked piecrust. Smear it around and moan about how good it smells.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup fontina cheese over the roasted garlic.
Slice the tomatoes and place on folded paper towels. Sprinkle the tomato slices with salt and pepper and let sit for 10 minutes. The tomatoes look so pretty just like that.
Arrange tomato slices over shredded cheese. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese.
Bake for 45 minutes or until tart is lightly browned.
Eat and enjoy warm or at room temperature. Good stuff!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Supper from the grill
Pork tenderloin, asparagus, and potatoes. Everything but the pinot noir was readied on the grill.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Roasted Chicken
Jeffrey roasted a terrific turkey for Thanksgiving. It was so good, we got requests to make the same dish the same way for Christmas.
Over the weekend I used the brine recipe for chicken, which we roasted for Sunday dinner. Winner! We'll be making it again.
We served it with Parmesan-roasted white asparagus, which we won't have again - I like the green color better - and pasta salad.
Over the weekend I used the brine recipe for chicken, which we roasted for Sunday dinner. Winner! We'll be making it again.
We served it with Parmesan-roasted white asparagus, which we won't have again - I like the green color better - and pasta salad.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Sunday night
Last night we had grilled pork chops, grilled asparagus, and rice with fresh parsley for dinner.
For whatever reason, I'm not a huge fan of pork chops. They always seem to be a little dry and lacking in flavor.
These, though: Jeffrey injected them with red wine and topped them with a compound butter of unsalted butter and fresh rosemary. The pork chops were wrapped in bacon. Basically, you got your pork, butter, and more pork in the form of bacon.
It's a winner.
For whatever reason, I'm not a huge fan of pork chops. They always seem to be a little dry and lacking in flavor.
These, though: Jeffrey injected them with red wine and topped them with a compound butter of unsalted butter and fresh rosemary. The pork chops were wrapped in bacon. Basically, you got your pork, butter, and more pork in the form of bacon.
It's a winner.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Dinnertime
For dinner Monday night Jeffrey seared tuna steaks. He rubbed them down with a bit of olive oil, then topped them each with a bit of redfish seasoning and Greek seasoning, then seared them in a pan of hot olive oil and a bit of butter.
I made Parmesan Roasted Broccoli with Pine Nuts that I saw at Ezra Pound Cake's website. It was really tasty; I'll make it again. My eight-year-old son gobbled it up.
I made Parmesan Roasted Broccoli with Pine Nuts that I saw at Ezra Pound Cake's website. It was really tasty; I'll make it again. My eight-year-old son gobbled it up.
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