pesto: a go-to ingredient

when summertime comes, i reach for basil.

gobs of it. and i make pesto from memory, and freeze it immediately (unless i’m serving it that night). pesto is best made with fresh and vibrant basil; once it becomes a bit black around the edges, the flavor diminishes. if you’re making a bunch for later, freeze it in ice cube trays.  pesto cubes thaw easily and are a  decent serving gauge–a cube per person is about right

Pesto, from sarah’s brain:

a bunch of basil
olive oil
clove of garlic (some peeps like more, but i’m not a fan of over-powering garlic)
salt
pine nuts
parmesan cheese (the real stuff, not that creepy green can of non-cheese)
food processor or blender (fp works best)

1. if you have a food processor with a grater blade, grate about a half cup or so cheese. leave it in the fp bowl.
2. wash and pluck the basil leaves from the stems.
3. toss the basil, garlic, a pinch of salt, and a handful of pine nuts in the food processor.
4. with the food processor running, pour olive oil in the bowl until the pesto starts to bind together, yet is still coarse. some people like a super oily smooth pesto, but i like a pesto with character.

mix in to hot, just-made pasta, or make pesto-crusted chicken, or spoon into an ice cube tray, cover with plastic wrap, and save it for a rainy–or non-basil season–day.

i’ve been cooking, just not blogging about it

my buddy brenda commented recently on my dried up savannah of a cooking blog.

the blog isn’t a reflection of a lack of creativity in the kitchen, just competing priorities, i guess.

i’m going to change that.

maybe tomorrow. i’m a bit too tired to chronicle tonight’s go-to meal (e.g., “go-to” when i’m plum outta ideas), one of david’s faves: pesto crusted chicken with carmelized onion pasta and tonight’s surprise nebraskan guest: corn on the cob. mm mmm.

soon.