Pot & Cover

I made my first batch of pesto today.  I must prepare for the upcoming winter!  You know it just gets so cold in Texas....ha!  Well it does get cold...but its not like I'm homebound...I only wish for snow!  My basil has been so prolific this year that I think I'll get double, triple or quadruple the amount of pesto.  I'm going to have to give some away!  We went over to the Mc's to watch the Cowboys tonight...and thankfully they won.  I took some basil for dinner tonight, and after making pesto and taking a bunch to dinner...you can hardly tell I made a dent in my pot of basil.  If the weather stays warm enough to grow some more I'll have a freezer filled with green!  So satisfying to have your own garden...even if its just a pot...filling up your freezer with yummy food.  I should have been a farmer :) Ina Garten's Pesto recipe...makes 4 cups 9 garlic cloves, chopped...about 3 TBS chopped 1/2 cup walnuts (chopped), or 1 cup unchop...

Oak Leaf Pinot Grigio homemade, homegrown pesto for the sauce 2 TBS garlic, 1 cup shallots, 1/2 can tomatoes all sauteed in olive oil.  Pesto and wine(about a cup) added and finished with fresh basil after mussels opened (about 5 min with lid on) mussels "spitted" with handful of flour for 30 min then rinsed about 1.5 lbs of mussels...plenty served with pesto bread...baguette from M.Street (yum), spread with butter & pesto and baked Berry lime margaritas were flowing before this...so it was REALLY good :)

This was amazingly good!  The only meatball recipe we'll ever need. Inspired by Ina, of course. Another S.W. masterpiece Sauce: doctor'd up Marinara (see other posts) (add fresh pesto) Meatballs: 1/2 lb mild italian sausage (two large links) 1 lb ground beef (chuck) 1 cup fresh (we used frozen defrosted) white bread crumbs (one hamburger bun) 1/4 cup panko 2 TBS fresh chopped basil 1/2 c fresh grated Parm 2 tsp salt 2 tsp pepper 1/4 tsp nutmeg-left out the first time...couldn't find it..hiding in a drawer 1 egg, beaten oil to brown then plop them in the sauce! served with pesto bread: coat bread with butter, then a coating of pesto and bake in oven till bubbly

Scott used a tomato soup recipe from Tyler Florence (I think)...and we added a little pesto.  Grilled cheese with cheddar, a schmear of pesto on Pep farm sourdough grilled on GF...defreakinlicous! Ingredients: (1/2 the recipe) 1 pounds fresh tomatoes (or 1 large can tomatoes) 3  cloves garlic , peeled 1 small yellow onions, sliced 1/4 cup  extra-virgin olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/2 quart chicken stock 1 bay leaf 2 tablespoons butter 1 icecube size chunk pesto 1/3 cup heavy cream Directions Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes,  garlic cloves  and onions onto a baking tray. If using vine  cherry tomatoes  for garnish, add them as well, leaving them whole and on the vine. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until caramelized. Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion from the oven and t...

Ingredients Kosher salt 1 1/2 (16-ounce) boxes lasagna noodles Olive oil 1 pound bulk Italian sausage 4 cloves garlic, smashed, divided Crushed red pepper flakes 1 (12-ounce) package cremini mushrooms, stems removed, caps sliced (I don't remove stems...reg mush would be fine) 1 zucchini, cut in 1/2 lengthwise and cut on the bias ( no zucc in house...we used a roasted pepper 2 cups ricotta 2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided 2 eggs 6 to 7 basil leaves, cut into chiffonade (we used our pesto instead...no fresh basil in house...lots of pesto) 1 recipe Chef Anne's All-Purpose Marinara Sauce, recipe follows (we used our fav marinara, bertolli) 1 pound grated mozzarella Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Working batches, cook the lasagna noodles until they are soft and pliable but not limp, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove the pasta from the boiling water and lay flat on a sheet tray to cool. Reserve. Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring to...

the basil was looking bad...it was do or die time to make this years pesto.  the house smelled so strong of basil, it was almost medicinal.  I follow Ina Garten's recipe for pesto...in her Barefoot Contessa Parties book 5 cups packed basil leaves (when I was cleaning mine, a lady bug flew out and landed on my pink mixer :) 1.5 cups good olive oil 1/2 cup walnuts (she has half walnuts, half pine nuts) 1 cup fresh grated parmesean 9 cloves fresh garlic 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper I use my cuisinart... process nuts & garlic for 30 seconds add basil, s&p, process while slowly adding olive oil, blending till pureed add parmesean, process 1 min. I freeze most of it in a ice cube tray and then put the rest in freezer bags, flattened out and all frozen to be used all winter long.

Pepperidge Farm sourdough bread is the best base. Break out the G.F., butter the bread, shred the cheese & spread the pesto...and a little left over roast beef from sandwiches day before. the best tomato soup...see past post for recipe.  So easy! after blending and adding cream cupcakes, left over from day before fresh from the G.F...after about 3 min look at that gooey cheese! and again the next day Pesto fresh from the freezer...the "booty" is growing...feels like found treasure. more grilled cheese...this with ham too one of our favorite meals

this was amazingly good.  Spread butter and pesto bread and bake...lots of pesto and fresh basil in sauce too.

another favorite…homemade pesto and homemade soup

pesto, cheese, chicken, sauteed in butter till crispy and topped with sour cream and salsa one of our most favorite (and simple) meals

I have made two batches of pesto from our summer basil...but our move was upon us, as well as the cold weather looming, so it was time to harvest the remaining basil.  It's more than a week later and its still perky and fresh in its vase of water...but I've realized something I didn't know...that when you have that much freshly cut basil indoors it smells too strong...a little musky...so its now on the porch.  This was my best basil year yet...I we enjoyed every green leaf...and will enjoy the pesto all winter. 

We started the day with a frittata and toast...one of our favorite weekend breakfasts.  We had about and ounce of jalepeno cheese sausage from Tyler's BBQ in Amarillo...so Scott suggested a fritatta.  He chopped up the sausage, and we added smoked gruyere, parm & spinach.  YUM!  whisk it all together,  with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Add a 1/2 tsp of baking powder and flour, whisk in.  Add to a hot 8 inch pan that has hot melted butter in it....then after about 2 minutes add to a 350 oven for 15-20 min.  Check often and pull out when just set...you can show it to the broiler for 30 sec or so if need be.  Serve with buttered toast and jelly..Scott likes salsa too. We finished the day with Scott's beef tips and taters. We got Yoshida's   Yoshida's website  in Cali and used that to marinate, with an extra dash of ginger, ground garlic powder,  basil and pepper flakes.  If you can't find Yoshida's...I'm so s...

I think this is fish with pesto… fresh tomatoes and baked sweet tater fries…yummy and lean

Making pesto with the summer's bounty of basil gifts of pesto for friends at school artichokes and shrimp favorite kitchen sink chicken vegie soup