5.6 (&11).2012 Pesto batch & Chorizo Crack Sauce & Mussels

Time for another batch of pesto
5 cups packed (homegrown) basil
1/4 cup walnuts
9 cloves garlic
1 cup parmesean
1 & 1/2 cup EVOO
1 tsp salt & 1 tsp pepper
Pick, wash and dry basil (most time consuming part, but worth it)
Blitz garlic and nuts in cuisinart (30 sec)
add basil, s&p and drizzle EVOO till paste
add parm and blitz 1 min.
Freeze in ice cube trays or put in sealed jar, topped off with EVOO.

I plan to have a large stash of this in my freezer at the end of the summer.  This is going to be a fantastically flavorful fall/winter :)

Okay...now for the insane Chorizo Crack Sauce with mussels.  We came up with a funny, pointed name for this, but now I can't remember it.  Chorizo Crack with have to do.  This is the best sauce maybe of any kind I've ever had.  Bold enough?  It's up there with how much I love my chile verde...but much faster/easier.

a St. Pauli Girl always is a good helper in the kitchen

This recipe is from Melissa D'Arabian on the Food Network.  It was on an episode of Best Thing I Ever Made-Spicy.  It is INSANE!  

1 medium onion, chopped

3 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces fresh chorizo, removed from casing (we asked for advise at the market and a Mexican man recommended the one in the "tube" -like polenta...very smooth and crazy good...cheap too.)
1 tablespoon harissa (can be made or bought at specialty food store) or see substitution below, which we did and was delicious
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 to 3 pounds fresh mussels, scrubbed and debearded (We did about 2 lbs...enough to feed and army!)
1/2 cup heavy cream
Handful of fresh chopped basil (since I'm growing 4 huge pots of it)
French bread, for dipping (I love Market Street french baguette...so much so that I ask Scott to go to 2 stores to get this after he goes to Kroger)
Directions
Cook's Note: If harissa cannot be found, substitute 1 tablespoon of tomato paste plus 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper & 1/4 tsp cumin.

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook the onions in the butter over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chorizo to the onions and cook until the sausage loses its raw color, about 5 minutes. Add the harissa and red pepper flakes, and then turn up the heat to high.

Once fragrant, deglaze the pan with the wine, allowing to bubble for a minute. Lower the heat to medium, add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add the prepped mussels and cover to steam until the mussels open, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cream and stir. Serve immediately with plenty of sliced French bread for dipping. I coat the bread in butter...we thought 'oh, we'll just need half the baquette'...NOT.  We ate the whole darn thing.  The mussels were good, but the sauce was the huge hit.  Just give me this sauce, no mussels, with a french baquette and butter and call it a nite...and maybe serve with the a glass or two of the same wine used to make it.  The Oak Leaf Pinot Grigio from Walmart ($3) worked well here.

We did this a few days later with shrimp and lobster...delicious, but I'd still prefer this with no additional protein...just chorizo. I think E.M. added more tomato paste and some diced tomatos this time, at no detriment to the dish.