Pesto !

It has been a while, but we have not stopped (either cooking, or eating)!

Summer brings pesto, and what joy that we both love this.

(adapted from “Pesto by the Food Processor Method”, in Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, by Marcella Hazan, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2001. 688pp)


For the Processor
2 cups tightly packed fresh basil leaves
4 garlic cloves, chopped fine before putting into the processor
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts

NOTE: if you plan to freeze, you will only need the above ingredients, and the Processor steps 1 and 2 below are the stopping points before freezing. The rest of the ingredients are needed to finish after thawing out, and before serving with pasta.

For completion by hand
½ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated romano cheese (optional; can substitute with more parmigiano-reggiano)
3 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
salt, as needed to taste, after adding cheeses

1. Briefly soak and wash the basil in cold water, and gently pat it thoroughly dry with paper towels.

2. Put the basil, olive oil, pine nuts, and chopped garlic in the processor bowl, and process to a uniform, creamy consistency.

3. Transfer to a bowl, and mix in the grated cheeses, by hand, to obtain the right texture. When evenly mixed with the other ingredients, check for saltiness and add salt as desired. Then, mix in the butter, uniformly.

4. When saucing the pasta, first cook the pasta al dente. Spoon the sauce into a warm sauté pan with a little melted butter and a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water to slightly thin the sauce. Use tongs to transfer hot drained pasta into the sauté pan with the warm sauce, and mix thoroughly before serving.

Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup with Thyme

A wonderful soup from fresh summer tomatoes and so much more!
modified from: The Complete Book of Soups and Stews, by Bernard Clayton, Jr. 1984. Simon and Schuster, New York. pp. 441.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs early girl off-the-vine tomatoes
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large red onion, minced
2 medium carrots, minced
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 long sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
8 ounces tomato juice
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup cream
3 tablespoons basil leaves

To make:

PREPARATION/SCALD
Drop 2 or 3 of the tomatoes in a saucepan of boiling hot water. Scald them for no longer than 15 seconds and remove with a slotted spoon. Place them under cold running water while you drop the remaining tomatoes into the hot bath. The skins will slip off with ease. To seed, cut the tomatoes in half and gently squeeze. then cut them into pieces.

SMOTHER 10 minutes
Heat butter and oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and carrots, cover and cook oover low heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato juice, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper.

BOIL / SIMMER 12 to 15 minutes
Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer until tomatoes are tender, about 12 to 15 minutes.

PUREE 5 minutes
Remove from heat. When the vegetables are somewhat cool, puree in blender. Return to saucepan and set aside until just before serving.

FINAL STEP
When ready to serve, add cream and reheat without boiling. Add basil before serving.

Santa Barbara Napolitana Sauce

This is definitely worth a post: "nap" sauce that is the identical twin (but better) to that of the now defunct Strawberry Joe's. Garlic galore, incredibly creamy marinara, fresh sweet tomatoes, capellini. Michael has tried to reproduce what we enjoyed, but this time he made it happen. Anything to do with the Giants?

Marinara Sauce:

1 28 oz can of Muir Glen Organic chunky tomato sauce
1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 quarter of a red (Spanish) onion, finely diced
1 quarter of a sweet white onion, finely diced
10 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
oregano (1 Tblspn fresh, or 1/2 Tblspn dry)--Spanish or Italian
salt, pepper
red pepper flakes, 1 tsp

Add two tablespoons olive oil to a saute pan. Heat the oil, add the onions and carrots. Saute for 3 or 4 minutes until soft. Add garlic and oregano, saute 1 minute---don't let the garlic brown. Add the tomato sauce, and cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, plus red pepper flakes. After cooking, take off heat, blend with a stick blender until smooth.

Fresh tomato: 3 to 4, summer ripe.
Garlic: 5 to 6 cloves, minced
Oregano, as above (1 tsp)

Slice the tomatoes into 6 or 8 pieces per tomato. Heat the garlic and oregano in olive oil--don't brown the garlic. Add the fresh tomatoes; cook until heated. Add a few tablespoons of marinara (above) and capillini (cooked for 4 to 5 minutes in salted water) into the saute pan with tomatoes. Toss together until well coated/ mixed. Heat serving bowls for 1 to 1.5 minutes.

The goal is to have minimal sauce on the pasta. There should only be enough to taste.

Gazpacho with Gusto

This recipe is an adaptation from The New Best Recipe Issue of Cooks Illustrated, a large book in Michael's cookbook library. We have just eaten two large bowls for dinner. It has been a cool summer, but this wonderful soup would be welcome anytime the fresh veggies are available.

3 medium summer-ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded, and cut into quarter-inch dice
2 medium red or yellow bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/8-inch dice
2 small cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/8-inch dice
1 small sweet white (Walla Walla or Maui) onion, 1/8-inch dice
3 medium garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/3 cup sherry vinegar
ground pepper
5 cups Campbells tomato juice
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 dashes Worchestershire sauce

Combine tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, onion, garlic, celery salt, vinegar, salt, and black pepper in a non-reactive bowl. Let stand until the vegetables start to release their liquid (around 10 minutes). Stir in the tomato juice, Tabasco, and Worchestershire sauce. Cover tightly and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper to taste. Serve cold, drizzling each portion with around 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. Serve with a rustic bread, like ciabatta, lightly toasted and painted with olive oil.

Mike's Deviled Eggs

The world awaits, but no longer. One of Michael's claims to fame in the kitchen (and tummy). I love, love, love, love.......


Deviled Eggs

1 dozen large eggs (not too fresh or they will not peel)
1/4 c plus 2 tablespoons mayonaise (Best Foods Light)
3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
pinch or more of Spanish paprika (smoked or sweet)

1. To cook the eggs, gently place the eggs in a pan that is large enough to allow them to cover the bottom. Cover with 1 to 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, turn off the burner and place a lid tightly on the pan. Turn the timer to 20 minutes. When the time expires, cool the eggs promptly in iced water. Set aside.

2. Peel the eggs and wash well to remove all traces of shell.

3. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise.

4. Remove the yolks into a small food processor. Pulse to chop the cooked yolks finely. Add the mayonaise then pulse. Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse several time, scraping the contents into the bowl to ensure mixing between each pulse.

5. Spoon the egg yolk mixture into the egg white, just filling the indentation left by the removed yolk. Mound a bit, but leave loose somewhat for effect.

6. Sprinkle paprika (smoked or sweet) over the tops of the eggs to dust with a nice discrete layer.

7. Cover loosely and refrigerate. Best if eaten the afternoon following the morning of preparation.

So, there you go. The secret is out. Are we in heaven, or what?

Louie's Herb Dressing

Ingredients:

Mix up 1 cup of the following freshly picked herbs: dill, basil leaves, chives, parsley leaves, tarragon leaves. Approximately equal amounts of each in a total of 1 cup volume is fine.

1/4 cup mixture of equal proportions rice and white wine vinegars

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 cup olive oil

In a food processor, blend well the herbs, egg, Dijon and vinegar. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil until the mixture is emulsified. Refrigerate in a glass jar.

Michael's Extra Thin Zucchini Saute

Michael says: "The goal of cooking zucchini is to drive off the water". (Funny, I thought it was to prepare for rapid consumption....)

4 one-inch (or less) diameter zucchini, cut 1/16th of an inch with a Mandolin. [The zucchini are from the Farmer's market, starting in April...]
one 2-inch tomato, cored, seeded and diced
thyme
marjoram
butter
olive oil
salt


1. Saute the zucchini, with herbs and salt, in 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter over medium heat until soft but neither mushy or brown.

2. Toss in tomatoes a minute or two before the saute is complete.