Sunday, September 14, 2008
Pesto Perfect!
At the farm mar this weekend I got a big bunch of basil (for the party last night). I had so much leftover that I decided (to Arlo's delight) to make some pesto. I just kind of winged (wung?) it.
First I toasted some sliced almonds (handful - 1/2 cup?) and then blended them in the food processor with 3 or 4 cloves of garlic. I then added a big handful (3/4 cup?) of leftover pecorino cheese and blended it, adding olive oil to help in the process. Afterword it looked like this:
Then I added several handfuls of basil (maybe 3 packed cups?), some lemon juice (from about 1/3 of a lemon) and more olive oil.
This is what it looked like when it was done. Not the prettiest thing but yummy!
I had oatmeal for dinner but Arlo enjoyed the pesto with some spinach/Jerusalem artichoke pasta.
First I toasted some sliced almonds (handful - 1/2 cup?) and then blended them in the food processor with 3 or 4 cloves of garlic. I then added a big handful (3/4 cup?) of leftover pecorino cheese and blended it, adding olive oil to help in the process. Afterword it looked like this:
Then I added several handfuls of basil (maybe 3 packed cups?), some lemon juice (from about 1/3 of a lemon) and more olive oil.
This is what it looked like when it was done. Not the prettiest thing but yummy!
I had oatmeal for dinner but Arlo enjoyed the pesto with some spinach/Jerusalem artichoke pasta.
Wine and (Grilled) Cheese Party
I like having dinner parties. They allow me to cook all day and 
make stuff I usually wouldn't for just Arlo (my fiance) and I. I wanted to fancy-up some ordinary food and thought grilled cheese sandwiches would be perfect.
Planning started earlier this week. I had several pounds of tomatoes and thought tomato soup was a good idea, so I peeled and seeded the tomatoes and packed them in juice for later. The soup was a simple recipe from Cook's Illustrated "Soups and Stews." I roasted the tomatoes with some brown sugar to bring out their flavor (per CI's advice). The soup is based on butter, shallots, tomato paste (from my awesome tube paste!) and flour and rounded out with broth, tomato juice, the roasted tomatoes and some cream. I've never actually had tomato soup before but I think it tasted pretty good! Nice and...tomato-y. It had a nice red color too, despite the broth and cream.
For the sandwiches Arlo and I picked up a variety of cheeses (mozzarella, pecarino, gouda, fontina, two types of cheddar, monteray and a cheese with habanero in it). I shredded and separated them all (except the mozzarella which I just pulled apart as I went) for ease of melting.
For bread we got some sourdough and this great "tuscan-style" bread made by this bakery (yummy). We also picked up some pumpernickel bread because Arlo wanted some.
Of course, all you need for a tasty grilled cheese
sandwich is good bread and cheese (and maybe some butter) but I wanted to go further so we got some granny smith apples, basil, red and yellow tomato, cilantro, onion and (what else?)
bacon.
Cheddar, green apple and bacon sammies were popular as were pecarino, mozzarella, basil and tomato. Yummy!
Dinner was complete with a salad (romaine, toasted almonds, feta, dried cranberries and a homemade dressing of orange and lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, garlic, basil, salt and olive oil), some iced green tea with honey, cookies (with oats, cranberries, white and dark chocolate, almonds and almond butter) and wine (everyone brought a bottle to share). Oh, and a cake that Rachel brought (yellow with chocolate icing) and homemade chocolate ice cream and grape/tequila sorbet.
It was fun, but now I have to do the dishes :/.
make stuff I usually wouldn't for just Arlo (my fiance) and I. I wanted to fancy-up some ordinary food and thought grilled cheese sandwiches would be perfect.Planning started earlier this week. I had several pounds of tomatoes and thought tomato soup was a good idea, so I peeled and seeded the tomatoes and packed them in juice for later. The soup was a simple recipe from Cook's Illustrated "Soups and Stews." I roasted the tomatoes with some brown sugar to bring out their flavor (per CI's advice). The soup is based on butter, shallots, tomato paste (from my awesome tube paste!) and flour and rounded out with broth, tomato juice, the roasted tomatoes and some cream. I've never actually had tomato soup before but I think it tasted pretty good! Nice and...tomato-y. It had a nice red color too, despite the broth and cream.
For the sandwiches Arlo and I picked up a variety of cheeses (mozzarella, pecarino, gouda, fontina, two types of cheddar, monteray and a cheese with habanero in it). I shredded and separated them all (except the mozzarella which I just pulled apart as I went) for ease of melting.For bread we got some sourdough and this great "tuscan-style" bread made by this bakery (yummy). We also picked up some pumpernickel bread because Arlo wanted some.
Of course, all you need for a tasty grilled cheese
sandwich is good bread and cheese (and maybe some butter) but I wanted to go further so we got some granny smith apples, basil, red and yellow tomato, cilantro, onion and (what else?) bacon.Cheddar, green apple and bacon sammies were popular as were pecarino, mozzarella, basil and tomato. Yummy!
Dinner was complete with a salad (romaine, toasted almonds, feta, dried cranberries and a homemade dressing of orange and lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, garlic, basil, salt and olive oil), some iced green tea with honey, cookies (with oats, cranberries, white and dark chocolate, almonds and almond butter) and wine (everyone brought a bottle to share). Oh, and a cake that Rachel brought (yellow with chocolate icing) and homemade chocolate ice cream and grape/tequila sorbet.
It was fun, but now I have to do the dishes :/.
Camera catch-up/My first post
Oh man, excuse the formatting. This is my first effort.
My camera is full of food pictures so I figured I should get this blog up to speed before diving in.
Awhile ago I made some "buffaloaf" with meat from the farm market. Yesterday the guy we buy meat from called us "very regular customers" (his wife was trying to sell us all sorts of stuff and he was explaining that we knew what they had to offer). This was a very simple meatloaf with zucchini included. The mashed potatoes were small red potatoes cooked in homemade broth. Instead of covering the potatoes completely with the broth I just put a little in there and steam them and then use the remaining broth too mash, no waste!
I also made an experimental bread. I was really wanting some chocolate so I made this decadent zucchini bread with cocoa, nuts, coconut (had some leftover) and 60% dark chocolate chips (so fabulous for baking). It was so wonderfully moist and delicious.
Thats all for now!
My camera is full of food pictures so I figured I should get this blog up to speed before diving in.
Awhile ago I made some "buffaloaf" with meat from the farm market. Yesterday the guy we buy meat from called us "very regular customers" (his wife was trying to sell us all sorts of stuff and he was explaining that we knew what they had to offer). This was a very simple meatloaf with zucchini included. The mashed potatoes were small red potatoes cooked in homemade broth. Instead of covering the potatoes completely with the broth I just put a little in there and steam them and then use the remaining broth too mash, no waste!
My ice cream maker has also been busy. One of my favorite things to make is watermelon sorbet is because it is so easy and cheap (one watermelon makes a LOT of sorbet). A month or so ago some ladies started selling grapes at the farm mar so I have been experimenting with grape sorbet. It doesn't have an intense grape-y flavor, but it tastes good and the color is so amazing! 
Peach and chocolate ice cream (not together) have also become staples.
Sausage and peppers have also made appearances at dinner. My dad used
to make this dish for me on my birthday because it was my favorite. This is basically onions and bell peppers (which have been plentiful the past few weeks) cooked with italian sausage and covered with a simple tomato sauce (just tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and salt).
Yummy and pretty!
Peach and chocolate ice cream (not together) have also become staples.Sausage and peppers have also made appearances at dinner. My dad used
to make this dish for me on my birthday because it was my favorite. This is basically onions and bell peppers (which have been plentiful the past few weeks) cooked with italian sausage and covered with a simple tomato sauce (just tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and salt).Yummy and pretty!
I also made an experimental bread. I was really wanting some chocolate so I made this decadent zucchini bread with cocoa, nuts, coconut (had some leftover) and 60% dark chocolate chips (so fabulous for baking). It was so wonderfully moist and delicious.
Thats all for now!
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