I've got a fresh pesto pizza coming out of my oven. Pesto is one of my favorite "go to" foods. It has so many uses and it's simple to make in a food processor.
KALE & WALNUT PESTO RECIPE
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- 1/2 Cup walnuts, toasted.
- 3 Cups firmly packed kale leaves , chopped with coarse stems removed
- 1 Cup fresh basil
- 1 Cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 tsp grated lemon zest
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped
- 1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 - 3/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
METHOD:
- Toast walnut meats in a small skillet over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until lightly browned. Off heat and allow to cool.
- Add kale, basil & parsley to your food processor bowl and pulse 10-12 times, scrapping down sides as needed.
- Add toasted walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, zest and a little salt & pepper. Pulse 5 times.
- Add grated parmesan cheese.
- With motor running, slowly add olive oil through chute until desired consistency is reached.
- Spoon pesto into a container and store covered in refrigerator up to 5 days.
Pesto can be used on fresh cooked pasta, spiralized zucchini noodles, steamed vegetables, sandwiches or pizzas.
Now whatcha got cookin' in your kitchen?
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Replies
hehe, and bananas could work good too !
Years ago I used to camp every late summer in Montauk at a state park ( Hither Hills), which is on the beach facing Atlantic. Surf casting was the early morning activity for me. Striped Bass or Blues. There's nothin for fish to hang out around in that particular area ( it's better if there are rocks and stuff a little further east ). But anyway,, some guy I was fishing with (we were using exact same lures and 'bait' thing ) got a Bass and invited me over to his camp site that night for dinner. His wife made it on grill in foil after he cleaned it and rinsed in ocean.
It sorta tasted a little bit "steamed" or something. A little bland. Was wonderful sharing meal with his family ( even though I was jealous he got a fish and I didn't ). But it might have helped if something was was put into that foil along with fish.
It's fun to experiment.
One drawback, with regard to me personally at least, is that if I smelled your cooking I would be hammering on the door to get in and eat it.... whereas with graphic arts you generally have to run and ad in some magazine to get customers.
hehe... either way, it's cool being creative !
will you marry me ?
just kidding.
Yes, but here's the catch. I am 67 and have VA health insurance but no longer have dental insurance ( via film union cause I retired).
Bottom line - I cannot chew on stuff now. No joke. Don't have teeth that are lined up on top and bottom for chewing. No big deal, but I have to just swallow stuff after making it soft to begin with ( soup, stew, fish, etc.) OR cut it into little pieces to swallow.
Sorry, but is fact of life at the moment.
If you have recipe for that ( which sounds like it would qualify and plus taste really good ) I am all ears !
I don't make this dish often because it's labor intensive. But the sauce is awesome and the chicken is so fork tender you should have no problems.
COQ AU VIN (Chicken with Wine)
DAY 1: Make brown chicken stock.
Brown Chicken Stock Recipe | SAVEUR
Strain solids and discard. Store covered stock in refrigerator until ready to use. Skim fat when chilled.
DAY 1: Make marinade for 1 6-pound roasting chicken, backbone removed, cut into 8 pieces (2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings with top quarter of adjoining breast, 2 breasts).
- 1 750-ml bottle French Burgundy or California Pinot Noir
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 2 celery ribs with leaves, sliced
- 1 large carrot, sliced
- 1 large garlic clove, peeled, flattened
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Combine wine, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and peppercorns in large pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes. Cool completely; mix in oil. Place chicken pieces in large glass bowl. Pour wine mixture over chicken; stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 day and up to 2 days, turning chicken occasionally. Note: your chicken will turn purple. That's what you want.
DAY 2: Cooking the chicken.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 ounces thick-cut bacon slices, cut crosswise into strips
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 large shallots, chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 4 large fresh thyme sprigs
- 4 large fresh parsley sprigs
- 2 small bay leaves
- 2 cups brown chicken stock from Day 1
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
- 1 pound assorted fresh wild mushrooms (such as crimini and stemmed shiitake)
- 20 1-inch-diameter pearl onions, or boiling onions, peeled
- Chopped fresh parsley
- Using tongs, transfer chicken pieces from marinade to paper towels to drain; pat dry. Strain marinade; reserve vegetables and liquid separately. Do not discard them.
- Heat oil in heavy large pot (wide enough to hold chicken in single layer) over medium-high heat. Add bacon and sauté until crisp and brown. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to small bowl. Add chicken, skin side down, to drippings in pot. Sauté until brown, about 8 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to large bowl. Add vegetables reserved from marinade to pot. Sauté until brown, about 10 minutes. Mix in flour; stir 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in reserved marinade liquid. Bring to boil, whisking frequently. Cook until sauce thickens, whisking occasionally, about 2 minutes. Mix in shallots, garlic, herb sprigs, and bay leaves, and brown chicken stock. Return chicken to pot, arranging skin side up in single layer. Bring to simmer; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pot and simmer chicken 30 minutes. Using tongs, turn chicken over. Cover and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes longer.
- Meanwhile, melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms; sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to plate. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in same skillet. Add onions and sauté until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer onions to plate alongside mushrooms; reserve skillet.
- Using tongs, transfer chicken to plate. Strain sauce from pot into reserved skillet, pressing on solids in strainer to extract all sauce; discard solids. Bring sauce to simmer, scraping up browned bits. Return sauce to pot. Add onions to pot and bring to simmer over medium heat. Cover and cook until onions are almost tender, about 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and bacon. Simmer uncovered until onions are very tender and sauce is slightly reduced, about 12 minutes. Tilt pot and spoon off excess fat from top of sauce. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Return chicken to sauce. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled overnight.
DAY 3: Remove pot from fridge. Skim fat if needed. Very slowly warm Coq Au Vin over low heat until ready to serve. About 1 hour. To plate, spoon sauce, chicken & vegtables over cooked & drained egg noodles. Garnish with parsley. Enjoy!
Wow !
OK, will go shopping tomorrow and get stuff ! Thanks !
Will let you know what happens.
So I will share my favorite "Labor Intensive" recipie, my families favorite. There are quite a few shortcuts you can take, i.e. using premade crust, but The end result is worth all the effort. You will also dirty all your pots and measuring cups on this one LOL
Photo: Courtesy of Cook's Country
This Moravian chicken pie recipe from Cook's Country yields a satisfying double-crusted pie filled with shredded chicken and served with a rich gravy.
We first seared the chicken to render the fat from its skin, which we used later in a roux to thicken the gravy. To ensure it would be moist, we then poached the chicken in chicken broth and used that broth for our gravy. After shredding the chicken, we tossed it with some of the gravy base to continue to keep it moist during cooking. While the pie cooked, we thinned the remaining gravy base with more chicken broth to give the final gravy the perfect consistency.
MORE WEEKEND RECIPES
Moravian Chicken Pie
Serves 8
If you get less than 2 tablespoons of fat from browning the chicken in step 4, supplement it with butter. The pie may seem loose when it comes out of the oven; it will set up as it cools.
INGREDIENTS
Crust:
1/2 cup sour cream, chilled
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
Pie:
2 (10- to 12-ounce) bone-in split chicken breasts, trimmed and halved crosswise
3 (5- to 7-ounce) bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup half-and-half
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Story continues belowMoreCommeINSTRUCTIONS
1. FOR THE CRUST: Combine sour cream and egg in bowl. Process flour and salt in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until only pea-size pieces remain, about 10 pulses. Add half of sour cream mixture and pulse until combined, 5 pulses. Add remaining sour cream mixture and pulse until dough begins to form, about 10 pulses.
2. Transfer mixture to lightly floured counter and knead briefly until dough comes together. Divide dough in half and form each half into 4-inch disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. (Dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and foil and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw completely at room temperature before using.)
3. Remove 1 dough disk from refrigerator and let sit for 10 minutes. Working on lightly floured counter, roll into 12-inch round and transfer to 9-inch pie plate, leaving 1/2-inch overhang all around. Repeat with second dough disk and transfer to parchment – lined rimmed baking sheet. Cover both doughs with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. FOR THE PIE: Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until browned all over, about 10 minutes; transfer to plate. Pour fat (you should have 2 tablespoons) into small bowl; reserve. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin. Add broth, chicken, and bay leaf to now-empty pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs register 175 degrees, 14 to 18 minutes. Transfer chicken to bowl. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-size pieces, discarding bones. Pour broth through fine-mesh strainer into second bowl and reserve (you should have about 2¾ cups); discard bay leaf.
5. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat butter and reserved fat in now-empty pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in 2 cups of reserved broth and half-and-half and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gravy until thickened and reduced to 1¾ cups, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine 1 cup gravy with shredded chicken; reserve remaining gravy for serving.
6. Transfer chicken mixture to dough-lined pie plate and spread into even layer. Top with second dough round, leaving at least 1/2-inch overhang all around. Fold dough under itself so that edge of fold is flush with outer rim of pie plate. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with tines of fork to seal. Cut four 1-inch slits in top. Brush pie with egg and bake until top is light golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Let pie cool on wire rack for at least 45 minutes.
7. When ready to serve, bring remaining ¾ cup reserved gravy and remaining ¾ cup reserved broth to boil in medium saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat until slightly thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve pie with gravy.
** I make all the gravy at once. Good gravy is a pain enough to get right once, much less adding more broth and re-thickening
*** EDIT also, after the step where you remove the skin, i fry the fat/skins up crispy chicharron style in the remaining oil for the kiddos 
yum !
thank you !
I have to admit I fagged out on shopping today for the Nancy recipe, realizing I have to buy some containers and stuff to do the steps and store in fridge, or on counter tops. So I'll shop basically day by day as needed instead.
I'll take some alternatives ( like bacon, I can't chew, so that might become salt pork sliced thin ). Stuff like that.
hehe, this is fun !
thanks.
This time of year there's a pot of soup simmering on my stove practically everyday. These no knead dinner rolls are the perfect compliment. Just 4 basic ingredients are all you need. And these are great for making sliders, too.
- 3 Cups flour (bread, whole wheat or all purpose) For this recipe, I used 1 Cup whole wheat and 2 cups all purpose.
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 packet of instant or dry active yeast
- 1-3/4 Cups warm water (about 60 seconds in the microwave).
- In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Make a well in the middle and add warm water. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until well combined.
- Cover with plastic wrap and set on counter for 3 hours.
- After 3 hours, mixture will be puffy and bubbly. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. Using a scraper fold over about 12 times, adding enough flour to keep dough from sticking.
- Using scraper, cut dough into 8 equal size pieces. Dust hands with flour and shape each piece into a ball.
- Place rolls on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450 F.
- Before baking you may optionally, brush rolls with 1 beaten egg yolk mixed with a little water. Sprinkle tops with your favorite add-ons. For this recipe I used poppy seeds, sesame seeds and a little bit of flaked sea salt. Use whatever you like.
- Bake rolls for 20-30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack until ready to serve.
another thing that's funny.. I worked as a grip in film union in ny doing a few of those 'fake' commercials SNL did back then... shot with film cameras instead of TV video stuff … on locations … and I still have fond memories of doing that stuff with those nutty actors.
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