Basil Pesto

How bitter sweet the days of September are. The joy of the upcoming cooler weather and watching the earth transform itself yet again in such beautiful arrays of colors and scents makes watching my garden fade all the more bearable.This weekend I finally harvested my basil which had gone for too long. I still got quite a bit (and will get a bit more before the season is out) but lost many leaves to the sun.

Has anyone grown basil indoors? Did it work? I'm going to miss fresh basil.

Basil loses much of its flavor and scent when dried, so I decided not to dry any in my dehydrator this year. Instead, I made pesto! I made one batch with cheese and one without. Cheese doesn't freeze well, so when I'm ready to use that batch down the line, I'll either eat it as is or throw it back in the food processor after it's thawed. We'll see.

I made the pesto batch with cheese  into a cream sauce and it turned out pretty good! I didn't follow a specific recipe (pesto is very versatile and you adjust ingredients to taste), but instead compared about 6 of the ones I found online and improvised. It would be fattier, but next time I might use heavy cream and omit the roux and light cream. It worked well, but I'm always looking to try new variations! (Though sometimes it takes me years to tear myself away from a favorite dish of mine and finally try a substitution.)

Here's my recipe. For a freezable version, just omit the cheese. The great thing about pesto is that you can improvise to your heart's content. Add some mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, parsley- the options are endless! (Let me say that there are many, many other "great" things about pesto. I just don't have that kind of time...)


Ingredients

2.5 Cups (packed) fresh basil
1/3 Cup Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/2 Cup olive oil
1/4 Cup pine nuts
4 med. garlic cloves

You can edit, omit, replace or add to this list of ingredients. Let your imagination run wild! Next, I want to make a wild mushroom pesto. If it turns out well, I may just stock up on wild mushrooms and never leave my house again.OK- maybe to get more mushrooms.

In your food processor, blend together basil, garlic and cheese until finely chopped. Add oil and pulse until thoroughly combined.

If you can't serve immediately (recommended), make sure to store in an air tight container. If it gets a bit brown, just give it a stir and it will be fine. Add a bit of olive oil to the top to help stop it from browning if you're going to refrigerate it or won't use it right away. (Pesto browns the way an apple or avocado might, but even faster!)

Voila! You're done!

Or you can keep going...

If you make the pesto without cheese, line small containers with ceran wrap and freeze. (Ice cube trays, muffin tins, small bowls, or just about anything that will be OK in the freezer for a day and fits the portion size you're looking to freeze.) Transfer to a freezer bag when it's fully frozen. You'll have fresh, home made pesto in the winter!

More ideas, you ask? How about creamy pesto sauce! I winged this and it turned out pretty damn well. I definitely recommend adding sauteed mushrooms to whatever you serve it with. Their flavors are perfectly complementary.

Ingredients

3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
1 1/2-2 Cup light cream (half and half)
1 Cup freshly made pesto (See above)
Salt and pepper to taste

Begin with a roux. Melt the butter in a medium sized sauce pan. Once melted, gradually add the flour, whicking constantly over medium heat. Your roux should  be a nice golden color when it's done, about 3-5 minutes.

Once the roux is done, add the cream. Don't add it all at once, as you might want to leave a bit of it out, depending on the consistency you're looking for. Make sure to keep stirring/whisking the sauce so it doesn't start to bubble and keep whisking until it's completely smooth. You don't want lumps! The sauce will thicken as it cooks.

Serve over any dish you'd like. A great appetizer or finger food is italian bread with a thin layer of pesto, fresh juicy tomato and a small chunk of mozzerella. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt. I served mine over orchiette tossed with sauteed shitake mushrooms. Talk about delicious!

 

Happy Eating!

Featured Herb: Basil

One of my absolute favorite herbs is basil. The fresh taste, the "zing" it gives any dish, the ease in growing it (we have about 5 plants) and its versatility are just a few reasons I love this green plant. Virtually calorie and cholesterol free, basil is a guilt-free way to add kick to many dishes.

Growing basil: Grow some in your yard for fresh, "free" basil all summer long. It's asinine what they charge for basil in stores ($3 for a few leaves? Gimme a break!), but luckily there are many ways to freeze it so you don't have to worry about getting it from the store. I plan to blog about wintering basil at the end of summer, so keep an eye out for that.

Health benefits/Nutrition: Basil is high in anti-oxidants, beta-carotene, Vitamin A, Vitamin B9 and Vitamin K.

Cooking: Fresh basil loses a lot of its flavor swiftly when cooked, so it is best to add it to dishes only a couple of minutes before they are done. A great method for cutting basil is to roll up the leaves (you may do several at a time, stacked upon each other) and slice them lengthwise. This will give you long, thin strips of basil, just like you see at fancy restaurants.

Recipe:

Basil Aioli

Basil Aioli is a fantastic dressing for sandwiches, grilled veggies or dipping steamed artichoke leaves in.

Ingredients
Measurements are estimates on what I used to make enough for about 6 or 7 sandwiches. Adjust as needed.

3/4 cup fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup mayonnaise

Using a food processor, chop up the basil and garlic.

Mix together with mayonnaise and stir well. Add lemon juice (not too much, as it will water it down) and stir well again.

This dressing is best served cold and will keep 3-4 days if kept refrigerated and sealed.

I had some on my pseudo-chicken sandwich with melted brie and tomato. Yum!

Happy noshing!

Lemon, Poppy Seed and Rosemary Muffins

It might be because it is finally warming up and this stupid snow is finally melting, but I'm feeling spring creeping up around the corner! That could be part of the reason that my most recent obsession has been lemon poppy seed muffins. The cafe around the corner from my work has the best muffins, and lately these have been an option other than their usual raspberry or blueberry. (I have no comment on the banana ones, because bananas=gross!) I'm eating them just about daily, so I figured it was time I tried making some from scratch!


Surprisingly, there aren't a whole lot of recipes for these that I found, and many got bad reviews. The one I used from Joy the Baker had some people raving, so I decided to give it a shot. I do like them quite a bit, but think I'll try the using buttermilk in them next time, instead of the sour cream. My only real issue was that they tasted nothing like the yummy ones I enjoy for breakfast, and I'm a bit obsessed with recreating those. In the mean time, these are (and always will be) a different but delicious alternative!

You can find the original recipe here (along with a link to a printable copy!).

Ingredients
*The original recipe calls for a glaze, but I prefer mine plain. Check out the link above for those instructions.

2/3 Cup granulated sugar
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 Cup buttermilk or sour cream ( I used light sour cream)
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter, melted until browned and cooled
2 Tbsp poppyseeds
1 Tbs rosemary (My addition, not called for in the original recipe)
2 Tbsp granulated sugar


Line a 12 cup muffin tin and preheat your oven to 400 degrees, with a rack in the center. The recipe calls for putting the muffin tin on a baking sheet (which I did) and I'm not sure why. I've made lots of muffins and not done this before, so next time I make these I'm going to omit this step. It's your call though!

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together until well mixed. (It will smell heavenly!) Next, whisk in the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.

Melt the stick of butter until browned. When browning butter, I find it helpful to occasionally stir it with a spoon or spatula, or gently swirl the pot around so it doesn't get too foamy. Once ready, it will be dark and smell a bit nutty. I always tend to burn mine a bit, only because I prefer the flavor. (Man oh man, do I love butter!) It's very easy to over brown it, so keep a close eye on the stove. Set aside to cool.

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermillk/sourcream, vanilla and lemon juice. Once the butter has cooled, slowly whisk it in. (If the butter is hot, you might end up just cooking the eggs a bit, and that is most definitely not the goal here!)

Now, pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together. I reversed this step and mixed the dry into the wet, only because I have better luck doing it in this order. Folding is more gentle than mixing, and helps control the gluten from over developing. Here's one of many helpful links that explain it! I over mixed mine just a bit, and the consistency quickly turned very doughy (think bread dough). Be careful to not over mix!

Once you are almost done combining the wet and dry ingredients, add the poppy seeds and rosemary.

Fill muffin cups with batter and lightly sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees. My oven is sort of whimpy sometimes, so I baked these bad boys for over 20 minutes, while the original recipe calls for 15-18. Adjust based on your oven, since none are alike, just like snowflakes.

These tasty little guys will be golden on top and let a wooden toothpick out clean when they're ready. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes in the pan, then move to a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Rosemary Butter Cookies (AKA Burnt Poker Chips)

One herb I love is rosemary, especially on potatoes or in tea. It's aromatic, healing, and delicious. Rosemary is rich in Vitamin E and is good for the skin, senses, digestion, circulation and headaches. I have a bottle of rosemary essential oil that combines beautifully with lavendar, chamomille, or bergamont, to name only a few. It's also very easy to grow, both indoors and out. I've had the same plant for at least a couple of years now; In the spring I bring it outside to the garden (I keep it potted though) and bring it in once it starts to get chilly. It smells wonderful (of course) is a great choice when making saches. (Hopefully I'll blog about making those, soon!) I recently read that you should mist the leaves of the plant with water on a regular basis, but I never have. I'm going to start and see if I notice any difference.

When I came across this recipe in my Martha Stewart "cookie of the day" e-mail (I know, I know...) I knew I had to make it. I had the rosemary and it sounded fantastic! Here is the link to the recipe that I followed. I can't imagine there wasn't a typo in this recipe though. At 375 degrees, the dough rolled in egg whites, the cookies burned terriblely. The ones that did turn out are heavenly. Next time I'll read up more on egg white coatings, parchment paper, and will probably just use a bit of spray on the pans, or even nothing at all.

Makes about 5 dozen (Assuming you don't burn 3/4 of them!)

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg white, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 teaspoon ground sea salt salt
1/2 cup raw sugar
Directions

Mix butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in whole egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low.

Add flour, rosemary, and salt, and mix until combined.

Split the dough in half and roll each into a log shape.

Place each log on a 12-by-16-inch sheet of parchment. Roll in parchment to 1 1/2 inches in diameter and transfer to paper-towel tubes to hold shape. This was easier than I expected. If the log gets stuck, gently work it in. Don't try to force it, or it will just start to bunch up where you are pushing. Freeze until firm, about 1 hour.









Preheat oven to 350. Brush each log with egg white (I got to use the silicon brush I FINALLY bought!). At this point, it looks a little like a loaf of raw garlic bread.



 Roll in raw sugar. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.

Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment.

Bake until edges are golden (or charcoal black, in my case), 18 to 20 minutes. After my experience with them burning (parchment paper seems to give me more trouble than it's worth sometimes), I'd recommend you keep a close eye on these while they bake. 

Not quite what I expected...

But they weren't all bad!



The ones that didn't burn were really good. Even the slightly burned ones can be enjoyed, just not as much as they should be.

Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

*Martha calls for 18-20 minutes at 375, but this burnt mine. About 18 minutes at 350 should be good; Just keep an eye on them.

Happy Monday!

Strawberry-Basil Martinis

Summertime is full of "musts", one being a nice, cold, fresh summer drink. A couple of years ago I tried a strawberry basil martini and loved it, and was sad that it wasn't something I'd be able to re-create at home. Or- so I thought! I was going to make a strawberry rhubarb pie anyways (post coming soon!) so I figured I'd pick up some extra berries and take advantage of the plentiful basil in my yard. The result was nothing short of fabulous.

Ingredients (All may be adjusted to taste)
Makes 4-6 drinks

16 oz. Organic Strawberries, halved
approx. 12 large Basil Leaves
Vodka (I think I used about a cup and a half, but you pretty much want to make a 1 to 1 mix)

Using a food processor, blend strawberries and basil until watery and smooth.

Pour the mix into a pitcher, add vodka and ice.

Serve chilled. This drink is perfect for any day, but it really hits the spot during these hot summers.

Enjoy!