Basil Pesto Dip with Pita Chips

Cooking Light is one of my favorite magazines.  They have all of those cool exercise activities that may be tried once, but it feels so good just to be looking at them. No longer do they put yogurt in everything, and butter is even allowed.   The big plus to me is the seasonal dishes that are approachable on a week night.

One little recipe in the July issue looked like a great ditty for this family that loves its chips and dips when friends are over.  Taking a closer look at the recipe, it became clear that it is basically fresh pesto with some light sour cream and lemon juice.  Oh yes, I can do that!  The only part that took a bit of planning was the pita chip bake.  Summer has totally arrived on the delta, and that oven does not get turned on after 8:00 AM. Just baked these little pita lovelies in the morning and all was well.

Is this really yummy, or just healthy, you ask.  Umm, after three days, we’re on our second batch!  Yummy?  Oh my yes!  Healthy? Let’s just not discuss portion control right now. 

Basil Pesto Dip

1 cup light sour cream

1/4 cup basil pesto

2 tsp fresh lime juice

Directions

1.  Mix all ingredients and chill for 30 minutes.

Pita Chips

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Split pitas, cut each half into 8 wedges.  Place on a baking sheet, spray with olive oil, and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt.  Bake for 11 minutes or until crisp.

Notes:

*  Our sour cream was a mixture of regular and light and it held up to the lime juice just fine.  My hunch is that light sour cream with the lime juice would be too runny.

*  The original recipe called for lemon juice, but I’m just on a lime kick these days.

*  Truly, this is addicting!

*  The pesto was made with basil from Lon’s farmstand.

Basil Pesto trifecta

Summer is here and the livin’ is easy.  My strategy this year is to not only enjoy the local bounty today but to also save some for a rainy day.  So many years we just gorge ourselves on the local produce, and honestly think we never want to see it again.  Then the winter months arrive, and surprise, surprise, we’re ready for a taste of summer.

At our local Farmer’s Market and in Lon’s farm stand, basil is ruling the roost.  So, pesto it is!   A few batches of pesto creates treats for months to come.

The Cooking Light magazine has bunches of wonderful summer time treats in the current issue, go figure, but several with pesto caught my eye.  This was not one of those nicely planned, hmmmm, I’m making pesto, what else can I use it in this week kinds of things.  Oh no!  This was one of those, I want to make this, and that, and that other thing, and oh my, what a surprise that they all involve basil pesto.  And at this point some people have their radar way up, considering the word “craving” and may I just stop you right now.  No, nope, nada.  This is really just about the love of the green.  Really.

Warning, this is another recipe that will make measuring mavens crazy.  These proportions worked for three hefty bunches of basil.  But really, pesto is forgiving … you can do it!

Enjoy the basic basil pesto along with the sandwich pesto mayo and pesto dip options!

Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

3 bunches basil, leaves removed

8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 1/2 cups pine nuts

4 oz parmesan, grated

1/3 cup olive oil

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Add add basil leaves, garlic and pine nuts to food processor.  Pulse several times until roughly chopped.  It should look like bulgar at this point.

2.  Add parmesan and pulse processor again.  Slowly add olive oil until it gently puddles at the top of the pesto.  More oil may be needed depending on the temperature that day.

3.  Taste.  Add salt and pepper as needed.

Notes:

*  The parmesan adds a bit of saltiness, so do taste the pesto after adding the cheese and before adding the salt.

*  Don’t get frightened of salt here .. up to a point it just makes the flavor burst!

Linguine with Spinach Pesto and Shrimp

Another crazy long day at work, and my family was off at water polo scrimmages and would not be home until late.  If my solo dinner was going to happen at all, it had to be super simple and tastey enough to make it worth even that much effort.  Mmmmmm, spinach pesto was in the fridge and some shrimp were in the freezer.  Add a little pasta for comfort.  Perfecto!

Sometimes we buy those bags of frozen shrimp and just make them all up in one perfect low country boil kinds of meals, but lately, we’ve just kept frozen shrimp in the freezer to use a small handful in this or that.  Makes us feel pampered and like we’re “all that.”

The pesto made with just barely enough oil had me a bit worried about whether or not it would properly coat the pasta.  The resolution was a to spoon some spinach pesto into a mixing bowl, add a bit of pasta water before dumping the pasta in the colander, and voila, success!

Linguine

Spinach Pesto

Handful of Shrimp

oil

Parmesan, grated

Directions:

1.  Boil water for linguine and cook according to package instructions.

2.  Thaw a handful of shrimp.  Heat a saute pan over medium heat, add a bit of oil to coat the bottom.  Dry the shrimp and add to the pan when it is hot.  Flip over each shrimp after 1 minute, cook for another minute, and turn off heat.

3. Place 3 TBS spinach pesto per serving into a mixing bowl, and add 1 TBS pasta water as pasta finishes cooking, and mix.

4.  Drain pasta and place in bowl with pesto.  Gently mix to coat the pasta.

5.  Plate the pasta, top with shrimp and parmesan.

Snapper with Spinach Pesto and Corn Salad

Greetings once again!  Do know, you have not been forgotten in any way, but amazing projects at work have me coming home late every evening, followed by research and writing papers for a set of classes I’m taking.  Currently I’m in survival mode, which means … time to cook!

Spinach pesto has been on my mind since I read it in someone’s blog awhile back.  In looking for a balanced, light meal, some spinach pesto over whatever fish looked good that day sounded like a good plan.  Has anyone seen the Ask Aida show on FN?  While the format is a bit odd for my preference, she is someone who comes across as trustworthy and the calmness of the show is welcome these days.  Turns out she has a corn salad recipe, so I gave it a go.  Good decision making on this meal all around!

Spinach pesto

5 oz pkg baby spinach

2 handfuls pine nuts

2 limes, juiced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Put the spinach, lime juice, pine nuts and garlic in a food process or and pulse until smooth.  Add olive oil and parmesan cheese and process a few seconds.  Taste.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Corn Salad

For the dressing:

• 1 1/2 cups packed fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup  extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

For the salad:

• 4 ears cooked corn, kernels removed (about 3 cups)
• 1 1/2 pounds grape tomatoes, halved (about 3 cups)
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella, diced
• 2 medium avocados, diced

Directions:

Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a large bowl, using 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper to taste. Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Let sit at least 15 minutes before serving, or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Pan fried snapper:

Heat a pan over medium heat until nice and hot.  Add 1 TBS oil, and let warm.  Add snapper.  Flip after one minute, or when fish is opaque a bit on the bottom edges.  Cook for one minute.  Turn off the heat and allow fish to finish cooking with the residual heat for about 4 more minutes.

Notes:

* The pesto is meant to be very spinachy and not very garlicky.  If you just can’t handle that notion, just double the garlic as you always do.  (You know who you are!)

* It was a warm day meaning that the pesto likely required less oil, so I stopped adding olive oil just when the first little puddle of oil gathered on top of the spinach.  Lately, I’m just not into pesto that is crazy oily.

*  I cut the snapper into potion sizes before cooking to make the flipping part easier.

* Corn salad of various sorts is a common dish around here during corn season, but the addition of fresh mozzerella was a new twist for me.  Yummy!

Asparagus with Parmesan Crumbles

Looking for a way to dress up some roasted asparagus?  This is a nice little ditty. It has all of those important components:  delicious, pretty, local seasonal asparagus.  This dish started with some good luck:  I got the last two bunches of the good stuff from the Arata farm stand, leaving the tub empty.

Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger on The Food Network.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices whole-wheat bread, crusts removed
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
• 1/2-ounce (1/4 cup) freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch pepper
• 2 pounds asparagus, washed, ends snapped off

Directions:

1.  Pulse the bread in the bowl of a food processor until it becomes fine crumbs. Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat pan over medium-high heat until hot. Lower heat to medium, add bread crumbs to the skillet and toast, tossing often, until crumbs are golden brown and toasted, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.

2.  Grate eggs medium microplane grater, omitting one of the yolks. Combine the egg, bread crumbs, parsley, cheese, salt, and pepper in a medium-sized bowl and toss to combine.

3.  Grill the asparagus until firm, but tender, about 4 to 6 minutes, turning once.

4.  Arrange asparagus on a serving platter and top with Parmesan-Egg Crumb Topping.

Notes:

• The original recipe called for just one egg, but the yolk to whites ratio just didn’t work for me, hence the whites from a second egg.
• We only used about half of the topping on our asparagus, and it was plenty.
• I’d make this again for guests, but for our family dinners, simply grilling that lovely asparagus with a bit of olive oil and kosher salt still rules the day!

Salpicon of Chicken Tacos

Burning Desires, Salsa, Smoke and Sizzle is a cookbook you just need on your shelf.  If you are a cookbook reader, ie you take a stack of cookbooks and a nice cold one out to the deck to plan all of the wondrous meals you will make during the endless hours of your weekend, you’ll be way into this.  The topics are all things grilled and lovely marinades and sauces to accompany them.  Chapters include the obvious like “A Smoldering Passion:  BBQ and beyond” and the less obvious such as “With a Little Help From My Friends: Starters, Salads, and Starches”  and yes, all of those are actually grilled.  There are recipes (duh!), each preceded by a little story.  But, the key here is the perfect introduction to each section.  How to grill?  Got that.  And I know you have access to this basic information a gazillion places.  Salads on the grill?  Interesting, but not new.  Here’s the kicker people … if you actually follow these conversational style directions, you cannot lose.  This is one of very few books where everything, and I mean everything, made from it is 100% top notch! Um sorry, just double checked on where you can find this priceless book, and discovered it is out of print.  Shoot!

On to today’s dish … this is kind of like a spicy chicken salad in a soft taco.  There is an interesting technique of marinating the smoked, shredded chicken after it was cooked.  It really makes for a fresh, bright flavor.  The book desribes how to perfectly smoke the chicken on a kettle grill.  While the dish is certainly exceptional with that method, I’ve been known to just rub a bit of liquid smoke on the chicken before popping it on a gas grill when the wind is whipping up too much of a breeze.

Ingredients:

1 chicken, cut into breasts, drimsticks, thighs, and wings

3 cups smoking chips

1/2 cup lime juice

1/3 cup olive oil

2 fresh jalapeno chiles, seeded and minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 medium tomato, cut into 1/2 inch dice

1 avocado, pitted and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup whole fresh cilantro leaves

3 TBS thinly sliced green onions

Romaine leaves

flour tortillas, warmed

Directions:

1.  Smoke the chicken by setting on the cool area of the grill, starting skin side down, and turning every 15 minutes until just cooked through.  Remove from the grill and cool to room temperature.  Skin the chicken, remove the meat from the bones and coarsely shred it.

2.  While the chicken is almost finished cooking, prepare the marinade.  In a large bowl, stir together the lime juice, olive oil, jalapenos, salt, and pepper and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.  Add shredded chicken and toss together.  (The salad can be prepared to this point up to 1 hour ahead.  Cover and refrigerate.)

3.  Just before serving, add the tomato and avocado, tomato, cilantro and green onions to the bowl and mix gently.  To serve, line a tortilla with a large romaine leaf, top with chicken salad, and fold in half to create the taco.

Notes:

*  For a lower carb version, just do away with the tortilla.

*  Fresh lime juice is a must in this dish for that bright, zesty flavor.

The Potato Salad

Oh Easter!  While ham is the traditional center piece of the traditional family meal, we take the opportunity to pig out in our own way.  See, at this house, warm weather, a celebratory day, and some time for lingering and hanging out lake side means just one thing:  ribs!  These are not your boil then bake ribs, nor your grill and add some bottled sauce at the end ribs.  Oh no.  These are the gently prepped and rubbed with secret spices the day before, then smoked low and slow on the smoker for at least 4 hours with the patience of Job, while gently misting mop sauce on the works of art.  Yes, those ribs.  And I was to make the sides.

Unlike Thanksgiving, which is all about the sides, this was all about the ribs.  Potato salad is a must, but while I go for anything but the traditional style, the rest of my clan, and most importantly for this day the BBQer himself, likes that regular stuff.

Side story:  Lately, I’ve become a big follower of the More Than Burnt Toast blog where it feels like a conversation with a wonderful, grounded friend.  Nice. The most recent post was for the Barefoot Bloggers group who make and share recipes by or based on Ina Garten, aka The Barefoot Contessa.  These folk really share the love and admiration for her work.  So, trusting the blogosphere once again, I went to Ina for the perfect recipe.  And yes … Bingo!

Sources:

• Potatoes from Arata Fruits
• Dill from Chan’s

New Potato Salad

Ingredients:

3 pounds small red potatoes

Kosher salt

1 cup good mayonnaise

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

Directions:

1.  Place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons of salt in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel. Allow the potatoes to steam for 15 to 20 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard, dill, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Set aside.

3.  When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into quarters or halves, depending on their size. Place half of the the cut potatoes in a large bowl. While the potatoes are still warm, pour enough dressing over them to moisten. Transfer to a plate.  Repeat with remaining potatoes, and again, transfer to the plate. (Doing this in batches prevents the potatoes from losing their shape.)

4.  Put the plate of lightly dressed potatoes in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until cooled.   Add the celery and red onion, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. (As the salad sits, you may need to add more dressing.)  Toss well, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Notes:

* The steaming technique worked like a charm!

*  Actually, I used smallish red potatoes because that was what I found at Arata farm stand.

*  It took everything in me not to muck this up by adding a bit of dill pickle, some hard boiled egg, then just keep the additions going with some red bell  pepper and anything else that seemed to fit at the moment.  But, this turned out perfect … all about the potatoes and nothing else to distract it.

*  Naturally, a nice green salad would accompany this.  My “go to” vinagrette is a bit sweet to serve with ribs, so I tried another Barefoot Contessa recipe and its a true keeper,  simple enough to let the mixed greens shine.

Smoked Salmon, Asparagus, and Goat Cheese Rolls

Its time to be honest here. Creativity? Oh, I do wish! Planning ahead? Likewise. Allowing enough time before a big event to drop back and punt? In another life. But this time, for once, it all worked just like in my dream!

So, it was time for our Gourmet Dinner Club to get together for food, wine and a bunch o’ fun. C and J planned this cooking party thing (very brave, VERY brave!) and each of the other couples brought appetizers to nibble on while we cooked. Let’s see here, Spring … asparagus, salmon … something light. Found a perfect recipe for these little lovelies here.

But then it got dangerous …. I got thinking. Presentation. This is not my forte, and I know that Ron and Sandi who got us started on this whole adventure really pride themselves on presentation with their group. After a bit of tossing ideas around in my mind, I came up with the perfect plan: put the salmon rolls on a fake plant! Haha! Actually, these little tasty morsels look just like little spring buds just as I anticipated. Although I’m not sure which was funnier: the look on my husband’s face when I finished putting it together and declaring it perfect, or when I walked through the door at our friend’s house and they realized the potted plant I was carrying WAS the appetizer! Regardless how you present it, this is a great little make ahead winner!

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped shallot
• 3 ounces soft fresh goat cheese (such as Montrachet), room temperature
• 1/4 cup trimmed peeled chopped raw asparagus
• 1/2 teaspoon minced lemon peel

• 6 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon

Directions:

Heat olive oil in heavy small skillet over medium heat. Add chopped shallot and sauté until beginning to soften, about 1 minute. Transfer to medium bowl. Mix in goat cheese, chopped asparagus, and lemon peel. Season filling to taste with salt and pepper.

Place sheet of plastic wrap on work surface. Using 1/5 of salmon, form 6×3-inch rectangle atop plastic, overlapping salmon slightly. Spoon 1/5 of filling along 1 long side of rectangle, leaving 1/2-inch plain border. Using plastic as aid, roll up salmon into tight log. Repeat with remaining salmon and filling, forming 4 more logs. Refrigerate logs until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.

Remove plastic from logs. Cut each log crosswise into 4 pieces.

Notes:

• The asparagus was FRESH from TK’s Best farm stand. (Just had to brag on that!)
• Don’t know if this is in the new Trader Joe’s cook book, but it should be.
• The fake plant was picked up at Home Goods. That store is my total addiction.
• The stakes holding the salmon rolls are just those little metal stakes covered with floral tape from Michaels. I just twisted them around a screwdriver to create an itty bitty ledge so the salmon rolls wouldn’t slowly slide down the stakes during the evening.
  

Fiery Fish Fry for ‘Fraidycats

Ok all you fish ‘fraidy cats, this one is for you. The fish is not too fishy, has no bones to remove and no skin nor scales to deal with, and is firm enough so that it doesn’t flake apart when you cook it. So there, all of your excuses are now gone!

Oh, but you are trying to lose a few pounds and don’t want to fry your food? Actually, this is pan fried with very little oil. And for one more “actually” the recipe idea actually came from a healthy cooking magazine.

Oh, but you are not into spicy foods? The fiery part of this dish is a dip, so it is optional. And back to the person who is trying to lose a few pounds, it is so spicy that you’ll just use the itsy bitsy-est of bits so the calories are not of worry.

And now, on to the cooking!

Ingredients:

Aioli

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
• 1 garlic clove, mince

Fish

• 1 cup fat-free or 1% milk
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 (6-ounce) cod fillets
• 4 lemon wedges

Directions

To prepare aioli, combine cilantro, mayonnaise, serrano, and minced garlic, stirring well.

To prepare fish, combine milk and egg white in a shallow dish, stirring well with a whisk. Combine panko, salt, and black pepper in a dinner plate.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Dip fish in milk mixture, and dredge in cornflake mixture. Add fish to pan, and cook 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

Serve fish with aioli and lemon wedges.

Notes:

• I started with a cod fillet of about 1 pound and cut it into about 6 pieces. The fillet was thick enough to be able to cook the fish on 4 sides, creating just that much more crunch. Crunch is good!
• The original recipe called for fat free mayo, but personally, I’ve never been able to make the switch. The fat free stuff is just too loaded with sweetners for my taste.
• Any firm white fish would work well here. I went for the cod because it was fresh and affordable. Tilapia should also work well, but would take a bit more care while flipping in the pan.
  

Gremelli and Asparagus

Oh asparagus! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!

Last night, after a quickie pasta dinner, there was still lots of pasta left over. Time to raid the vegetable bin and make a pasta salad! And what was waiting there for me, just begging to be included in the fun? Asparagus. While many dishes that I toss together with bits of this and that from the pantry are better than prison food, I wouldn’t specifically shop for the ingredients to make that dish again. Not so this time. This my friends, is a winner. Part of the love in this dish (yes, that’s a shout out to Carla from Top Chef!) is the pasta itself. Costco carries this brand in 6 packs, and it is truly worth keeping some on hand.

The red wine vinegar gives this a nice tang while the Parmesan rounds out the flavors. Enjoy.

No notes were taken during the creation of this dish, so bear with me on the directions.

Ingredients:

half pack of gemelli or similar pasta, cooked al dente

1 bunch asparagus, but into 1 inch pieces

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tsp dried basil

3 TBS flat leaf parsley, minced

1 TBS olive oil, plus 1 tsp for cooking

1 TBS red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet to medium high, add oil and asparagus. Quickly cook so that the outsides of the asparagus begin to darken but the insides are still crisp, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, basil, parsley, salt and pepper. Add pasta and mix gently. Add Parmesan and asparagus to pasta and combine.