Pesto Sauce

Recently I posted a recipe for my "Pesto Pasta Arugula Salad." I have done my time with the pesto "sauce" from the packet, but now have evolved to made-from-scratch pesto sauce. It's pretty darn easy and a bit of fun.

This is the basic recipe from my "Joy of Cooking" cook book and I have added my tweaks.

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 c of loosely packed basil leaves (be sure to remove the stems and branches)
1/3 c of pine nuts (I use walnuts, tastes just as good and cheaper than pinenuts)
2 medium cloves of peeled garlic (It'd be best to skip the stuff from a jar...)
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese (Romano cheese will suffice)
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

WHAT YOU DO:

1. In a food processor (the small one that is used with a hand blender works well) add the basil leaves and chop them up
2. Add the cloves of garlic and run the FP
3. Add pinenuts/walnuts and run the FP
4. Add the cheese and run the FP
5. Add the EVOO and that's right, run the FP
6. Salt and Pepper to taste

I also tend to stir in 1-2 T of water since I like my pesto sauce to be a little thinner especially after it has sat in the refrigerator 1-2 days. I love making this in the summer because my basil grows well in the garden here in TX so I can just go out and pick the basil fresh. So that's the mystery of homemade pesto sauce. I told you, anymonkeycan make great pesto sauce!!

Lemon Chess Pie

Recently I met an 80 plus year old guy who used to be the head baker and dessert maker at Colonial's Cafeteria here in FW. I asked him if he had a favorite dessert and without hesitation it was the "Lemon Chess Pie." Being from the Midwest, I was not familiar with this classic southern dessert. I asked if he was willing to share the recipe, he was. He had it memorized and just rattled it off. So this crazy monkey decided to make his first "Chess Pie."

Lemon Chess Pie

1/4 lb butter (1 stick)

8 oz frozen lemonade concentrate (I used about 8 oz of squeezed lemon juice)

4 eggs

1 c sugar
Salt to taste

Frozen Pie Shell

1. Pre Heat Oven to 350 deg
2. Bring butter and lemonade to soft boil - then remove
3. In a mixing bowl, cream together eggs, sugar, & salt
4. Pour the hot butter/lemonade mixture into the mixture from #3.
5. Mix well
6. Pour into Pie Shell
7. Bake at 350 deg until top is brown and then decrease heat to 300 deg and continue baking until middle is firm. About 40-50 min total

Allow to cool before serving. I could never quite get the middle all the way firm. So after about 60 min I allowed it to cool and it firmed up. There has been no complaints...
So, anymonkeycan make a "Lemon Chess Pie" even a yankee one from the Midwest! Enjoy!!

Arugula Pesto Pasta Salad

After a lengthy delay, this monkey has something to say...

One of my favorite Dallas restaurants finally opened an outpost here in lovely FW. Patrizio's opened earlier this summer in the Cultural District. For those of you who don't know, Patrizio's offers excellent Italian food and great prices in a cool location and atmosphere. I probably have 4 things I love at this place. Normally I'm lucky to find 2 entrees that make me happy.

Last month was their "Bellini-fest" and we wore the place out. "Baby Bellinis" for a buck, what a deal! During this fest we got into the habit of eating at their bar (cool bar area BTW). Here I spied a dish that I had never tried. It was Patrizio's "Insalata Alla Genovese". That's what I ordered and it tasted as good as it looked. It is a cold pasta salad which is perfect for July/August in TX.

Here is my Patrizio's inspired dish:

Arugula Pesto Pasta Salad

• Arugula (or Spinach)
• Basil Pesto - homemade from fresh basil is best
• Chopped peppers - your choice (and/or sun dried tomatoes)
• Bow Tie Pasta - boiled and cooled
• Crushed Walnuts
• Shaved Parmesan Cheese

1. Take about 1 c of cooled pasta and toss with about 1/4 c pesto sauce.
2. Place about 1 c of arugula in the serving bowl and pour the pesto covered pasta on top.
3. Add the chopped peppers (to taste) on top of the pasta
4. Sprinkle about 1 T of crushed walnuts or to taste
5. Add Parmesan cheese to the top of that

You can be a bit loosey goosey with the ingredients. I choose arugula over spinach because I can get arugula to grow in my garden, but the spinach won't participate. I used the peppers because they are in my garden also. I was also able to make Pesto from scratch because Basil loves to grow in the Texas summer. I prefer walnuts in the Pesto instead of pine nuts since walnuts are about half the price of the pine nuts.

In closing, anymonkeycan make a great summer pasta salad