How to Make Pesto like an Italian Grandmother

        One key to perfect pesto is chopping all the ingredients by hand, preferably with a sharp mezzaluna or knife.This pesto will keep a bit in the refrigerator, but it really hits its peak when served soon after it is made.

The technique here is: chop a bit, add some ingredients, chop some more. I think part of the reason it works this way (instead of chopping everything all at once) is because some things get chopped into oblivion, while some not as much - it encourages spectrum of cut sizes throughout the pesto contributing to the overall texture. All told, the chopping took me a leisurely twenty to thirty minutes, I wasn't in any particular rush.

       You'll notice this recipe doesn't have any added salt (just the saltiness from the cheese), make sure your pasta water is well salted if you are going to use this pesto on pasta or the overall flavor profile will fall flat. Also, be sure to adjust for seasoning before serving. With food this simple, you need to get the seasoning right.

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried
3 medium cloves of garlic
One small handful of raw pine nuts
Roughly 3/4 cup Parmesan, loosely packed and FRESHLY GRATED
A few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

Special equipment: large mezzaluna for chopping

Directions:

Start chopping the garlic along with about 1/3 of the basil leaves. Once this is loosely chopped add more basil, chop some more, add the rest of the basil, chop some more. I scrape and chop, gather and chop. At this point the basil and garlic should be a very fine mince. Add about half the pine nuts, chop. Add the rest of the pine nuts, chop. Add half of the Parmesan, chop. Add the rest of the Parmesan, and chop. In the end you want a chop so fine that you can press all the ingredients into a basil "cake" - see the photo up above. Transfer the pesto "cake" to a small bowl (not much bigger than the cake). Cover with a bit of olive oil, it doesn't take much, just a few tablespoons.

You can set this aside or place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Just before serving give the pesto a quick stir to incorporate some of the oil into the basil. She occasionally thins the pesto with a splash of pasta water for more coverage, but for our gnocchi this wasn't necessary.

You can also make a bunch ahead and freeze them in ice cube trays to have just enough to add a cube size to a dish later.

My Guacamole Dip

In my opinion, the best guacamole is FRESH guacamole with as many ingredients from the garden as possible.

Ingredients:
3 avocados
Red onion, chopped (about 1/4 c.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (or to taste)
1 large ripe garden tomato (or 2 smaller tomatoes), diced
juice of 1 lime
4-5 shakes green Tabasco sauce
Kosher salt, to taste
Fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Pit avocados and mash in a bowl. If you like your guac kind of chunky (that's how we like it), coarsely chop with the side of a fork instead of using the fork to mash it straight down. Carefully stir in remaining ingredients until well mixed.

Chicken Pillows

Chicken Pillows

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk or broth
4 cups shredded cooked chicken
1/2 - 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 lb. crescent roll dough

Preheat oven to 375. Mash together the cream cheese and butter. Beat in milk or broth; add the chicken, cheese, and green onion. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to mix.

Unroll crescent dough. Seal diagonal edges to get 4 rectangles. Fill each with 1/4 of the filling. Pull corners up and seal all edges.

Optional: Roll pillow in butter and crushed corn flakes before baking/freezing. Can't miss a chance to get some extra butter in there!

Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Serves 4.

Try using a different cheese such as pepper jack, or adding bacon bits.

To Freeze: Just filling - Thaw completely, fill croissants, and bake as directed.
Assembled Pillow - Flash freeze on cookie sheet, then transfer to freezer bag or foodsaver. Bake from frozen at 375 until heated through.

Pizza on Lavash bread

So I am all about the healthy stuff. I normally am not a huge pizza person because I don't like all the bread and how heavy they are. But I found this recipe and was like, "Oooh!" That's simple and light. I was a little skeptical on how thin the bread was but it worked! Dustin, my mom, my grandpa all loved it. I used fresh tomatoes from my moms garden and fresh arugula. The recipe actually called for eggplant but I did not want to cook it, eat it, or have eggplant in my recipe haha.

*Recipe to be typed up soon....*

Bay shrimp on Belgian endive

So a lot of people, like my husband, are not a huge fan of shrimp. But I love it. So I try to make it appeal to both Dustin and myself. The stuffed piquillo peppers with shrimp recipe I have on here, Dustin loves, because the shrimp are chopped up and the sauce helps the dish to taste "not so fishy" as he says. So with this recipe I tried chopping the shrimp, lessening the amount of salt and cutting the aioli sauce in half so it is not so strong.

This is not a recipe you eat a lot of. It is a more "fancy" (as Dustin says) appetizer and is simply made for one or two bites. I served a lot of this kind of recipe when I catered in northern California at wine tastings and I loved it.

This is an adaptation of the venerable San Francisco dish called crab Louis. Prep Time: 30 minutes. Notes: Leftover aioli keeps, refrigerated, for 3 days and is delicious on sandwiches.

Yield: Makes 10 to 12 servings (serving size: 2 to 3 leaves)

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, plus more to taste
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 cup mild extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 pound cooked bay shrimp, rinsed and drained
• 4 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 3 to 4 large heads red or green Belgian endive, or a combination
• Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Whirl egg, 1/2 tsp. salt, garlic, and mustard in a food processor until smooth. Add oil, drop by drop at first and then in a slow stream once mixture has begun to emulsify. Whirl until mixture is thick, then add red pepper flakes and lemon juice and pulse to combine. Chill aioli, covered with plastic wrap.

2. Mix shrimp with parsley, thyme, and salt to taste. Add just enough aioli to bind the shrimp (5 to 6 tbsp.); save leftover aioli for another use (see Notes).

3. Cut bases off endive and separate leaves (save small ones for salad). Arrange leaves on a platter and top each with a tablespoon of shrimp mixture and a grind of pepper. Serve immediately.

Stuffed Piquillo Peppers with Shrimp

A couple weeks ago for my dad's birthday, I decided to make him dinner since first of all he is very hard to shop for and second it's what he loves best. I made steamed lobster, roasted sweet potatoes, scallops, and my personal favorite, stuffed shrimp piquillo peppers. This has probably become one of our new favorite appetizers. Dustin doesn't love shrimp but he likes these. The shrimp and the sauce mixture together is amaaaaazing! Piquillo peppers are not spicy either which I love because I don't do spicy or peppers very well.

Piquillo Peppers Stuffed With Shrimp

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 ounces large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 plum tomato
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons medium-dry sherry, such as amontillado
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 6 jarred or canned piquillo peppers, drained

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Add to pan, and saute until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Finely chop shrimp, and transfer to a bowl.
2. Prepare an ice-water bath. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add tomato, and cook until skin loosens, about 1 1/2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to ice-water bath until cool enough to handle, about 1 minute. Peel tomato, cut into quarters, and remove and discard seeds. Finely chop tomato.
3. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 minutes.
4. Stir tomato into onion mixture, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat; pour in sherry. Return to medium-high heat for 1 minute. Stir tomato mixture into shrimp, and season with salt and pepper. Let cool.
5. Stir in mayonnaise. Stuff each pepper with shrimp salad.

Unfortunately lobster is very expensive and so I could only afford 2 live lobsters that day. He had one to him self and we shared the second one. The lobster recipe wasn't anything special. Just steam em and butter em!

And wa-la! Dinner is served!

These Crab Cakes don't make me crabby at all!

Dustin and my good friend Sierra said these were the best crab cakes they have ever had. I was so proud of these cakes and they definitely were mouth watering. The next week I actually ordered some crab cakes from place in the city and I still liked these waaay more. My favorite of the month for sure.

Ingredients:

LEMON AIOLI

Mayonnaise 1 cup

Finely grated lemon zest (1 lemon)

Fresh lemon juice -2 tablespoons

Garlic 1 clove

Fine sea salt & fresh ground pepper

Fresh lump crab meat -1 pound

Panko or dried bread crumbs, 3/4 cup

1 Large egg

Dijon mustard -1 tablespoon

Worcestershire sauce -2 teaspoons

Hot Pepper sauce -1/4 teaspoon

Fresh parsley -1 tablespoon chopped

Canola oil -1/2 cup

Lemon wedges for serving

Directions:

To make the aioli, in a small bowl, mix together the mayo, lemon zest and juice, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside 1/4 cup of the aioli. Cover and refrigerate the remaining aioli until serving.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of the panko/bread crumbs, the reserved 1/4 cup aioli, the egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, and parsley. Add the crab meat and mix gently until combined. Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions and shape each portion into a thick cake. Spread the remaining 1.2 cup panko/bread crumbs in a shallow dish. Coat the cakes evenly with the panko, and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high until it shimmers. Add the cakes and cook until the undersides are golden brown, which is fast. Flip the cakes and cook until the other sides are golden brown. Using a slotted spatula, transfer to paper towels to drain briefly.

Serve the crab cakes at once with lemon wedges if you want and pass the remaining lemon aioli on the side. Don't put too much of the sauce on the crab cake before tasting it. You don't need very much of the sauce.