End of summer treat: basil pesto

Where did summer go? Well, I do know where some of it went - much of it was consumed by a constant routine of doctor's appointments in preparation for the arrival of a new child - now imminently on the horizon. Summer has both gone quickly as I've tried to pack in as much as possible before the new arrival, and in some ways slowly as I've been physically slow and limited. We've stayed close to home on the weekends, enjoyed guests, cooked in and enjoyed just hanging out together.

To make things easier, we signed up for a new food subscription service that brings carefully selected farmer's market produce and thoughtful, simple recipes to your door.  It helped keep my appreciation of fresh produce and interesting artisanal ingredients alive even when the thought of hauling produce back from the farmer's market was impossible or the challenge of exploring a new recipe seemingly insurmountable.  Between that, our garden and the farm markets upstate, we've had direct-from-farm ingredients all summer including a constant supply of fresh eggs and wonderful milk.  I bought a beautiful, light, handmade basket to transport vegetables from our own garden as a special treat and an incentive to stand out in the heat.  Lately the tomatoes and raspberries in particular have been ready for harvest by the boat-load - we've enjoyed picking and trying to eat them as fast as they appear.

This weekend I realized I had almost forgotten the pleasure of harvesting the big, bushy basil that is almost waist-high at this point.  We brought in a basketful of leaves and then enjoyed processing several batches of pesto - some of which I'll freeze so we can enjoy it longer.  Last summer's frozen bounty was destroyed by the days without electricity during the hurricane.  Maybe we'll make a point to consume it faster this year so we don't expose ourselves again to that risk.

Homemade pesto

4 cups firmly packed basil leaves, washed and dried
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted in a dry skillet until golden brown
1/4-1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic
Juice from 1/2 lemon to maintain bright green color of the basil
Olive oil to taste/desired consistency
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a food processor, pulse garlic until minced.  Add basil leaves, a several generous pinches of salt and pepper, and pulse until roughly chopped.  Add pine nuts and pulse ~5 times until nuts are roughly chopped.  Add cheese.  While food processor is running, continuously stream olive oil through the food chute until a homogenous paste is formed.  Process less for a chunkier pesto or more for a finer pesto.  Squeeze lemon juice over pesto and pulse a few times to combine.  Adjust seasonings to taste. 

Pizza for lunch (with spicy chili oil!)

 

Is everyone in as big of a tryptophan coma as I am?  Pfew - that was a lot of turkey - and leftovers.  It was a great holiday (my favorite).  Hope you enjoyed yours too.  I thought I'd provide a little inspiration to move back into the kitchen with something simple, and not about turkey leftovers: homemade pizza.  Have you ever made pizza at home?  The trick is buying the dough - it makes cooking a snap.  Whole foods sells a wonderful refrigerated dough that comes in several varieties including multi-grain.  Unlike the others doughs you find in the market, this one doesn't need to be defrosted - it's fresh and ready to go.  Your local pizza store will probably sell you dough - and if they're nice, they'll even sell you one of their rolled out doughs which will save you even more time.  Top with some roasted garlic, fresh ricotta, a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella, some fresh grated Parmesan,  some fresh shredded basil leaves and tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and bake at 450 degrees F on a hot pizza stone or the back of a cookie sheet for to minutes until crust is golden and cheese is bubbling.  There are a couple of tricks: 1) once you roll out your dough, allow it to sit for 10 minutes sot that it settles and won't bounce back.  2) Pull it out or press it out with your fingers to stretch it back out if it shrinks back after your initial shaping.  3) Do this on parchment paper so that you just slide it into the oven when you are ready and 4) heat your stone for 30-60 minutes before you are going to use it - this will ensure the crust crisps nicely.

 

And what better to season your pizza than some spicy chili oil?  Heat olive oil (needn't be your best) in a pan with dried chilis, allow to cool, and then pour into sterilized jars.  It will get better the longer you let it sit.  This would make a nice little homemade holiday gift for someone who loves to kick it up a notch. 

Essence of summer corn salad

My mother-in-law visited this week from Texas to help us settle in. I asked her to bring her famous New Orleans spicy shrimp recipe (which she has been making for the past 30 years or so!) so I could add a southern recipe to my repertoire (I will share the recipe soon). We had the wonderful spicy shrimp on Saturday night with “Texas caviar” (to come in a later post). On Sunday, it was back to the barbeque with hot dogs accompanied by fresh corn salad made with local Long Island corn.

I’ve made this corn salad a gazillion times and love it every time. It is the essence of summer – sweet fresh corn and light flavors -- and is a welcome alternative to corn on the cob. The cider vinegar brings out the sweetness in the corn without overpowering it and the red onion and scallions give it just enough kick. The trick is not to over-cook the corn -- the kernels need only be cooked until they lose their starchiness (but still retain their crunch).

Fresh corn salad from the Barefoot Contessa (she says it serves 10-12 but 6 will readily devour this!)

5 tablespoons good-quality olive oil
8 cups fresh corn kernels (10-12 ears)
1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup small diced red onion
¼ cup thinly sliced scallion, white and green parts (2 scallions)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 cup julienned basil leaves

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. When oil is hot, add corn, salt, and pepper and cook for 5 minutes (or less) until just cooked and no longer starchy. Remove from heat and stir in red onion, scallion, cider vinegar and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Allow salad to cool; stir in basil before serving. Serve cold or at room temperature.