Making Pesto With Morgan

Morgan is a wee bit shy and doesn't like for me to post photos of her.  I think she'll be okay, though, with this little pic of her presenting the yummy pesto that she made with me.

Homemade Basil Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup walnuts
3 peeled and roughly chopped garlic cloves
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese or a combination of the two
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Use the measurements as guidelines and adjust the amounts to suit your taste.

In a small saute pan or skillet, toast the pine nuts and walnuts over medium heat, shaking constantly, for a few minutes to give them a nice toasty flavor, but being careful not to let them burn ... the difference between toasted nutty goodness and blaring smoke alarm is, oh, about a second, haha.  Let the nuts cool until they can be handled easily.

Put the basil, pine nuts, and walnuts in a food processor and pulse a few times to roughly chop.  Add the garlic cloves and pulse a few times.

With the food processor running, slowly stream in the olive oil.  Stop processing and scrape down the sides of the food processor with a spatula.

Add the grated cheese and pulse just to combine.  Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper and pulse to combine.

Let the pesto rest for a few minutes, especially if you're using Kosher salt, which has larger granules than table salt and needs some time to dissolve.  Then give your pesto a quick pulse in the food processor, taste it, and add more olive oil, salt, or pepper if necessary.

Southwest Spicy Compound Butter

2 sticks salted butter, softened
6 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press
zest of 2 small limes
2 tablespoons chipotle pepper sauce
1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients well.  Serve on top of steak, steamed veggies, etc.  Roll leftover compound butter into a log shape in waxed paper and freeze for later use.

Roulade Meatloaf

Start with ground beef mixed with some Montreal steak seasoning and dehydrated soup vegetables.  Press the ground beef out flat in a sheet pan, like pastry.  Coat with a layer of fromage fort or any spreadable cheese.  Add chopped mushrooms (or leftover sauteed mushrooms), sundried tomatoes, chopped garlic, chopped spinach, chopped basil, really any flavorful ingredients you can think of.  Roll up into a loaf.  Place on a baking rack over a sheet pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-30 minutes to brown and crisp the exterior, then reduce to 350 degrees until done (use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature from time to time for doneness).

Here's the meatloaf before baking.  Unfortunately I forgot to take a pic of the finished meatloaf.

Easy Asian Noodle Side Dish

Very quick, easy, and flavorful.  I used rice stick noodles, but they're a bit sticky.  I'll try it with sturdier noodles next time.

In a nonstick skillet, heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil over medium to medium-high heat.  Add a tiny splash of sesame oil, 2 or 3 anchovies that have been mashed with a fork, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic pressed through a garlic press, and a couple pinches of hot red pepper powder (I like the Korean version).  Saute until everything is cooked through and well combined.

Add cooked Asian noodles, whatever your preference, and toss well.  Garnish with a sprinkle of hot red pepper powder and chopped cilantro.

A Very Merry WHITE Christmas

Okay, so I'm 45 years old and I've lived in the DFW Metroplex or not too far from it my entire life. Around here we're more likely to have shorts-and-short-sleeve weather at Christmas time than cold weather. Well, this year I experienced my first ever white Christmas!!! It started snowing here on Christmas Eve afternoon and the weather was cold enough that the snow was still on the ground on Christmas Day. It was such a beautiful experience, and since I'm statistically probably halfway through my life it's not really likely that I'll experience another White Christmas, so I cherish this amazing holiday.

Due to the weather we were "snowbound" for the night at the home of my beloved Mami-y-Papi-in-law after our Christmas Eve celebration, so I had another fun experience for the first time of waking up with my "extended family" and enjoying Christmas morning with all of TLOML's family, my stepdaughters, and my son. I'll treasure this day for the rest of my life.

So now on to the food. For Christmas Eve with my second family and for Christmas Day with my first family we prepared Roasted Rosemary Walnuts, courtesy of a recipe from http://www.chowhound.com/, www.chow.com/recipes/14260?tag=nl.e351:

Roasted Rosemary Walnuts Recipe
TIME/SERVINGS
Total: 25 mins
Active: 5 mins
Makes: 8 to 10 servings (5 cups)

Roasted Rosemary Walnuts
By Amy Wisniewski

Nuts and booze are a tried-and-true combination for any happy hour or cocktail party. Here the addition of rosemary and black pepper classes up the combo without getting too fussy.

Game plan: These nuts will last up to 10 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

This recipe was featured as part of both our Academy Awards Cocktail Party menu and our Bar Snacks photo gallery.

INGREDIENTS
5 cups walnuts
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
Place nuts on a baking sheet. Add remaining ingredients and mix with your hands to evenly coat.
Bake until nuts are browned and toasted, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet, transfer to a bowl, and serve.

These incredible tidbits and also the following wonderful Kahlua Spiked Pecans (recipe from www.desertculinary.blogspot.com/) http://desertculinary.blogspot.com/2005/05/kahlua-spiked-pecans.html were big hits.

I think the rosemary walnuts were slightly too oily and I'll decrease the amount of olive oil next time I make them. However, both of these treats were like holiday crack to me and I think to both of our families, absolutely fabulous recipes.

Kahlua Spiked Pecans (Adapted from Stop and Smell the Rosemary)

1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg white
3 tablespoons Kahlua
4 cups pecan halves

Preheat oven to 325

In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, cinnamon and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together egg white and Kahlua. Add pecans and stir well to combine.

Sprinkle half the sugar mixture on top - mix well. Pour the rest of the sugar on top and stir until completely combined. Scoop the mixture onto a large baking sheet lined with foil and coated with nonstick spray. Spread the pecans to an even single layer.

Bake until pecans are lightly toasted and browned, stirring every 10 minutes - about 20 to 25 minutes total. Remove from the oven and scoop the hot pecans onto wax or parchment paper to cool completely.

Note: I used half white sugar and half brown sugar because I had a dab of brown sugar that needed to be used up and it worked perfectly.

We prepared the black bean dip we've made before, recipe courtesy of Erica at http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/, http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/2009/06/black-bean-dip-dip-de-frijoles-negros.html . Everyone loves this stuff!

Black Bean Dip (Dip De Frijoles Negros)

Although it doesn’t look very pretty, this creamy black bean dip tastes absolutely delicious and is very easy to make. You can serve it with tortilla chips or Patacones.

Ingredients(About 2 cups)
1 (14 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
¼ teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo
½ tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Directions
1. Place all the ingredients in food processor until the dip is smooth and creamy, scraping the down the bowl as needed.
2. Transfer the dip to a serving bowl, sprinkle with fresh cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.

This dip is so, so good, and so healthy! As Erica says, it's not so pretty, but damn, it's tasty! I made it again with dried beans that I soaked and cooked, just because that's very inexpensive and we really enjoy preparing food from scratch as much as possible.

We also made a wonderful white bean-roasted red pepper dip, recipe also courtesy of www.mycolombiankitchen.com/

White Bean -Roasted Pepper Dip

I love beans! In Colombia we may eat beans two or three times a day. I never get tired of eating beans so I have a long list of bean recipes. This one is a delicious white bean –roasted pepper dip. It is great as a light and healthy snack with pita chips, as an appetizer for your next party or for that unannounced visit, as it is quick and simple to prepare!

Ingredients
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans
1 roasted red bell pepper
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped onion
Chives for garnish

Directions
1. Place all the ingredients in the food processor and mix until well combined and smooth.
2. Transfer the dip to a serving dish and top with the fresh chives. Serve with pita chips on the side

I used a can of rosada beans for this dip because I had one on hand, and it was really good.

We made the Cook's Illustrated hummus recipe again, with a few modifications, http://kearbyskitchen.blogspot.com/2009/10/homemade-hummus.html This time we made a double recipe and used a little more garlic, a little more olive oil, a little less sesame tahini, and 2 cubes of Knorr chicken bouillon. It turned out really good.

Also made the stuffed mushrooms that I've been making for 25 years that everyone seems to like. Recipe to be posted later.

And in other important Christmas Eve news, SMU defeated Nevada 45-10 in the Hawaii Bowl!

Christmas Lunch

The court reporting firms I contract with had their annual holiday lunch on Monday. It was so great to see everyone, our office manager, the other court reporters, our videographer, and the owner of the Spanish translation service we use. Following are the recipes I prepared for the lunch:

STEAMED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH SUNDRIED TOMATO AIOLI

Brussels Sprouts

1 1/2 lb. Brussels sprouts, rinsed and bottoms trimmed off
1/4 lb. thin-sliced pancetta, finely diced (can substitute bacon)
½ cup finely diced shallots

Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice cubes and set aside. Using a steamer basket placed inside a medium saucepan with a lid or an Asian-style bamboo steamer, steam Brussels sprouts for approximately 10 minutes. They should still be a pretty green color and should still have slight resistance to a fork pressed into the base or into the middle of the sprouts. Remove from steamer and drop into the ice water to stop the cooking and maintain the pretty green color. Drain sprouts and place in serving bowl.

In a skillet over low to medium low heat, slowly cook pancetta. Cook until it renders its fat and becomes slightly crispy. Increase heat to medium low to medium and add shallots. Cook slowly until shallots are tender. Pour pancetta-shallot mixture over Brussels sprouts and mix well. Serve with sundried tomato aioli.

Sundried Tomato Aioli

¼ cup oil-packed sundried tomatoes, drained
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Finely chop sundried tomatoes in food processor. Add egg yolk, garlic, mustard, and lemon juice and blend well. With machine running, gradually add oil through feed tube in slow, steady stream. Blend until smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper. Blend for a few more seconds.


Notes:

I also added a little squeeze of anchovy paste to this recipe, about 1 teaspoon. It adds more flavor depth. If you have anchovy paste handy and like it, give it a try. If not, no problem.

Next time I make this aioli I’ll use only half the amount of sundried tomatoes so that the aioli will be a bit more subtle.


SIMPLE GARLIC SHRIMP

1 lb. medium (about 25 per pound) shrimp, rinsed, shells removed except for tail section, and de-veined
1 head of garlic
Zest of 1 lemon
6 tablespoons butter
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
Italian seasoning
Salt (if needed)

Separate the head of garlic into individual cloves. Remove root end and skin from garlic cloves. Divide the garlic cloves in half. Slice half of the garlic cloves very thin. Finely dice the remaining half of the garlic cloves.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over low to medium low heat. Add the olive oil. Add the sliced garlic and cook very slowly until browned. You want the garlic to give a nice toasty garlic flavor to the oil without burning. When browned, remove garlic slices. Add lemon zest.

Keep temperature at low to medium low. Add the diced garlic and slowly cook until garlic is soft. You don’t want to brown this garlic. Sprinkle the butter/olive oil/garlic combination liberally with your favorite Italian seasoning, 1-2 teaspoons.

Add the shrimp to the skillet in a single layer and keep the heat low. Shrimp cook very fast and you want to give them a chance to absorb all the great garlic flavor, so cook them very low and slow. After a few minutes, flip the shrimp over and continue to cook them in a single layer. When all shrimp have turned pink and curled up a bit they’re done. Taste a shrimp and the buttery sauce for seasoning. If needed, add a sprinkle of salt.

Braised Beef Shank

1.5 to 2 lbs. bone-in beef shanks (also called bone-in beef hindshank)
2 large shallots, sliced
2 heads of garlic, cut in half horizontally and kept intact
2 cups thick-sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon dry or 2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 teaspoons dry basil
1 bay leaf
3 cups vegetable stock
3 cubes beef bouillon
Salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup Port wine or Marsala





Heat veggie stock to near boiling in microwave or on stove top, add bouillon cubes, and stir until dissolved. Season all sides of beef shanks with lots of freshly ground black pepper and a light sprinkling of salt. Heat Dutch oven over medium-high until hot, add olive oil and heat for about 30 seconds. Add beef shanks and cook 2 to 4 minutes on each side until well-browned and crusty. Add the thyme, basil, and bay leaf. Sprinkle the shallots evenly around the pan. Add 1/3 cup of the Port or Marsala and gently shake pan. Carefully add the garlic halves and press down a bit so they stay intact. Pour veggie-beef bouillon stock over all. Cover pan, reduce to low or medium-low and simmer for 2 hours.



After 2 hours add mushrooms, then cook for 1 more hour, until meat is falling apart tender.

Check seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Add remaining 1/3 cup Port or Marsala and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes to reduce liquid slightly. Serve and enjoy!

Don’t forget to put the veggie trimmings in your zip-top freezer bag to make veggie stock!

If you don't make homemade veggie stock from your veggie scraps, well, first of all, you're missing out. But seriously, if you don't have homemade veggie stock, you can use any combination of water/broth/stock with bouillon cubes that you like to make 3 cups of flavorful broth for this recipe.

Note: If you're like me (and of course I'm sure you're not, gentle reader) and you fell asleep while you were simmering your homemade turkey broth on the first try and you permanently burned the broth into the bottom of your favorite Dutch oven, you can use your favorite stockpot for this recipe, just be careful to keep the temperature plenty low so as to avoid scorching.

Finally Made Homemade Croutons For Caesar Salad!

As posted earlier, I've been making the wonderful Martha Stewart Classic Caesar Salad recipe for years now, and everyone loves it. Yeah, yeah, I know. Say what you want about Martha, but for me Martha Stewart is a guilty pleasure. I love her craft ideas, her homekeeping ideas, and her recipes (which always come out beautifully for me without fail). Here's the recipe for Caesar salad: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/classic-caesar-salad I've always cheated and used store-bought croutons instead of making them myself. Well, I've seen the light!

Hubby and I made Caesar salad for a party a week ago and decided to make homemade croutons. We have a dehydrator that we use for this type of application. If you don't have a dehydrator then follow the normal instructions in the recipe.

Ingredients
loaf of French or Italian bread
butter
olive oil
garlic cloves
Kosher salt

Slice the bread into approximately 1/2 inch slices. You can neatly cut each slice into crouton-sized pieces or even tear each slice by hand into rustic croutons. Spread the croutons on the trays of the dehydrator and let them dehydrate overnight.

In a 10" or 12" skillet on medium to medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter, add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 or 2 cloves of garlic pressed through a garlic press, and a generous pinch of Kosher salt. Add some of your about-to-be croutons to the skillet, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Saute and keep turning the croutons for a couple of minutes so they get lightly coated all over with the butter mixture. Repeat until all croutons are prepared.

Some bread crumbs and some toasted garlic will be left in the skillet after each batch. Use a spatula to scrape all that tasty stuff out of the skillet and onto your croutons. It's yummy!!!