Cilantro Walnut Pesto

cilantro walnut pesto

With my summer herb garden comes an abundance of certain herbs to harvest.  If you don’t prune and harvest them, they tend to grow a bit taller, instead of fuller too.  Sometimes it can be hard to keep up with you crop, which is why pesto is so great!  You can make pesto out of most of your garden herbs, and even greens like arugula and spinach!

I love using pesto as an easy sauce for chicken, fish and pasta.  It’s also great as a sandwich spread, pasta salads, pizza, and tossed with vegetables.  Get creative!

Cilantro Walnut Pesto, adapted from Fine Cooking

  • 1-3/4 cups lightly packed fresh cilantro sprigs
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 Tbs. toasted chopped walnuts
  • 1 lemon, half squeezed to yield 1-1/2 Tbs. juice, half cut into wedges
  • 1 medium clove garlic
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a mini food processor or blender, combine the cilantro, 1/4 cup of the oil, the walnuts, lemon juice, garlic, 1/4 tsp. salt, a few grinds of pepper, and 3 Tbs. water. Process until mostly smooth.

If you don’t use the pesto within about a week, you can freeze it for later use.

cod with cilantro walnut pesto

 

Posted in Recipes, Sauces | Comments Off on Cilantro Walnut Pesto

Raspberry Turnovers

raspberries

I went fruit picking in Michigan the other day and came back with a huge load of sour cherries, sweet cherries, and black raspberries.  I happen to have some red raspberries at home already, and I need to use them up pretty fast.  I also happened to have a package of Dufour chocolate puff pastry in my freezer that I had been itching to try out.  Voila!  Easy turnovers.  Without the labor of making your own puff pastry, these can be thrown together in no time.

The chocolate puff pastry was good.  You can tell it is a quality product, and not just because of the high price!  It’s hard to find all butter puff pastry sold retail though.  So if you have a special occasion, or want a good substitute for homemade, I’d definitely recommend the Dufour brand.

To get the recipe, head over to Seasonal Potluck!

IMG_3560

Posted in Breakfast, Recipes, Seasonal Potluck | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Raspberry Turnovers

Grilled Wedge Salad

grilled wedge salad

It’s amazing how much effort it takes to get together one blog post these days.  With every passing month, my baby boy requires more and more attention, and everything else gets pushed farther down the list.  When he was an itty bitty baby, I was beyond productive each day.  All that sleep he was getting!  He has always slept beautifully at night too, so I’ve never had to get in daytime naps while he was sleeping.  Besides, who has time for sleep with all that laundry that comes with children?!

Luckily blogging has still been worked into the mix (although not with the frequency it did before) because we still have to eat!  And whether I was blogging or not, I’d still make the same type of foods.  It’s not like I’d start heating up TV dinners or buying (gasp!) boxed cake mix if I didn’t have this website.  Though many of my meals have become more simplified these days, I still enjoy more elaborate recipes now and then!

This is a slight variation of the classic wedge salad.  There’s really no need to grill the iceberg, but it does give the salad an interesting flavor element.  Give it a try!  Just make sure you leave the core in, otherwise the lettuce will fall apart on the grill.  And there’s nothing better than homemade blue cheese dressing!

Grilled Wedge Salad, adapted from Fine Cooking, 4 servings

  • 6 oz. slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips (lardons)*
  • 3 oz. good-quality blue cheese
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk; more as needed
  • 3 Tbs. sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 Tbs. thinly sliced fresh chives
  • 1 head iceberg lettuce (about 1-1/2 lb.), trimmed of tough or discolored outer leaves, quartered or cut into sixths through the core, with the core intact
  • 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 medium ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into 3/4-inch chunks

Prepare a charcoal or gas grill fire for direct grilling over medium heat (350°F).

Cook bacon over medium heat until the bacon starts to sizzle, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is golden outside and tender inside. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mash the blue cheese with a fork. Add the buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt, and lemon juice and whisk to combine. Season with 1 tsp. salt and several grinds of pepper. Stir in the chives.

Put the iceberg on a baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil, toss gently to coat evenly, and season with salt. Place the iceberg on the grill cut side down and grill until nicely marked, 1-1/2 to 2 minutes. Turn and mark on the other cut sides, about 2 minutes more.

Transfer the grilled iceberg to a platter or individual plates. Spoon a generous amount of the dressing on top, then scatter with the bacon and tomato. Serve immediately, passing any remaining dressing at the table.

*Alternatively you could use 6 slices of thick cut bacon.

grilled wedge salad

Posted in Recipes, Salads | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Grilled Wedge Salad