There was a brief, very brief period of time when I thought I maybe had a shot at writing about cooking like I have some authority on the subject and being successful at it. Despite the fact that I didn't even know how Kraft macaroni and cheese got from a pile of pasta with some powdered stuff on top to a gooey, creamy, disgustingly delicious easy dinner up until about 3 years ago when I spontaneously decided that I was going to teach myself how to cook.
To give you some background on just how desolate my cooking background is, i can some up all of the dinners I had for most of my life as consisting of the following: some kind of starch (instant mashed potatoes or minute rice), some kind of frozen pre-prepared meat (breaded chicken cutlets, fish sticks, a marinated pork tenderloin once every blue moon) and a vegetable (frozen peas, corn, green beans, or a mixture of all three). On Sunday nights, my dad would make pasta, which was our "fancy" meal, consisting of usually penne, jarred vodka or marinara sauce, frozen breaded chicken, and the kind of parmesan cheese that comes in a green cardboard container. To my parents' credit, I don't remember ever complaining or not eating what was set in front of me.
Three years ago, I was in a "dorm" room in a castle in The Netherlands, where they had a small "cafeteria" where we were fed variations of "mystery meat" for 5 months. While other students were out enjoying their free vacation in Europe, I was on my laptop, looking up recipes that I wanted to make as soon as I got home. All I could think about was how much I wanted to cook something delicious. I started with the basics, like real macaroni and cheese without the powdered stuff, chicken pot pie with real puff pastry, and lasagna that didn't come frozen in an aluminum bake-it-and-throw-it-away-tray. That summer, at age 20, was when I took my first trip to a grocery store to buy something other than milk and bananas (my parents were big Costco's and BJ's shoppers).
Over the past few years I have made everything from fish tacos to lamb curries to pad thai to a hazelnut chocolate torte to homemade sauces and more. They haven't all been successes, but I can't think of anything that was inedible.
I can't imagine being on a diet. I've come too far to do silly things like substitute splenda for sugar in muffin recipes. I'd rather be a little pleasantly plump that give up one of the few things in life that makes me very happy. Besides, there are other ways to diet. Everything in moderation is supposed to work, right?
I wrote up a little something to show y'all (hi Mika) my attempt at having an authority on cooking. If anyone actually reads this and tries the recipes, I'd love to hear comments.
Presto Pesto!
Easy Pesto Pasta Salad
Serves 4-6
1 pound small-cut pasta, such as elbows
Salt
1 (14-ounce) can, chick peas, drained
Pepper
½ teaspoon dry thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ cup pesto (recipe follows)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
¾ cup parmesan cheese, grated, plus more to pass at table
Handful toasted pine nuts
Boil water for pasta, salt it, and cook pasta to al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.
In a food processor, coarsely grind chick peas with salt, pepper, and thyme to a chunky paste.
Meanwhile, sauté garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil over medium heat. Add pureéd chick peas to the pan and sauté for three minutes.
Mix pesto with pasta. Add chick pea mixture, parmesan cheese, halved cherry tomatoes, and pine nuts. Mix in pasta water to desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Can be served hot or cold.
Grilled Salmon with Pesto
Serves 4
4 salmon fillets
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
½ cup pine nuts, toasted
Lemon juice
Pesto
Tomato
Season salmon fillets generously with salt and pepper. Brush the grilling rack with olive oil to keep the fish from sticking. Grill for 5 to 6 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Turn carefully with a wide spatula and grill for another 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer fish to a plate.
Squeeze the lemon juice over the fish as soon as you take it off the grill. Spread a thick layer of pesto over the fish, about a tablespoon per fillet, and top with a slice of tomato. Sprinkle with the pine nuts and serve.
All About Pesto
Homemade pesto beats any store-brand pesto I’ve ever had, hands down. Not only is the flavor of homemade fresher and bolder, but it looks a lot prettier when you can actually see the flecks from the bright green herbs running through the sauce. It’s also so ridiculously easy to make that once you’ve made your own you’ll be kicking yourself for ever buying its over-priced grocery shelf impersonator.
The following includes a basic pesto recipe that can easily be modified to produce many mouthwatering varieties, followed by some examples. There are four basic ingredients in most pestos: fresh herbs, parmesan cheese, nuts (pine nuts or walnuts always work wonderfully), garlic and extra-virgin olive oil. It’s worth it to splurge on the extra-virgin olive oil when making pesto and other uncooked sauces since it delivers a brighter, deeper flavor than regular olive oil. If you’re serving the pesto over pasta, about 1 cup, with some pasta water added to liquefy the sauce a bit, will coat a pound of pasta. The most important part of cooking on the go is being prepared, so I usually double the recipe (or triple if you’ve got hungry kids or grandkids) and whatever I don’t use I freeze in plastic storage bags or an ice tray, if I’ve got an empty one lying around. When you’re ready to use it, just defrost it a few hours ahead of time, stir in the cheese, and you’re good to go.
Basic Basil Pesto
1 cup basil (appox 20 leaves)
¼ cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Combine basil, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor and pulse. Stream in the extra-virgin olive oil until a thick sauce forms, then stir in parmesan cheese by hand. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Tarragon-Basil Pesto (recipe from Food Network)
A tasty pesto with a minty kick
1 cup basil (appox 20 leaves)
½ cup tarragon leaves
¼ cup pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of one lemon
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Combine basil, tarragon, pine nuts, garlic, and lemon zest in a food processor and pulse. Stream in the extra-virgin olive oil until a thick sauce forms, then stir in parmesan cheese by hand. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pistachio-Parsley Pesto
1 cup parsley
¼ cup pistachios, shelled
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Combine parsley, pistachios and garlic in a food processor and pulse. Stream in the extra-virgin olive oil until a thick sauce forms, then stir in parmesan cheese by hand. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Sun-dried Tomato Pesto (recipe adapted from Food Network)
1 (8.5-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper
Combine sun-dried tomatoes (with their olive oil), garlic and basil in a food processor and pulse. Stir in parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
This picture is a good example of the old and the new -- pasta with the Tarragon-Basil Pesto (recipe above), but since I made this for my parents at their house, there's a nice hunk of frozen garlic bread on the side:
