Fresh Basil Pesto Pasta

Fresh Basil Pesto

Every year I have basil plants in my garden that reseed themselves and come back. I went out to my garden and picked fresh basil leaves and made this simple and delicious pesto. Pine nuts are pricey but you only need a little bit and won't break your bank. Also, you can substitute with walnuts or macadamia nuts. I have different kinds od basil plants and I used a variety of basil such as sweet basil, Thai basil. 

I got this recipe from the post of Elise Bauer from simplyrecipes.com. I made hardly any changes to the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil ( I used a little more ..3/4 cup instead)
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts (Macadamia nuts also yummy)
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• Special equipment needed: A food processor 

METHOD

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Serve with pasta, or over baked potatoes, or spread over toasted baguette slices.

Yield: Makes 1 cup. 

Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken

The above pasta dish is so simple and quick, I had to share! 

Just toss some cooked and drained pasta with the fresh pesto. Throw some grilled chicken or shrimp on top and ENJOY!!

The Daring Cooks July 2010 Challenge: Nut Butters : Asian Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing and Grilled Curry Chicken

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online. We were given a few recipes to pick from and many choices of nuts. I chose the Asian Noodle salad recipe with Peanut Dressing and decided to add grilled curry chicken on top (the original recipe uses shrimp).

Asian Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing
Yield: 4 servings

Recipe notes: Customize the salad by adding or substituting your favorite vegetables. Shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, and slivered carrots would make nice additions. Obviously, you can omit the shrimp, or substitute chicken or tofu or the protein of your choice. The dressing is equally as good with peanut butter rather than cashew butter. We tested the dressing with nut butters made from salted cashews & peanuts with good results.

Directions:
















Peanut Butter:
1 cup dry roasted peanuts (I used unsalted)

Make peanut butter: Grind peanuts in food processor for about 2 minutes until smooth. (*Or start with ½ cup prepared peanut butter.)


















Peanut Dressing:
½ inch (1 cm) slice of fresh ginger, chopped
8 cloves garlic, more or less to taste, chopped
½ cup (120 ml) peanut butter
¼ cup (60 ml) soy sauce
3 Tablespoons (45 ml) sugar
3 Tablespoons (45 ml) vinegar
3 Tablespoons (45 ml) toasted sesame oil
¼ cup plus 1 Tablespoon (75 ml) water
Hot sauce to taste (optional)

Prepare peanut dressing: Combine ginger, garlic, peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, and water in food processor or blender. Process/blend until smooth. Be sure to process long enough to puree the ginger and garlic. The dressing should be pourable, about the same thickness as cream. Adjust consistency – thinner or thicker -- to your liking by adding more water or peanut butter. Taste and add your favorite hot sauce if desired. (If the cashew butter was unsalted, you may want to add salt to taste.) Makes about 1 ½ cups (360 ml) dressing. Store any leftover dressing in the refrigerator.


















My Grilled Curry Chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (butterfiled)
2 TBS peanut butter
1 tsp curry powder
1 TBS fish sauce (optional)
1 TBS lime juice
pinch of salt

Marinate the chicken with rest of the ingridients for about 15 min and grill. Chop the grilled chicken into big cubes.

















Noodle Salad:
1/2 pound (225 g) linguine or thin rice noodles
1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, cored and seeded, cut into thin strips (I omitted this)
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, sliced (I omitted this)
1/4 cup (60 ml) sliced green onions
1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon (15 ml) chopped peanuts (optional garnish)
Lime wedges (optional)
Cilantro (optional)
Prepare noodles according to package instructions in salted water. Rinse and drain noodles. Set aside.
Slice basil into thin ribbons. Combine noodles, bell pepper, cucumber, onions, and basil in a large bowl. Add about ½ cup (120 ml) peanut dressing; toss gently to coat. Add more peanut dressing as desired, using as much or as little as you’d like. Scatter grilled chicken on top. Squeeze fresh lime juice over salad or serve with lime wedges. Sprinkle with chopped or cilantro if desired.

Blackened Chicken Pasta with Lemon Cream Sauce

I love pasta with cream sauces and this is one of my favorites! I like Alfredo sauce and order it often when I go out to eat but I like making this lemon sauce at home because it's not as rich as Alfredo and also has lots of flavors from all the vegetables I put in. It is pretty easy to make as well. I will try to write the recipe below with as accurate measurements as I can remember so bare with me for it. Afterall, even if I don't remember the exact measurements, you'll get an idea of what goes in this yummy lemon sauce and a general idea of the steps involved. It'll be fun to taste and add more or less of what you like to make it your own too. So here we go;

Ingredients:

Pasta (I used linguine) Just boil it with a lil olive oil and garlic.

Sauce:

1 medium Onion (chopped)
8 oz Mushrooms (sliced)
1 small Jar of Marinated Artichoke
2 TBS capers
1 TBS flour
2 TBS butter
1/2 C white wine
3 TBS lemon juice ( adjust to your taste)
1 C heavy cream or half and half


Gather your ingredients and cut the mushrooms and onions.










Cook the onions with butter till the are tender.











Add the sliced mushrooms and cook a few min.











Add the flour and mix well for few min.











Add artichokes and capers.











Add wine and lemon juice.












Let it simmer for about 10-15 min.












Lastly, add cream and simmer for about 10 more min. Taste and add more of what you desire ( lemon juice or cream etc)














Easy Blackened Chicken

4 boneless skinless Chicken Breast
4 TBS melted butter
Blackening seasoning

Use any blackening seasoning powder.










Dip chicken in melted butter and sprinkle generously with blackening seasoning.









Fry the chicken up in an cast iron skillet with some melted butter. Make sure the skillet is very hot and you push down on the chicken with a spatula or spoon. Few min on each side.






Ready! Let the chicken sit and cool a lil before slicing and topping on your pasta.










Enjoy!

Pad Thai

Pad Thai is another popular Asian dish made with rice noodles. Even though it is really a Thai dish, it is seen in many menus of many Asian restaurants that are not even Thai because of it's popularity. It can be made with any meat or shrimp or even vegetarian. My favorite is made with shrimp. As far as the recipe, there are many floating on the Internet and they all vary according to personal taste. When I lived in Thailand, I usually got this from either a street vendor who cooked this in front of me or at food courts in malls where I could also watch how they make this. My version is simplified with what is available to me in my area and my taste. Here is the recipe:

1 package rice noodles, (I use fresh ones)
12 medium shrimps (peeled and deveined)
2 TBS oil
1 egg
1 1/2 TBS Thai chili paste (see picture below)
a handful of bean sprouts
2 TBS roasted peanuts, chopped
1 tsp sugar
1 medium onion
1 Cup chopped fried tofu
1 TBS salted radish (optional)
green onions and lime wedges for garnish
fish sauce to taste

Have all the ingredients ready.












Soak the noodles in warm water.












Heat up the oil and stir fry onions and salted radish for a few minutes.









The chili paste I use. I like using this because it already has all the seasonings I need for pad Thai such as tamarind etc. You can also find Pad Thai paste in your Asian grocery stores and online.




Add shrimp and the chili paste and stir fry for a few min..









Scramble an egg on the side.











Add bean sprouts but leave some to add to your plate later as well..









Add the rice noodles and mix well.













Add sugar, fish sauce, green onions and peanuts. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.








Put it on a plate, add more raw bean sprouts and lime if you like and Enjoy!!!!