Black Tie Pasta- Nah, Just Bowties

Dinner was a mish mash of leftovers and pantry items that I am still trying to get rid of. I had extra chicken from the enormous chicken breasts I made the other night and I also had zucchini and a large tomato I needed to use. So I made a delicious pasta that John and I were both really impressed with. While I was heating up the water and cooking the farfalle I cubed up some mozzarella that needed to be used and placed it in a large bowl. I added one clove of minced garlic, the tomato cubed, lots of grated Parmesan, and a large spoonful of pesto sauce. After I drained the pasta I added it to the bowl along with some of the cooking water to lube everything up. As I tossed it together all the mozzarella melted and the pesto coated the noodles. This was so delicious. Definitely something I plan on doing again. Plus I love a no cook pasta sauce, makes life so much easier.
Once again I also tried to find a balance with my plate. I had a ton of zucchini and less chicken and pasta. I didn't actually finish everything on my plate! I wrapped it up for lunch the next day. I took the leftover zucchini but John snatched up the pasta. Lucky boy!

Wedding Food

Most weddings that I attend are great fun, you enjoy the time with friends and family and the food is an afterthought. I have always been okay with this. But at the wedding of my friends Allyson and Mike the food really struck me! Here is our salad course. The beets over shaved fennel were so bright and summery, as was the little Caprese salad. The beans added some texture and more vitamins to the plate, I was really impressed with this combination as opposed to the more typical "dinner salad" one usually gets.

For the main course I had requested the vegetarian entree. I know I've been dabbling but I still always ask for the vegetarian choice at these type of things because I do not want to be stuck with something I won't eat. So I was given a medium sized ramekin of lasagne. It was... amazing. One of the best lasagnas I have ever eaten. Seriously. It was light and fresh, there was a layer of pesto in there that a whole new dimension to the dish. It was so good that John kept ignoring his steak so as to take more bites of my dish. I think he ate about a quarter of it. I was wholly impressed though and I wish that I could bring this recipe to other caterers/restaurants who seem to think that a "vegetarian option" translates into poorly grilled zucchini and eggplant on top of a portobello mushroom cap."

The coconut cupcakes from Comfort's (San Anselmo) cemented this into the "best wedding food ever. And here are the two of us enjoying the lovely weather.

Pesto Farfalle with Peas

I made pesto last week. Why do you ask? Well, I had a ton of basil and thought I could make it and freeze it for the winter, so I went ahead and did it. I rarely follow recipes when it comes to something like pesto. I know the basic ingredients, basil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan, olive oil, and then I usually add some lemon juice and lemon zest, which I did. I think that the lemon freshens the dish and you cannot really taste the actual flavor of the citrus, just the brightness. (Damn, now I am talking like Rachael Ray again with her ridiculous food descriptions. Parsley is verdant, um, well yes, it is a green herb, and therefore it is verdant. Or she could just say, "parsley tastes like parsley.")

With a dash of salt and pepper I must say that my pesto was good enough to eat with a spoon, which I had to do numerous times to make sure it tasted right. I froze the sucker up and didn't think about it. But on Monday night John and I were starving and I really didn't feel like going to the store. This is when the pantry comes in handy. I always have a ton of pasta on hand (he got to choose between whole wheat linguine, spaghetti, farfalle (bowties), rigatoni, and orzo) and I also wanted to add some extra nutrition and texture, so I remembered a bag of frozen peas in the freezer. Frozen peas remind me of being a kid, and I usually have them so I can make my favorite green pea vicchysoisse without running to the market.

The peas went into the boiling water for the last minute with the pasta. I stuck it back in the pan with some of the defrosted pesto and shook a few red pepper flakes on top, as well as a bit of basil chiffonade. A plate of goodness I tell you. The peas were really good. I think that pesto peas could be a side dish all on its own one of these days.

Walnuts and Spinach in Pesto- Oh My! The Incredible Hulk Meal

Yum, this was really good. I made a pesto one night when I realized I had about 2 pounds of spinach and walnuts, but nothing much else. In my Cuisinart I pureed lots of spinach with walnuts, a little too much garlic in retrospect, a handful of leftover basil, some lemon juice and bit of lemon zest, and parmesan and gruyere (I had a teeny bit on hand I wanted to get rid of.) I streamed in the olive oil and I was all set. I also had some spinach fettuccine in the cupboard which went well with the green meal. I have green eyes and find it very important to match my food to my eyes. Kidding. But it would be nice if your food always blended nicely with your complexion or your outfit of choice. I cannot recall what I was wearing the night that I cooked this, but I am sure that it went along nicely.
The pesto was delicious and quick. There was bit too much garlic, we both reeked for about 24 hours, but it was a nice meal. And the pasta was delicious. I will update this when I remember the brand, but it was a spinach and egg fettuccine which completed the greenness of the meal. I think that I still love the classic pesto made with basil and pine nuts, but twisting it with a different leafy green adn walnuts really made the flavor pop.