Cooking
Here's another wonderfully simple, and fast, recipe from Giada De Laurentis.
Penne with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
Wow. Talk about an easy meal!
I even waited until Matt was home to start cooking, and we still found ourselves sitting at the table, eating, much earlier than normal.
Sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed), basil, garlic, salt and pepper, in a food processor until a paste. Put in a bowl, add grated Parmesan. Cook pasta (Giada recommends penne, but we didn't have a full box...I used both mini penne and those fluted elbows). Dump pasta in bowl, adding some of the cooking water. Enjoy!
We rounded out the meal with a light salad of arugula, diced carrots and avocado, and a chunk of Italian bread I'd defrosted the day before.
The pesto was really good: you really got the sweetness of the tomatoes, which was balanced by the saltiness of both the oil and the cheese, and freshness of the basil...as well as the garlic. And we were forced to use less basil, as our plants aren't big enough yet, and the store-bought herbs were starting to go.
Seriously; this is one of the fastest meals I've ever made (even boxed mac and cheese takes longer!). Great for busy cooks.
And since this is something like the sixth or seventh recipe of Giada's I've made, I really should just go ahead and order her new cookbook!
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Summer is bright red, hot, juicy and sweet. So it's ironic that tomatoes don't really become ripe until the last gasp of Summer and into early Fall. To savor a bit more of the flavor of Summer, I recently made a delicious variation on the Genovese...
- Someone's In The Kitchen With Alex: Tortellini With Sun-dried Tomatoes
I found this one hiding in the cute little recipe box I'd picked up at Sur La Table many years ago. Something I'd written down at least seven years ago, but never made. A pasta salad, using cheese tortellini, basil, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes,...
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- Pasta, Sausage And Bean Ragout
With the arrival of the latest Bon Appetit (which has replaced Gourmet as my favorite foodie mag), we're trying lots of new dishes. One I made last week was Pasta, Sausage and Bean Ragout. Oh, yum. I mean, yum. What a fabulous dish. And...
Cooking
Just buy the book, already!
Here's another wonderfully simple, and fast, recipe from Giada De Laurentis.
Penne with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
Wow. Talk about an easy meal!
I even waited until Matt was home to start cooking, and we still found ourselves sitting at the table, eating, much earlier than normal.
Sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed), basil, garlic, salt and pepper, in a food processor until a paste. Put in a bowl, add grated Parmesan. Cook pasta (Giada recommends penne, but we didn't have a full box...I used both mini penne and those fluted elbows). Dump pasta in bowl, adding some of the cooking water. Enjoy!
We rounded out the meal with a light salad of arugula, diced carrots and avocado, and a chunk of Italian bread I'd defrosted the day before.
The pesto was really good: you really got the sweetness of the tomatoes, which was balanced by the saltiness of both the oil and the cheese, and freshness of the basil...as well as the garlic. And we were forced to use less basil, as our plants aren't big enough yet, and the store-bought herbs were starting to go.
Seriously; this is one of the fastest meals I've ever made (even boxed mac and cheese takes longer!). Great for busy cooks.
And since this is something like the sixth or seventh recipe of Giada's I've made, I really should just go ahead and order her new cookbook!
- Pappa Al Pomodoro: Recipe
Tuscans are infamous for being stingy. But when it comes to food that's not necessarily a bad thing. They are experts at cooking beans and even make a delicious soup called "cooked water" that is chock full of vegetables and topped with an egg. While...
- Trapanese Pesto Recipe
Summer is bright red, hot, juicy and sweet. So it's ironic that tomatoes don't really become ripe until the last gasp of Summer and into early Fall. To savor a bit more of the flavor of Summer, I recently made a delicious variation on the Genovese...
- Someone's In The Kitchen With Alex: Tortellini With Sun-dried Tomatoes
I found this one hiding in the cute little recipe box I'd picked up at Sur La Table many years ago. Something I'd written down at least seven years ago, but never made. A pasta salad, using cheese tortellini, basil, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes,...
- Plates Of Panini
Sunday's dinner; two sandwich recipes we've been looking forward to. I really only watch Food TV for Barefoot Contessa these days, but as Giada leads into Ina's show I occasionally catch the last five or ten minutes. Some months ago, Giada...
- Pasta, Sausage And Bean Ragout
With the arrival of the latest Bon Appetit (which has replaced Gourmet as my favorite foodie mag), we're trying lots of new dishes. One I made last week was Pasta, Sausage and Bean Ragout. Oh, yum. I mean, yum. What a fabulous dish. And...