Almond Basil Pesto.

Basil season ends at the end of the summer so harvest (from your garden or your neighbors.. shh) and make some pesto! This pesto is so tasty I want to rub it all over everything. Jars of this tasty delight make perfecto Christmas prezzies. If you make them now and freeze in jars they will still be delicious at the holiday season....

Pesto can be made in varying ways (diff nuts, cheeses, etc). Using almonds makes the pesto that much richer and creamier. Almonds are my preference but you can also experiment with walnuts and pine nuts. If you want your pesto to have a lighter/fresher feel, you can also substitute some of the fresh basil for fresh parsley. Some love it/some hate it. You can use this recipe for pasta (obvi), on grilled chicken, on crostini with ricotta, etc... or on you can eat it straight out the jar. bliss.



INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups packed fresh basil
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 cup almonds
• 2 and 1/2 cups olive oil
• 1 and 1/2 cups grated pecorino (romano or parmesan is fine)
• salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

• Put garlic, cheese, and nuts into a food processor. Pulse until sand-like texture.
• Add Basil. pulse again.
• Pour oil in batches. add a little. pulse (and so on)
• Add salt to taste
• Use on your pasta (you can dilute it with a little water that you cook your pasta in) or put in a jar and put in fridge/freezer for later.
  

Pecan-Crusted Goat Cheese Salad with Blueberries.

Let's take a moment to reflect on the wonder that is a blueberry. Shall we? I love blueberries and find they are as perfect in savory dishes as they are in traditional desserts. Beyond their amazing flavor, they also provide us with a good dose of antioxidants (which happen to be helpful in preventing a hang-over). What more could you want from a fruit? Serve up this salad as a starter for guests as it is sure to impress or have it as a light lunch. Either way, allow yourself that extra glass of champers.. you won't feel it tomorrow anyway.

SPICY PECAN CRUSTED GOAT CHEESE SALAD w/ BLUEBERRIES and A WARM BACON DRESSING
(serves 4 as starter/2 as a main)

INGREDIENTS:

for the nuts:

• 100g (about 4 oz) pecans
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2tsp caster sugar
• sprinkle cayenne pepper

for the rest of the salad:

• one large handful or blueberries
  
• 1 small bag spinach leaves, washed
• 5 slices bacon (streaky)
  
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 300g (about 10 oz) soft goat cheese, shaped into balls
  
• salt and pepper
  

DIRECTIONS:

• Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F
• Toss pecans in olive oil, caster sugar and cayenne
• line baking tray with wax paper, spread out nuts and bake for 10-15 min.
• take out and let cool.
• When nuts are cool, chop them up. You DON'T want them too small. just a quick chop is perfect. Put chopped nuts on a plate.
  
• Coat goat cheese with the chopped nuts (keep the extra nuts). Put in fridge.
• Fry bacon in pan. when done, take bacon out. crumble.
• Use bacon fat still in skillet to make dressing. add balsamic vinegar, honey, mustard, and salt and pepper.
  
• Assemble salad: first spinach, then blueberries, bacon bits, extra nuts, and then the dressing. Finally, add the goat cheese to the top.
  

PERFECTION.

x
Ailsa

Summer Pasta

Summer pasta is the brainchild of one of my most cherished looney-tune friends, Cassie. I am fairly certain that Cassandra Ann's Athens legacy was a reason why UGA managed to grab the top spot on the party school list this year. She, like myself, enjoyed eating well at school (think delicious mimosa-laden brunches/230 am burgers) and was key in initiating our "Sunday family dinners". This gave us the opportunity to sit together and discuss the weekend's debauchery while one of us cooked up a special treat. I really miss those girls and summer pasta reminds me of our slightly sketchy attempts in the kitchen!

This recipe is exactly what a cold pasta should be (not the heavy mess you find at countless gatherings). It is light but full of flavor and makes use of one of summer's tastiest assets: ripe tomatoes. Take a trip to your farmer's market in search of your best local option. It will make a big difference; believe me. Marinating the tomatoes and scallions is also key so let it sit for over two hours (at least) for maximum flavor. It is perfect as a picnic main or an addition to grilled chicken or salmon. You have a couple of weeks left before we venture into fall cuisine so make use of the time left for summer treats.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 box small penne pasta
• 1 8oz/230g block of feta, crumbled
• 6 RIPE tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
• chopped parsley to taste
• 6-8 scallions, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 lemon (juice only)
• salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

• Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and salt
• Add crumbled feta, tomatoes, parsley, and scallions and marinate (best overnight)
• Cook penne al dente
• Drain and shock with cold water
  
• Toss pasta with extras
• Add pepper to taste
  

Roast Beetroot, Feta and Mint

Last weekend I was in Devon. It was my great fortune that I managed to live out a few quintessential British past times - dining on cream tea, storming castles, discovering parts of Dartmoor I'm pretty sure only creatures of Lord of the Rings have been (the small good ones that is). What this has to do with roast beetroot and feta I can only tell you that where I was staying had a kitchen garden. Some of the bounty we were lucky enough to take home was golden and red beetroot as well as some mint. The first thought of beetroot (if you grew up in my house) is a vision of Christmas time cured herring covered in pickled beetroot. Terrifying isn't even the word. Well, move past this Nordic idiosyncrasy and you will discover something delicious. The mint and lemon in the dressing liven up the earthiness and the feta adds a creaminess to the the whole mixture.

This will serve 4 as a starter or 2 for a hearty lunch

Ingredients:

Three tennis ball sized beetroots - a mixture of golden and red. It's best if they are whole, tops and all intact

One block of feta

Large handful of mint

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp runny honey

1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling over the ciabatta

one small loaf of ciabatta

1 clove of garlic

• Preheat oven to 180C/365F
• Peel, top and tail the beetroot and cut into eighths, or small sections. Arrange on a baking tray and cover with some oil, salt and pepper and roast for 45 minutes. They may need some turning or shaking during cooking just to keep it even
• Whilst they are cooking, in a medium sized bowl, whisk together the honey, lemon, oil and seasoning. Finely chop the mint and throw it in as well
• Slice up the ciabatta to get two slices per person (make the slices wedges if you are making it as a lunch). Toast lightly and keep an eye on it so they don't burn. Have a clove of garlic split ready to rub onto the bread when it comes out of the toaster
• Cut up the feta into 1 or 2cm cubes. Toss the cooked beetroot into the dressing and stir it around to get a good coating. Add the feta and give it another quick stir
• Drizzle a small amount of extra virgin oil onto the ciabatta then load them up with the beetroot and feta mixture

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did, it truly opened my eyes up to the fact that beetroot can be delicious and not scary.

Light Lunch

If you are lucky enough to be living in a country where it is still summer, then I hope this will be a useful hint for a light summer lunch.

It is very basic, yet it beats your everyday sandwich. It is also good for you in so many ways, I like to eat this with slabs of cold salted butter just to off set that though. 

The list of ingredients is more 'say what you see' than any secret, but I'll make it clear for you anyway. This is for two hungry people:

2 honey and soy smoked mackerel fillets

2 small eating pears

1 ball of the best mozzarella  you can get your hands on

bag of roquette

1 white stonebaked flute (or any baguette you feel like eating)

chilled salted butter, for bread

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tbsp runny honey

1 1/2 tbsp good olive oil

plenty of salt and pepper

Put the lemon, honey, oil, salt and pepper into an empty jam jar and shake it until your arms ache - or ingredients are combined. Voila, your dressing is ready, and you have something to keep it in should you have dressing left over. It might be easier to double the ingredients list and just keep the rest for next time (which will come soon, I assure you).

Cut the pears into even slices and remove any core. Split the roquette between two plates, scatter with torn off chunks of the mozzarella and arrange the pears over this. Drizzle with plenty of dressing. If you are making a huge bowl for several people then just chuck everything into a bowl and toss it together lightly, there's no need for extra mess when there's just two of you.

Divide the mackerel and bread between the plates and enjoy with a large cold glass of sparkling elderflower cordial.

Quick Tip: Cake Decorating!!

Kristen was one of our first blog followers so, other than giving her our undying love and appreciation, I decided it would be nice for me to make her b-day cake. When I asked her what kind of cake was her fav, I was expecting something along the lines of a hazelnut, chocolate, raspberry torte. Instead, she wanted a simple yellow cake with choco frosting. This classic is so yummy but I panicked as I looked for a yellow cake recipe. I have never known anyone to make one without a ready-made mix (gasp). I e-mailed my friend Lauren, who went to school for baking, and she sent me a delish recipe which i tweaked to create my masterpiece. So ditch the box and get with it.

When you are at the grocery store, buy some amazing sprinkles so you can decorate! After you have iced the cake stick in the fridge. Draw out a design/letter/symbol and cut it out. i did a K for Kristen (duh). When the icing is hard, stick your cut out on the cake. It should hold in the icing but not be a goopy mess... it kinda sits on top. Take your sprinkles and sprinkle A LOT over/around the symbol.. lift up and your design with be left (look below)! Perfection.

Here is the recipe!!

http://www.joyofbaking.com/YellowButterCake.html