Guest Chef Tara from Scarborough Seashells

Hi everyone!

Tara at Scarborough Seashells is making Pesto for us today! I love that fact that this can be froze to be enjoyed at a later time!

Thank you Tara for sharing this with us! I hope you all visit Tara’s wonderful blog. You should see the gorgeous jewelry she makes! Okay, on to this yummy recipe!

Basic Pesto

Ingredients:
(this makes 2 batches, so I only used half my ingredients at a time)
4 packed cups fresh basil leaves
2 cups fresh parsley
8 cloves of garlic
2/3 cup pine nuts
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for drizzling
2 TBSP lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
This recipe is so simple:
Toast the pine nuts over medium high heat until oils begin to release and they become golden brown (about 3 minutes). Set them aside to cool while you prepare your other ingredients.

Add all ingredients -except parmesan cheese- to your blender and blend until smooth. Add more olive oil at a slow drizzle or a TBSP or 2 of water to thin out if necessary.



If you are eating fresh, pour into a bowl, stir in the parmesan cheese and serve immediately.



If you are planning to freeze, leave the cheese out until ready to thaw and use. Pour your mixture into an air tight container.
Drizzle a bit more olive oil on top of the pesto, place a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap directly on top of the sauce to keep the air out and then freeze for up to 3 months.


Enjoy!

Guest “Chef” Emily from The French Hutch!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Hi everyone!

Oh, I have a treat for  you today! Emily at The French Hutch is our featured guest "Chef" today! Emily has created not one but a couple of mouth watering recipes to share with us. Thank you Emily for such wonderful recipes and drool worthy photos!

Click the above picture of Emily’s beautiful French Hutch to go to her blog!

 

ITALIAN BRUSCHETTA ~ WITH FRESH HERBS AND TOMATOES

My post this week will be the Weekly Featured Recipe at DTL Herbs. Please join Diann from The Thrifty Groove and me at her herb blog sharing great recipes using fresh herbs.

Thank You Diann, I am honored  to have my recipe featured at DTL Herbs.

please click here to join Diann at her new blog

BRUSCHETTA

Summer months you will always find in my kitchen fresh herbs from my little herb garden and home grown tomatoes from family or friends. My sweet dad always had these growing in a garden in our back yard so its from these fond memories I love and enjoy preparing any recipe using tomatoes. When my sources run out for suppling me with what I feel is a summer staple, I head to the huge farmers market in Birmingham. I know I'll always find tomatoes and most any herb I need there.
I think I started to go apes over bruschetta after my first trip to Roma.  We have a favorite restaurant where Jim and I always enjoy dining, I always order the bruschetta as an appetizer, from orders by the waiters who always remember us and tell us what to eat, oh those Italians! In Roma, the bruschetta is different than what we found in Florence and the Tuscan hill towns. Roma offers up its version with chopped tomatoes, basil and thicker bread for the oil and vinegar to soak into, where the Tuscan version uses thiner slices of bread and is more of a finger food. Roma serves bruschetta like a salad and you need your fork and knife. I love both, but it can get a little messy eating as finger food. I like serving it as a first course replacing the salad.  Either way, its a summer favorite, a staple you'll find on my menu while the tomatoes are garden fresh and herbs are out of my back yard garden. Ah, the wonderful bounty of summer.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

~

FRESH CHOPPED BASIL

FRESH CHOPPED ROSEMARY

CLOVE OF GARLIC / OR SWEET ONION

YOUR FAVORITE FRESH OR DRIED HERB

FRESH CHOPPED AND/OR SLICED TOMATOES

FAVORITE OIL AND VINEGAR

FRESH GROUND SEA SALT AND PEPPER

YOUR FAVORITE BAGUETTE BAKERY BREAD

~

BEAUTIFUL GARDEN FRESH HERBS

DRIED IF FRESH IS NOT IN SEASON

DRIED BRUSCHETTA HERBS

PURCHASED IN POSITANO

BLUE BASIL
BLUE CENTER

HOME GROWN TOMATOES

GRILL OR TOAST BREAD

A PRETTY FRENCH ROOSTER PLATE

RUB BREAD WITH GARLIC OR ONION

ADD HERBS TO TOMATOES

~

CHOPPED FOR ROMA BRUSCHETTA

SLICED FOR RUSTIC

TUSCAN BRUSCHETTA

TOP BREAD WITH TOMATOES AND HERBS

POUR OIL OVER TOMATOES

AND ONTO PLATE AROUND BREAD

ADD VINEGAR

ENJOY YOUR FAVORITE BRUSCHETTA

DELICIOUS

POSTCARDS FROM ROMA

GEORGIE, JIM, EMILY AND MOUNIR

BRUSCHETTA AT TUDINI'S IN ROMA

THE REAL DEAL

LEMONCELLO
AFTER DINNER DRINKS

TOMATO, FRESH MOZZARELLA AND BASIL SALAD
JUST ADD YOUR FAVORITE OIL, VINEGAR AND HERBS

 

Really there is no right or wrong way to make bruschetta. I love the two ways presented here, the way I first tried it in Roma. It just doesn't get any better.........CIAO!

Chive Vinegar

Hi everyone!

One of the tastiest and without a doubt, prettiest vinegar to make is chive vinegar! And it is very easy!

You want to pick and use the chive blossoms/flowers. That is what gives it this lovely color and sweet taste!

Isn't that beautiful!

Chive vinegar is such a delicate infused vinegar. You can use plain white vinegar or a milder vinegar like rice wine vinegar.

Once you have a clean jar you want to use, fill it with chive blossoms. Fill your jar at least half way or pack the jar full with blossoms.


Once your jar is filled with chive blossoms, fill to the brim with vinegar. I know that some people boil their vinegar before adding it to the jar.I have never done that.


Now cover tightly and place in a cool dark place for two weeks! One thing to keep in mind, you do NOT want any of the chive blossoms above the vinegar level in your jar. Not that it happens often, but in can grow mold on those blossoms if they are not completely immersed under the vinegar because you are not heat sealing these jars.

What I do to ensure that the chives are under the vinegar is I loosely place plastic wrap over the top of the jar and then screw on the canning rim. I then place a small bowl/glass/cup on top of the plastic to force the blossoms under the vinegar. Tip: place a plate or bowl under just in case it gets spilled.

After two weeks, this is what you have:

Isn't that just the prettiest vinegar!


I hope you enjoyed your visit and have a great day!

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