Tag Archives: Basil

Classic Basil Pesto

Last year I was so jealous my sister had a beautiful bountiful basil plant. I had started it in a basket hanging basket for her for Mother’s Day but she took it out and planted it in her garden. While mine remained in my basket hanger and barely grew a few inches. Her plant was beautiful! The first thing I taught her to make with her basil was pesto!!
I learned my lesson this year I planted our basil plant in an herb garden. Wow this year our basil plant is large and in charge, like my sister’s plant last year. I have made pesto a couple times this season. My husband loves it! So I thought I’d share the recipe this time. It is super simple. I plan on freezing some for the winter as well that is if it lasts.

It’s recipe yields about 1 1/2 cups of fresh pesto

Ingredients:

4 cups of fresh basil

1/2 cup of lightly toasted pinenuts

1/2 cup of extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup of freshly grated Romano Locatelli D.O.C. cheese

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly grated Black pepper

7 small fresh cloves of garlic (ours are small from our garden)

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients except for the olive oil in a food processor. Pulse until pureed.

2. Drizzle of olive oil while the food processor is pulsing.

3. Enjoy on some homemade bread or pasta!

Homemade Beer Bread

Everyone knows I love Penzey’s Spices! I received their quarterly catalog, Winter 2014, last week. I always at least make 2 to 3 recipes out of the magazine. I’m never disappointed! This beer bread recipe is on page 25 or on Penzey’s website. I decreased the butter amount significantly! Yikes the original was a little out of line with using 1/2 a stick.

Ingredients:
3 cups of AP Flour
1 1/2 TB kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 TB sugar
1/2 tsp dried Basil
1 12 oz bottle of light beer (room temperature)

Topping: optional

2 TB melted butter
1/4 tsp ground granulated garlic powder

Makes 12 slices of bread

Preheat oven to 350 degree and spray with cooking spray a 5 by 9″ bread pan.

2. Place in large bowl flour, salt, baking soda, Basil, and sugar.

3. Mix together using spatula. Add beer.

4. Mix together to incorporate dry and wet ingredients. Be careful not to over mix.

5. Add wet batter to cooking sprayed bread pan.

6. Bake for an hour to an hour in 5 minutes.

7. Set bread in pan on wire rack. And take butter in a small dish and melt in microwave mix garlic in. Brush garlic butter on warm bread. Add as much or as little as you would like

Let cool and cut into slices.

Enjoy!

Fresh Mozzarella and Basil Pizza

I am always looking for a new pizza dough recipe. I tweaked this one from Anne Burrell’s recipe in the June FN Magazine.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/grilled-pizzettas-with-parmigiano-prosciutto-and-arugula-and-with-taleggio-and-puttanesca-recipe/index.html.

Dough:

1 cup warm water
3 teaspoons dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar or honey
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil

1. Place yeast, sugar or honey and warm water in small bowl and set aside for 10 minutes or until foams.

2. In stand mixer place flours, salt, and form a well with the flour.

Pour oil in center

Attach dough hook and mix on low speed at first and slowly add the yeast mixture.

Knead mixture with dough hook until ball forms.

Place dough in a oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Let rise for and hour in a warm place.

Divide into 4 portions

Place in ziplock bags and let rise another hour.

Now is a good time to preheat oven with pizza stone in oven at 500 degrees.

After the oven has preheated for an hour. And dough has risen for second time throw extra dough in freezer for another day.

Roll dough out on lightly floured surface.

Place on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal to prevent sticking and toss onto baking stone. Bake for 2 minutes.

Pizza Topping Ingredients:

1/4 cup of pizza sauce
1-2 teaspoons of pasta sprinkle or Italian seasoning
4-5 slices (1/8 inch) Fresh Mozzarella (blotted to remove excess moisture)
6 leaves of fresh basil
Fig balsamic (optional)

Directions:

Sprinkle pasta sprinkle evenly on pizza crust.