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Must Read: Pestos, Tapenades, & Spreads

YumSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:00:48 -0800

Much like PartySugar, I'll be paying special attention to the oft-neglected starters when I host this year's Thanksgiving meal. I've not yet determined what they'll be: should I serve soup? Dip in a bread bowl? So I am excited for a new book, Pestos, Tapenades, & Spreads ($17) by Stacey Printz, which offers up an array of spreads to serve when entertaining on the run. Were its offerings worthy of being on the Thanksgiving table? Find out when you read more.

Mac Attack! Goat Cheese and Pesto

YumSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:15:41 -0700

You love pesto, I love pesto! I have to admit I was giddy when I found a recipe that combines the comfort of mac and cheese with pesto. It also uses another one of my favorites, goat cheese. Since I had already eaten a lot of elbow macaroni, I picked up a box of orecchiette. They are said to be shaped like small ears, but I think they look more like little bowls; a perfect vessel to fill with sauce!

The combination of goat cheese, Parmesan, and pesto is insanely creamy. For a great crunch and texture, the mac and cheese is topped with panko. Rather than make a big pan, I cooked it in easy-to-serve individual ramekins. With a little planning this recipe won't take much longer than a box of Kraft - except it's a million times more rewarding. If you want to wow your friends and family with scrumptious mac and cheese, keep reading!

Pesto: Love It or Hate It?

partysugar — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 04:00:16 -0700

One of the things I'm going to miss most about Summer is homemade fresh pesto. I just can't get enough of it: I love it on everything from pasta to seafood to sandwiches. However, with its green color and pungent raw garlic, pesto is not enjoyed by everyone. Take my mother, for example; she's crazy about basil but hates pesto. Even though I say, "Mom, pesto is basically liquid basil," she still doesn't like the classic Italian sauce. How about you?

Source: Flickr User foodistablog

Yummy Links: From Nirvino's Wine App to Eater's Expansion

partysugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:50:56 -0700

Introducing the newest must-have wine application for your iPhone. - Nirvino
Fabio Viviani's cookbook by the numbers. - Eat Me Daily
Here are 21 tasty bar snack recipes. - Chow
Everything you need to know about buying sustainable seafood. - Sunset
Eight common fast foods you should avoid. - SF Weekly
Michael Pollan's next mission: reform health care. - Grub Street
The real reason Hector was kicked off of Top Chef? His thermometer didn't work.- The Feedbag
Is it OK to serve pesto at a dinner party? - The Epi-Log
This lavender honey spice cake is seriously Italian. - Serious Eats
Eater is expanding and looking for bloggers/photographers in a city near you. - Eater

Fast & Easy Dinner: Vegan Burger

partysugar — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:50:56 -0700

This recipe makes ingenious use of portabello mushrooms. An all-too-expected ingredient in unsophisticated vegetarian cuisine, the portabello mushroom often replaces a burger patty. Not so with this burger.

Instead, two mushroom caps take place of the bun, and sandwich an assortment of grilled veggies. Like all good burgers, the condiments are not forgotten - in this case, the "buns" are coated with pesto and balsamic vinegar. If this recipe sounds interesting to you, get it now and read more.

Vegan Burger
Modified from The Nest

Ingredients

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon very finely chopped garlic
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 large portobello mushrooms, 31/2 to 4 inches in diameter
1 pound fat zucchini (about 2 inches in diameter), preferably both yellow and green ones, cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds
1 pound plum tomatoes, thickly sliced
2 large red bell peppers, cut into 1 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 large (about 1 pound) purple eggplant cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds (about 8 slices)
4 large handfuls arugula
About 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
About 1/3 cup Pesto (Store bought or homemade)

Directions

Build a medium-hot fire in a barbecue. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1 cup of olive oil, thyme, rosemary, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.
Scrape the gills from the portobellos and arrange them on a rimmed baking sheet. Add the zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, and eggplant to the baking sheet. Brush all the vegetables with the herbed oil.
Brush the grill rack with olive oil, transfer the vegetables to the grill, and cook, turning as needed and being careful not to let the olive oil flame up, until tender. The zucchini and tomatoes will be done first, needing just 2 to 3 minutes per side. The peppers will be done next. If you have been careful to just brown them, they will not need to be peeled. The mushrooms and fresh eggplant will need about 5 minutes per side.
In a medium bowl, toss the arugula with some of the remaining herbed olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Taste for seasoning and set aside.
To build the burgers, generously spread the gill side of 4 mushrooms with pesto. Top with yellow zucchini, several tomato slices, green zucchini, eggplant slices, and several strips of bell pepper. Drizzle another small spoonful of pesto over all and close with another mushroom. Arrange some of the arugula salad on the side and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

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Sunday BBQ: Grilled Gruyere & Zucchini Pesto Sandwiches

YumSugar — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 06:00:48 -0700

Although I had beef with Quizno's Toasty Bullet subs, I really enjoyed the Pesto Turkey flavor. The anise-tinged flecks of basil and pine nut reminded me how much I love spreading a little bit of pesto in sandwiches. And ever since PartySugar made better-than-store bought homemade pesto, I've been inspired to incorporate the same elements into dinners I savor at home.

Everything's coming together this weekend, when I light the coals to make these basic - but far from blasé - zucchini grilled cheeses. They're a snap to put together, and perfect for my vegetarian friends. See the recipe.

The Basics: Pesto

partysugar — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:15:17 -0700

When basil is in season, I can't make enough pesto. The classic Italian sauce native to Genoa tastes delicious on everything from pasta to pizza to grilled fish. It's excellent stirred into salads or slathered on sandwich bread. Although store-made pesto is widely available, it's easy to make. Pesto is simply an uncooked paste consisting of fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil. It can be made with a mortar and pestle or in a food processor. Once you have mastered the basic recipe, you can get creative with other herb, nut, and cheese combinations. To learn the basic technique, read more.

Pesto
From Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 garlic clove, peeled
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
1/2 to 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

In a blender or food processor, pulse the basil, pine nuts, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until finely chopped.
With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil until the mixture forms a smooth and thick consistency. Add the Parmesan and pulse until combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Makes 1-1 1/2 cups.

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'Wich of the Week: Goat Cheese With Avocado and Celery

YumSugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:30:47 -0700

After enjoying my fair share of sandwiches at 'Wichcraft, I brought the yumminess home by whipping up one of the recipes from Tom Colicchio and Sisha Ortuzar's 'Wichcraft cookbook. Inspired by a salad popular in Ortuzar's native Chile, this celery, avocado, and goat cheese concoction looked easy, summery, and delicious. Plus, it's not on 'Wichcraft's menu, and I was intrigued by the use of celery in a sandwich. See how it turned out and get the easy recipe.

Simple Tip: Microplane Garlic

partysugar — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:15:38 -0700

While watching Nancy Silverton make pesto in Aspen, I had one of those "why didn't I think of that" moments. To quickly season the celery leaf pesto, Silverton grated in garlic. However, instead of using her regular one-sided grater, she microplaned it: "I like to microplane my garlic. It's so much easier than chopping it." Over the weekend, I experimented with her technique and was delighted by the results. It's a quick and simple way to infuse a dish with lots of garlic flavor and it doesn't require the hand strength of a garlic press. Genius! Have you ever grated or microplaned garlic?

Say Cheese! Fresh Mozzarella, Italian Sausage Calzones

partysugar — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:26:33 -0700

Mozzarella is a widely known, mild Italian cheese that's made from a pulling, stretching, and cutting technique. At one time, all mozzarella was made from water buffalo milk, but now it's commonly made with cow's milk. Fresh mozzarella is packaged in water or whey and has a soft texture and delicate flavor. It's delicious alone, in a salad (like caprese) or melted. To find out how I used my fresh mozzarella boconccini, read more.

My first thought was to make a classic pizza margherita, but since I've never experimented with calzones, I decided to tuck the chunks of mozzarella into a pizza pocket.

This recipe is straightforward and can easily be adapted to your culinary specifications. That being said, I followed the recipe exactly, and it was wonderful! The combination of fragrant sausage, garlicky pesto, sweet peppers, and oozing cheese is utterly sublime. I made the components (roasted garlic, spicy tomato sauce, and pesto) from scratch, but feel free to take help from the supermarket.

Fresh Mozzarella, Italian Sausage Calzones
From Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients

1 ball of basic pizza dough (enough dough for 1 pizza)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and white pepper
1/2 cup thick pesto
1/2 cup roasted garlic
1 cup diced Italian sausage, cooked
1 red pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and julienned
2 tablespoons chiffonade of basil
4 (1/2-inch) slices of fresh Mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 cup spicy tomato sauce, hot

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Place the dough out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out to form a 12-inch circle.
Spread the pesto over one half of the dough. Layer the garlic, sausage, peppers, and basil, alternately over the pesto.
Lay the Mozzarella and parmesan cheese over the basil. Fold the other side of the dough over the filling and pinch the edges to seal the calzone.
Make three slashes across the top of the calzone. Place the calzone on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the calzone with the egg wash.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Spoon the sauce in the center of the plate. Slice the calzone in half and place in the center of the sauce. Alternately, spoon the sauce into a bowl and serve with the calzone.

Serves 2.

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