Yummy Treat Tuesday: Basil Pesto

This version of Yummy Treat Tuesday is brought to you without helpful photos, other than this pretty shot of my Red Osmin Basi.  Sadly, I haven't been able to find an affordable source of pine nuts since last year, so I haven't made any yet in 2010!

• 2 cups basi (leaves, no stems)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese

Toast the pine nuts: drizzle a frying pan with a bit of oil, toss in the nuts, and shake them around in the pan until they’re brown. Dump into a bowl to cool.

Put basil, garlic, oil, and cooled nuts in your food processor, and let your chopping blade do it’s magic. Go for coarse, not liquidy.

Add oil and pulse until everything is well mixed.

If using immediately, pour the green good stuff (or purple if you've used purple basil) into a bowl and mix in the cheese.  Have a smackeral or two to make sure you don't prefer salt or pepper be added to the mix.

If freezing, hold off on adding the cheese until you're ready to use.

What is this good for?  My favorite use for basil pesto is a replacement for pizza sauce, with feta, kalamata olives, and artichoke toppings!  I also like it tossed with pasta, or thinned with olive oil and drizzled on bread, veggies, or as a spread on pita sandwiches. Mmmmmmm.....

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Yummy Treat Tuesday: Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Now this is my kind of comfort food.  When I was a kid, my mom made it all the time.  But, oddly, there aren’t a whole lot of recipes out there for this delish potato creation.  Actually, it’s probably because it takes so damn long.  But it’s so, so worth it! 

If, like me, you’re not much for the meat-eating but have kids who like ham, you can easily separate it out.  Otherwise, you can leave the meat out all together and the recipe won’t suffer.

NOTE: It’s take about 20 minutes to prepare this dish, and an addition 1.5 hours to cook.  Or, you can do what I do, and stick it in the crockpot on low for the day.

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

6 baking potatoes, peeled & sliced
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups milk
1 1/2 cups cooked chopped ham (or one package Morrell ham)
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1 onion

Preheat the oven to 350.

Peel and slice the potatoes.  You can use a food processor, but I think they're less starchy and gooey if you slice by hand.

First, the roux:

Melt the butter in a large & relatively deep saucepan over low heat.  Using a whisk, stir in the flour, salt and pepper.  Turn the heat up to medium-low, and cook, stirring constantly for a minute or two. 

Finish the sauce:

Turn the heat back to low, and slowly stir in the milk.  Turn the heat back up to medium-low, and let the sauce cook until thick and bubbly.

Stir in the ham and onion.  Slowly stir in 1/2 cup cheese.  Then, stir the sauce into the potatoes, and dump into a well-buttered pan.

Cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.  Take the foil off, and bake for an additional hour.  (About 10 minutes before you take it out, sprinkle the last 1/2 cup cheese over the top.)

Let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving, and enjoy the yummy goodness!

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Yummy Treat Tuesday: Cornmeal Pancakes

I'm not a big pancake fan, but these are simply fabulous!  A big hit with kids, too:)

Cornmeal Pancakes

Measure and place in a bowl:

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
  1-2 tablespoons honey (Can sub with sugar or syrup.)
  

Stir in slowly:

• 1 cup boiling water

Cover these ingredients and let stand for 10 minutes.  (I usually use the plate I'm going to flip the cooked pancakes onto for a cover.) In a large bowl, use a microwave to melt:  

• 2 tablespoons butter

Add:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg

Beat, then add to the cornmeal mixture.  At this point, I start heating a pan on low.   Mix together:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

Stir into the cormeal mixture with a few quick strokes.

  Using a dab of butter, grease the pan.  When it's hot enough to sizzle the butter without burning it (medium-low), pour 4" cakes.  When the bubbles in the batter start to not sink on themselves, flip and cook on the other side.

I top with honey, though you can use syrup if you prefer.

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