Week of September 25th

We had SO much stuff going on over the past few weeks I can't even begin to describe it all.  Weddings, travel and all manner of craziness, but things have finally settled down enough that we can all breathe again.  Sort of.  For now.

Sunday - Chili a la Potato
Monday - buffalo chikin wraps with cheetos (I'm not proud of myself, ok?)
Tuesday - Spaghetti with Sockerooni sauce and arugula salad
Wednesday - fried rice with stir fried broccoli and snow peas
Thursday - potato, fennel and leek soup
Friday - grilling out (shrimp skewers, veggie burgers and asparagus spears with garlic in foil packets

Week of August 28th 2011

We're getting toward the end of grill season so we're grilling out as much as possible.  Also, we're somewhat influenced by baby girl again.  Not that I need an extra excuse to eat guacamole or anything.

Sunday - paninis and salad
Monday - quesadillas with guacamole
Tuesday - grilling out.  Sausage sandwiches with peppers and asparagus
Wednesday - pasta with artichoke hearts and lemon and spinach
Thursday - oven garlic fries and veggie burgers
Friday - homemade pizza

Not-Pesto Pesto

The root of the word 'pesto' means 'to pound'.  You know, like the mortar and pestle you're supposed to use to do this crap?  By hand?  For hours?

I'll take a moment so we can both stop laughing.

Broc's Not-Pesto Pesto

1 garlic clove
about an ounce of either asiago or parmesan cheese (a cubic inch is roughly an ounce).
1 cup fresh basil leaves, washed and dry
1 cup fresh baby spinach, washed and dry
1/4 cup pine nuts
olive oil
freshly ground pepper to taste

Throw everything into a food processor.  Tada.

Okay, I'll be more specific.  Start with the cheese and garlic because they chop easier before everything else joins the party.  Add everything else but the olive oil and a few of the pine nuts.  When everything is getting sort of smooth, add the olive oil until it reaches your favored consistency.  I prefer it kind of thick, almost like a spread or dip.  If you're feeling fancy, right before you're done, add the last few pine nuts at the very end and chop them only coarsely.

Makes enough sauce for 4 dinner-sized portions of pasta.

To make it into a pasta sauce, add a tablespoon or two of the pasta water and stir it up.  It'll turn a gorgeous bright green and get all fragrant like cheese and garlic.

The reason you add the spinach is for bulk (because unless you're growing it fresh basil gets pricey) and also because it helps keep the sauce green.  The magic of this sort of not really pesto is that, because it's not The Iconic Pesto, it's less intimidating to try different configurations.  I really like using walnuts and arugula for instance, especially if I'm adding some sherry vinegar and making a peppery vinaigrette to dress a warm potato salad.  You could also sub out the basil for chives or sage or parsley or any deciduous herb, really.  How awesome would a sage and pepitas pesto be on squash ravioli in fall?  

Very awesome.  The answer is very awesome.

Week of August 21st

Still hot.  The little one is starting to eat finger foods, so we're trying to help her by eating some of 'her' foods, like sweet potatoes.  We figure if she sees us eating it she'll understand it's food, because she stares us down when we eat but when we try to shovel rice cereal down her gullet she wants no part of it.  A few repeats this week, too.

Sunday - tacos with guacamole, salsa & chips
Monday - pesto tortellini
Tuesday - grits with stuff
Wednesday - quesadillas with sweet potatoes
Thursday - grill out (veggie burgers, chicken), spinach salads.
Friday - homemade pizzas

Flying Biscuit White Cheese Grits

There's a "new south" restaurant around Atlanta called The Flying Biscuit (website: http://www.flyingbiscuit.com/ ).  I say 'around Atlanta' because like many brilliant restaurants, it's already started a crawl toward franchising.  We've gone a few times, and the one thing we all adore is their Creamy Dreamy Grits.  I found a recipe online, but the proportions are kind of out of control, unless you're running a bed and breakfast or happen to be Jabba the Hutt.

Creamy Dreamy Grits

1 1/2 c water
 1/2 c half and half
1 tsp salt
1/2 c quick-cooking grits
1/4 c grated white cheddar cheese
1 tbsp butter
pepper to taste

Put the salt, water and half and half and pepper into a medium saucepan, and turn it on medium high until it starts to simmer.  Carefully add the grits, turn the heat to low and whisk fairly frequently, cooking 10 minutes or until the grits are tender. 

Whisk in the cheese until it's all melted in, then turn off the heat and whisk in the butter until the grits look shiny and smooth.  Let stand 5 minutes and then serve.  Makes for 4 smallish side dish portions or two large dinner-sized portions.

To reheat, put the grits back into the pot and add milk.  Heat very slowly and whisk frequently until smooth.

Looks like a fat lot of nothing, doesn't it.

You may have noticed I said 'two dinner-sized portions.'  The awesome thing about grits is that, like polenta or pasta or even bread, it serves as a killer canvas for more bold flavors.  This particular night I went with a kitchen sink of random veggies I had laying around... onions, sun-dried tomatoes, asparagus, artichoke hearts, and some zucchini.  Just plop it on top of a pile of these pillowy puppies and you're good to go.  Sliced sausage and shrimp is another good way to go, but almost anything will work as long as it goes well with creamy heaven.

To me though, the piece de resistance is that, if you add more cheese and do pretty much nothing else, this tastes like the creamiest most decadent mac and cheese you've ever eaten.  No futzing around with a roux or getting lots of pots dirty or turning on the oven.

Week of August 14th

We're starting off this week (and this blog!) with everyone in the house having a cold, so we're going a little nit non-traditional for a Georgia summer and adding things like soups. Sunny all week with almost no chance of rain, so a good week for grilling (if everyone didn't have infections).

Sunday - tomato soup with noodles
Monday - tacos
Tuesday - grill out (veggie burgers for me, chicken sausage for the hubs, and asparagus)
Wednesday - quesadillas (mushrooms and artichokes/leftover grilled crap) and spicy savory sweet potatoes
Thursday - grits with stuff on them
Friday - homemade pizza