One skill that I believe every man should have is cooking. Gone are the days when the women are expected to prepare meals and know how to cook. Gone are the days where men can be too proud and not enter a kitchen to prepare a meal. In our current time, cooking is a skill that must be mastered, by both men and women, but I'll be honest...if a man can cook, women really like that.


On my page I'm going to share some of my favorite recipes. I've gotten recipes from all over; websites, cook books, family recipes, or even a few from my days working in the Service Deli at Costco when things were actually made, and not just "put-together," from scratch.


So I hope you enjoy some of the things that I share. I'll try to link recipes if I get them from somewhere online, or provide any personal recipes to the best of my abilities. So check back every so often for some new things. Or, if you have something that you'd like me to try out, send it to me, and I'll give it a try along with a review.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Pesto for Two

One of my favorite things is Pesto. You can always by it in the markets, but I find that making it fresh always tastes best. Now I'm going to share a couple of recipes here, but they all fit in the same theme, Pesto.


If you search the web for pesto recipe, you're going to get a bunch of hits, but the basic recipe is generally the same, with a few changes here and there.


Basic Pesto Sauce


1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
3 cloves garlic
2 cups fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1 dash salt and pepper


Food Processor
Add the garlic to the food processor and mince. Next, add the basil leaves, pine nuts, and a dash of salt and pepper to the bowl of the processor. While the processor is running, slowly drizzle in olive oil through the feed tube until all the ingredients are pureed.


You may need to stop the processor at this point and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula to get every mixed together. Now add Parmesan cheese and mix it into the rest of the mixture. If the pesto is too thick, add a tablespoon of water.

Blender
Add all the ingredients (except salt and pepper) into a blender in the order above. Start the blender off at a slower setting then increase to the second to the fastest speed. Blend for about a minute.


You should have enough sauce to cover about 1 pound of pasta. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to use it. This should keep for 2 - 3 days in the fridge but freezes well if you want to keep it longer.


Now that you have the pesto, you can make the meal, which consists of two three parts, the Pasta, the Veggies, and the Salmon.


Pasta is the simplest part...just cook it according to the directions on the package. Veggies as simple as well. I recommend a squash medley of some sort.


The salmon is what would/could take the most time to prep.


Pesto Salmon


1 Salmon Filet
1/4 cup of Pesto Sauce (just made)
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 stick of butter
1 Lemon (or Lime)
Fresh Dill
salt and pepper


Pesto Butter
Take the butter and pesto and put it into a mixer. Mix until pesto and butter is thoroughly mixed. Set aside in the refrigerator.


Once you have made the Pesto Butter you can finish this dish. Take your salmon filet and place in a bake safe dish. For those that don't bake on a regular basis, the disposable trays. Pre-heat the over to 350ยบ. While the oven is heating, sprinkle the salmon with the parsley flakes, salt and pepper. Place a lemon slice on the the filet along with the dill.


Cook covered with foil for about 20 minutes (or until cooked to desired).


Sever the salmon with the pasta and veggies on the side. Enjoy.

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