Basil Lime Pesto

Basil Lime Pesto
basil
cilantro
olive oil
4 limes, zest and juice
salt and pepper

Blend all together until smooth. I combined cilantro with the basil for some extra smoothness, since the basil was particularly fibrous, and also so the flavor would not be so strong.

Grilled Swordfish with Grilled Ratatouille

• Honey coconut marinated swordfish, grilled
• Grilled ratatouille with eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, green peppers, red peppers, red onion, and green onion
• Garlic and herb roasted baby red potatoes
• Basil lime pesto
• Purple basil garnish

Lemon Dill Pesto

"Pesto" to me basically refers to a sauce, dip, or condiment made from fresh blended green herbs with some oil and seasoning and flavorings. Sometimes it has nuts, sometimes not. Sometimes it has garlic, sometimes Parmesan cheese. Sometimes other exotic ingredients. And I rarely use basil as my herb, as is traditional. This is a version I developed to go with fish. It is fresh, vibrant, and quite delicious!

Lemon Dill Pesto
1 cup toasted cashews
1 bunch fresh dill
2 cups parsley leaves
zest of 2 lemons
juice of 4 lemons
1/4 - 1/2 up olive oil
2 Tablespoons honey
salt and pepper, to taste

Process the cashews in a food processor and process until smooth and buttery. Add the dill, followed by the parsley, juice, and zest. Stream in oil until the desired consistency is reached, then season to taste with honey, salt, and pepper.

Catch Of The Day

Here is my catch of the day dish from the restaurant tonight.
Butter poached trout, hasselback potatoes, balsamic-glazed dried tomato, sauteed yellow and green zucchini, wild chanterelles, lemon dill pesto, and sprouts. 
I was very proud of myself for butchering, skinning, and filleting the five whole fresh local trout we got in for the dish. 
The dish sold very well and got really good feedback. I actually managed to execute it well during service time to only require two burners and about seven minutes from fire to plating.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Pesto is traditionally made of toasted pine nuts, fresh basil, garlic, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. However, I refer to pesto as any combination of a fresh herb, raw or toasted nut, any type of oil, any different seasonings. 

For this pesto though, we got in a big batch of fresh garlic scapes. I blended them up really well for a while, as they are quite fibrous, and then added toasted cashews, oil, salt, and pepper. I actually didn't use any herbs at all, though some could easily be added for another flavor profile. Because there are no herbs, the garlic flavor is quite strong, so a little goes a long way. Mix the pesto with a little mayonnaise though and you've got yourself a great dip!

Cheddar and Garlic Scape Tartlets

Homemade puff pastry tartlet
Garlic scape pesto
Locally made cheddar cheese
Roasted sweet cherry tomato
Balsamic drizzle
Fresh basil

Slice the tart in half horizontally. Spread the inside with garlic scape pesto.
Top with the cheese, Toast in the oven.
Top with another dollop of pesto.
To roast the tomatoes, toss in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast just until skin is blistered.
Top the tart with a cherry tomato, drizzle with balsamic reduction, and top with a basil leaf.

Cilantro Walnut Pesto

Sure, pesto is supposed to consist of basil and pine nuts and even contain some garlic and Parmesan cheese. Forget about the rules, I have made pesto with many different herbs. Whatever herb I have left lying around, no longer in its prime state, is what I use to make pesto. Also whatever nut I have on hand. Pine nuts are crazy expensive and not that tasty in flavor. Also whatever oil is nearest; doesn't have to be olive. Basically for me pesto = nut pureed with oil + herb + seasoning, That's it. And it's delicious every time. 

one bunch leftover cilantro
one handful walnuts
a few drizzles of oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Blender, food processor, robo coup, mortar and pestle, really good potato masher - whatever you've got!

On The Fly Pork Dinner

Seared pork tenderloin, Creamy potato gratin, Roasted broccoli and zucchini, Crispy onions, Cilantro walnut pesto, Mushroom maple sauce.

All prepared within an hour using a small, limited kitchen and some random ingredients bought at the store plus a small pantry supply. It isn't complicated or time consuming to make some really tasty, balanced, meals at home. I will be sharing the individual components of this dish in the coming week.

Exploring The City

Today I did a big walking tour of the downtown city area. I got to see lots of sights - historical structures, buildings of interest, nature sights, shops, restaurants, businesses, cultural hubs, and so much more!

Mountains still in view

Big city hotel

View out the sky train window

home cooked supper

I also cooked dinner at the house tonight which was fun to use a kitchen I wasn't familiar with and had limited equipment/pantry. I kind of made the meal up on the fly using a few key ingredients and came up with this...
Seared pork tenderloin, Creamy potato gratin, Roasted broccoli and zucchini, Crispy onions, Cilantro walnut pesto, Mushroom maple sauce.

Caille en Sarcophage

Here is the main course I made for my black box exam: Pan Roasted Truffle-Scented Quail with Crisp Puff Pastry, Rosemary Mushroom Jus Lié, Glazed Carrot Curls, Cilantro Pesto.

I found the inspiration for this dish online, which means "Quail in Cage" and refers to a fancy, expensive version of quail sitting in puff pastry. 

I made my own puff pastry shells.

For the quail, I stuffed it with foie gras, seasoned it with salt and pepper, pan seared it, roasted it, and finished it with truffle oil. I didn't bother tying the legs up or anything.

For the sauce I made a quick rosemary and mushroom jus lie by sweating mushrooms in red wine, and reducing it with jus and rosemary.

On the side, I made a butternut squash puree and cilantro parmesan pesto for the plate, and butter-poached carrot curls.

Roasted Vegetable Tartlet

Components:
Rosemary and Thyme Pie Crust
Lemongrass Hummus
Roasted Carrots, Parsnip, and Zucchni
Smoked Oyster Mushroom
Grilled Sweet Peppers
Pesto
Vegan Goat Cheese

The tart shell is a basic pie crust recipe baked in a muffin tin, but it is made vegan by using oil in place of butter.
The tart shell is filled with a hummus flavored with lemongrass paste.
The vegetables are simply thinly sliced and roasted in the oven with oil, salt, and pepper.
This is topped with a smoked oyster mushroom. 
The vegan goat cheese is an awesome recipe I came across that uses cashews, and is flavored with lemon juice and herbs.

Basil Mozza Bites

Spiced pine nut brittle + basil cashew butter + vegan cheese + balsamic caviar pearls = awesome vegan hors d'oeuvre. 

To make this hors d'oeuvre, I first caramelized some sugar, then added toasted pine nuts and some spices and hot sauce to cut the sweetness. I let this harden into brittle and broke it into small, irregular pieces. I topped it with a 'buttery' spread I made from pulsing cashews into cream and adding fresh basil and seasonings. I spread some vegan mozzarella cheese on top. This was my first time making vegan mozzarella cheese and I must say, I really like it. Some vegan cheeses are good, some not so good, some are good but aren't very 'cheesy'. This one was very close to fresh mozzarella; composed of coconut milk, flavored mozzarella with coconut vinegar, and thickened with tapioca and xanthan gum. I then topped with one of my favorite molecular gastronomy tricks - one I have used before and could eat like candy - balsamic 'caviar' pearls.

Provençal Vegetable Gâteau

This is a vegetarian special I came up with. It's visually appealing and quite tasty. Vegan and very nutritious.

Provençal Vegetable Gâteau
thinly sliced red onion (use a mandolin)
thinly sliced zucchini (use a mandolin)
thinly sliced tomato (use a mandolin)
salt, pepper, and oil, to taste
arugula pesto
oven-roasted cherry tomatoes
candied nuts

To assemble these gâteaux, I laid my three vegetables out in containers in front of me and chose an appropriately-sized round ring mold. I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper, and assembled the gâteaux, one at a time, If you have several identical ring molds, you can be more efficient and assemble a few at a time. 

I did my layers like this: red onion, zucchini, tomato, red onion, zucchini tomato, red onion zucchini. I used around 5-6 sliced of vegetables for each layer, depending on size. You could do more or less layers, depending upon how high you would like your vegetable stacks to be. 

To serve: gently use a flat spatula to transfer to a parchment-lined dish. Season with salt, pepper, and oil. Bake at 400◦F until heated through and vegetables are softened and tender. 
I served with arugula pesto drizzled around, seasoned oven-roasted tomatoes, and candied nuts. 

Egg Pesto Cheese Sandwich

Here is a warm, vegetarian sandwich - nothing particularly special but something a little different and definitely tasty. Here I have two toasted slices of homemade onion walnut wheat bread. I then topped it with some of my homemade parsley cashew pesto. Next I seasoned with salt and pepper and sliced some cheese on top, as well as adding a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Then I quickly 'scrambled' an egg in the microwave. I arranged all of these ingredients artistically on top of my bread, and popped the entire thing back in the toaster oven until warm and the cheese was melted. This can easily be served as an open-face sandwich, but it can also be stacked as a sandwich, wrapped in tin foil, and kept warm for a little while until ready to eat or deliver. This way, you can enjoy a hot sandwich on the go! 

Parsley Cashew Pesto

One day not too long ago, I adverted a mini crisis. You see, it is difficult to garnish a soup with pesto if you have no basil on hand to make the pesto. Since there was plenty of parsley on hand, I decided why not try parsley pesto? Traditionally, pesto is made with basil and pine nuts and Parmesan cheese, but now you see recipes specifically titled 'basil pesto' because many other herbs are common as well. The truth is, basil is a grainy green sauce. I came up with this recipe on a whim, and ingredient amounts certainly are not exact, as I just eyeballed them and adjusted as needed. More olive oil can certainly be added for a smoother consistency. So try making a pesto with any type, or a combination of, fresh herbs and/or leafy greens such as spinach. Try any type of nut, and any type of finely grated cheese. I like to leave the cheese out altogether and substitute flax or wheat germ for added nutrition. Although I think olive oil provides the best flavor, certainly another oil could be used. Try other spices instead of just pepper as well.

Parsley Cashew Pesto
1 bunch fresh parsley, leaves only (about 2 cups loosely packed)
1/3 cup cashew nuts (roasted and salted are fine, if unsalted just add more seasoning to taste)
2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed or wheat germ
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Process the parsley, nuts, garlic, and flaxseed in a food processor until nuts are finely chopped and ingredients are combined. With the processor running on low, slowly stream in the olive oil. Taste, and season as desired.