Tonight we had a couple over for dinner and if I do say so myself, the meal was truly wonderful. I made sesame-pecan salmon (recipe is listed under "fish" to the right of this blog), Ceaser salad and sweet potatoes. ( I love The Neely's recipe for glazed sweet potatoes found on the Food Network sight.)
For appetizers I made little toasted crostinis (bought premade and already seasoned and crisped at Whole Foods) topped with a ricotta-goat cheese spread(1/2 & 1/2 mixed together with a sprinkle of grated parm) broiled... then let allowed guests to top with fresh homemade pesto or a little chopped basil-tomato (with a tiny dollop of Ceaser dressing mixed in) for bruchettas. This was my first attempt at making homemade pesto and I have no idea why I've not made it before because... it is wonderful. An immediate hit.
Soooooooo.... let me share that pesto recipe before I forget how I did it!
Two or 3 big (cup size) handfuls of fresh basil or a mixture of basil and fresh spinach (enough to loosely fill a blender or food processor)
1/2 c. pine nuts or walnuts or a mixture (I used a mixture and had to sub pecans for walnuts)
1/2 lemon squeezed
2 cloves fresh garlic
dash salt, pinch sugar
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
Mix all in food processor or good blender and as it is mixing, through the hole in the top pour approximately 1/2 c. olive oil or just enough to give it a nice thick pesto consistency.
Can serve as a spread on any kind of hot bread or as the topping for pasta.
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