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| Bananas Foster served over hemp-milk vanilla ice cream |
Actually I guess I do because this post is short and contains no recipes. Dinner had aspirations of a salmon baked in pesto, served with oven-roasted vegetables. The corner store (while not technically on a corner, it satisfies all other requirements) failed to deliver. While an impressive selection of dried foods is admirable, the only meat they had suitable for cooking was chicken.
Also, being me, I like trying to make my sauces from scratch. Pesto from scratch isn't bad under the assumption you have either a mortar and pestle, or a food processor. Otherwise just buy it pre-made. Trust me.
To pair with chicken, potatoes, carrots, and onion was deemed sufficient. Potatoes because they are delicious, onion because seriously have you never roasted an onion? Stop reading and go do it. It is amazing. I think the carrots were for color.
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| Pesto chicken, roasted veggies |
Basil Pesto (makes enough for 2 peoples chicken)
- 1 bunch of basil leaves
- 1 clove garlic
- dash of olive oil
- dash of salt
- pine nuts
Finely chop the basil and the garlic. The fineness is a function of your obsessive-compulsive tendencies and patience, but think of nori flakes or dried herbs for a size guideline. In a mortar and pestle, add a splash of olive oil, 1/4 of the garlic, and 1/4 of the basil. Mash this for a few minutes and taste. Here you decide if the 1-1 ratio of basil and garlic is good or not. The mixture should look too liquidy to be pesto right now - if it isn't, add a bit more olive oil. After deciding your ratio, continue adding in basil and garlic until you've used up all of one or the other. Remember this ratio for next time. When you have a decent consistency, add a dash of salt and 10-ish pine nuts , mashing them in. Taste and serve (or add more pine nuts/salt but don't forget to serve).
Oven Roasted Veggies (serves 2)
- 4 small potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 stalks rosemary
- dash of salt
- dash of pepper
- dash of olive oil
Preheat oven to 425. Slice the potatoes, carrots, and onions into approximately thumb-sized pieces. Place in a oven-safe dish so they aren't stacked up, toss in some olive oil and stir everything around. After adding a coat of olive oil, add the seasonings. Put in oven, covered, for 20 minutes, stir, and cook for 20-30 more minutes (until the potatoes are soft, the carrots are slightly crispy, and some of the onion has carmelized).
Pesto Chicken (serves 2)
- 1 recipe pesto, above
- 1 chicken breast
- pine nuts
- lemon juice
Preheat oven to 425. Cover chicken breast in pesto, squirt lemon juice on it, and add some pine nuts. Put it in the oven, covered, for 20-25 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for 10 more minutes. Really, did I need to write that recipe out for you?
Bananas Foster (serves 4)
- 2 bananas, cut in half down the middle then lengthwise
- 1/4 cup butter (half a stick)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons rum
- vanilla ice cream
In a pan on the lowest heat your stove can manage, melt the stick of butter. Slowly add in the brown sugar and raise the heat to medium-high. Once the sugar has been incorporated, add in the bananas. Cook this for a few minutes - the bananas should brown but not fall apart (yet). Remove from heat, throw in the rum, return to heat. Wait for it to light on fire. Try and get it to lite on fire by tilting the pan and exposing the rum to the side of it. Be disappointed that nothing burst into flames.
Immediately serve over two scoops of ice cream by removing the bananas, then drizzling the remaining sauce on top. Eat immediately. If you let it cool, you have ruined the dish and missed out on delicious.
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