I wrote most of this some months ago. Sadly Mom passed away the day before my 34th birthday. Unfortunately I did not hear about it until the next day, shortly after I had become concerned because every birthday since I was seventeen my mother has called me to wish me a happy birthday.
Well, a short, but long seeming trip to Montana and a memorial service here on the Oregon coast later, I am back in my non native Oregon combating loss the only way I know how; with margaritas and one night stands...oh wait that was my mother. Bada-bing!
Was that bad taste? Probably, but I know mom would have enjoyed the joke.
In the sense of just keeping things going, I offer my post unedited (including "nasty mom jokes"). Enjoy, or not, like I give a rats botuckus.
My love of Italian food is as large as my waist! OK well maybe not that big, I still prefer French, but that is just a personal thing. Most people look at me like I am mad when I tell them that French is my favorite type of cuisine. The conversation usually goes something like this:
Me: “I like French cuisine.”
Someone else: “Eeeeww, you mean like frogs and snails and horsemeat?”
Me: “No, I mean like Chicken Marengo, Potatoes Anna, Crepes, Tortured Goose Liver Pate and Coquilles St. Jacques.”
Someone else: “Wasn’t Marengo the planet ruled by Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon”
Me: “No…That was Mongo. Marengo was a battle won by Napoleon in Piedmont 1800. ”
Someone else: “Oh, still sounds weird…Piedmont? Is that like feet stuff? Gross”
Me: “Your Moms’ gross.”
Someone else: “Dude, don’t talk about my Mom like that!”
Me: “Come on man, you know she’s nasty.”
Someone else: “Yeah, I know.”
All Nasty Mom’s aside here is a fairly quick dinner of ** courses for four marshmallowy peeps.
Penette Pasta with Cilantro Pesto
Chicken Parmesan
Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli
Pear, Goat Cheese and Walnut salad
Fresh Fruit Tarts
We started out with gorgonzola stuffed mushrooms which I posted last year (you can find the recipe here), though this year’s picture was a little better.
Then we moved on to a primi piatti of penette (mini penne) pasta with a cilantro pesto. Fresh tasting and perfect for summer or winter or fall or whenever you have a sack of cilantro in the fridge because you wanted to make salsa and it only took two tablespoons of the stuff.
Ingredients:
¾ Cup of green onions
1 Bunch of cilantro, washed and stems removed
¼ Cup of parsley
2 Cloves of garlic
3 Green onions
¼ Cup of blanched almonds ¼ Cup of Olive Oil
1/3 Cup of parmesan cheese
1 Teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon of red wine vinegar (to taste, I recommend starting out with a teaspoon)
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 Cups of hot cooked pennette pasta (or penne, ziti etc.)
How you do this thing?
Combine cilantro, parsley, garlic, green onions and almonds in a food processor or blender. Pulse a few times till well chopped. Add the Parmesan cheese, olive oil and vinegar, process till smooth, using a spatula to scrape down the sides as necessary. Transfer to a bowl and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste. To serve, toss with hot pasta.
This should serve four as a main course with a salad and some hot garlic bread on the side. If you choose to use it as a primi or small plate before a Tuscan steak or some other delightful Italian main dish or if you use it as a side dish it can stretch six to eight.
As far as beverage, a dry sparkling wine would be perfect (oh ye gods not Andre) a German Sekt is ideal. For the "Waht wine do I have in the cupboard?" crowd (which includes me most of the time) a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc is marvelous with the cilantro flavor. For red wine lovers a smooth Pinot Noir would accent the cheese and be marvelous if you are following or accompanying this with steak or pork.
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