Cilantro Peanut Pesto

The Homer Farmers' Market is in full swing and the vendors' booths are overflowing with green, delicious things. Lots of spinach, green onions, asian salad greens, and herbs, herbs, herbs! Tarragon, basil, dill, Italian parsley, and more. But what caught my eye last week was cilantro. Farmer Rob had big fluffy bunches of it that I could smell before I saw them. He harvests it with the roots still on and I was told by a chef that the pounded roots are a great flavoring for marinades. I haven't tried that yet but it's on my list. Now you either love cilantro or hate cilantro, it's one of those foods that has no middle ground. I happen to love it and I like to use it in much more than the usual salsa (though I could almost live on home-made salsa!). So I was thrilled to find this recipe in "Everyday Food", that great little food magazine put out by the Martha Stewart empire. I came across it a couple of years ago while thumbing through an issue at the dentist's office. I'm not saying that I sneakily and quietly ripped the recipe out of the magazine, but I am saying I went home with clean teeth, no cavities, and a new recipe to try. It has been one of my favorites ever since. I like to toss this pesto with whole wheat spaghetti and top with extra cilantro and chopped peanuts for a light dinner. You can make an amazing salad with soba noodles, cucumbers, green onions and this pesto plus a splash of rice wine vinegar. It's also great to slather on grilled fish or to use as a sauce for grilled chicken skewers.

Fresh Alaskan Grown Cilantro

CILANTRO PEANUT PESTO

1 bunch cilantro, washed and roughly chopped (you can use the stems, too)
1 clove garlic, smashed and peeled
3/4-inch piece ginger, peeled
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
2 to 3 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

In a food processor, combine all ingredients except soy sauce. Pulse until coarse paste forms. Season with soy sauce and pulse to combine. Toss with hot noodles and top with additional cilantro and peanuts.

Note: I always double or triple this recipe when I make it then freeze the extra in ice cube trays (see Spring Tonic Spinach Pesto, March 18th post).

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb-top Pie

Carter, my kitchen assistant

What good is it being a Grandma with a cooking blog if I can't sneak in a picture of my adorable grandson/kitchen assistant/future foodie once in a while? So here he is with our haul of giant rhubarb that we "borrowed" from our neighbor. I moved my rhubarb to a different spot last year and it has not come back in full force yet. So we went scouting around the neighborhood and noticed a huge plant in the yard next door almost hidden by horsetail and pushky (Alaska's two most invasive weeds). We went to the door to ask permission to harvest some, but they weren't home. Now because I know these neighbors pretty well, I told Carter that I was sure they wouldn't mind if we "borrowed" some and repaid them with a pie. So we made 2 pies and delivered one to them that evening (still warm and oh-so-fragrant). Needless to say, our neighbors were thrilled with the deal and invited us to harvest all the rhubarb we wanted!

We have been enjoying a full 2 weeks (gasp!) of absolutely gorgeous summer weather. Blue skies and warm temperatures (warm for us is 70 degrees, we Alaskans break a sweat at 75). Everyone is about 15 shades browner and healthier looking and vitamin D levels are skyrocketing! All this great weather has really made the rhubarb grow quickly and combine that with a great sale on strawberries at Safeway and you've got the perfect combination for one of our favorite summertime desserts.
P.S. This recipe is a mashup of 3 different recipes, I took aspects that I liked from each one. The orange zest is a must, it takes this pie to a whole new level of deliciousness. The crumb topping came about because I originally wanted to make a crisp but Carter wanted a pie, so we compromised. I strongly recommend a scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb-top Pie

Pastry for 9" pie (your favorite home-made or store-bought...I have to confess that I don't enjoy making pie crust so I often use store bought. My theory is that it's better to have a home-baked pie with store-bought crust than no pie at all!)

For the filling:
3 cups rhubarb, cut in 1/2" pieces
2 cups chopped strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1 1/4 cups sugar
grated zest of one orange
juice of 1/2 an orange
1/8 tsp. salt
3 Tablespoons flour
1 egg, beaten

For the topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, cold and cut into small cubes

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a 9'' pie plate with the pastry. In a large bowl, mix together all the filling ingredients, pour into pastry lined dish. Stir dry topping ingredients together in medium bowl then cut in butter with pastry cutter or two knives. The butter should be well distributed in the topping. Cover the filling with the topping, sprinkling evenly and to the edges. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes then turn oven down to 325 degrees and continue baking for an additional 30 to 40 minutes, until the topping is lightly browned and the filling is bubbling. Cool for about 30 minutes before cutting.

Garlic Parmesan Party Potatoes

I saw these potatoes somewhere (magazine? online? I've wracked my brain and cannot remember where!) and knew I had to someday try to make them. I think they were called "Hasselback Potatoes" though I don't know why and the only reason the name stuck with me was because it's so unusual. (hey, if anyone knows the origin of the name, I'd love to hear from you!)  They looked so fancy and fun, like something you'd serve at a party. I thought they would gussy up a simple roast or grilled chicken the way a row of ruffles elevates a simple black dress. Kind of like jazz hands for your plate, snazzy and unexpected, sure to "wow" your guests.
So then of course I got distracted with other things and forgot about them until I came upon a yellow sticky note under some stuff on my desk that simply read:

potatoes
peel
cut almost thru
drizzle w/oo & butter
salt & pepp
425, 40 min

Oh, yea...those potatoes I wanted to try! Just happened that I was grilling tri-tip steaks that night so I decided to give them a try. Now this is not so much a recipe as a technique. And I can tell you that the first batch gave me some trouble. Coating potatoes in butter then roasting at high heat fills the house with an unpleasant smoke from the burnt butter and makes a mess of the pan. Not a good idea. The next time I made them I used only olive oil (no butter!) and the results were much better. I decided to use Star Garlic Olive Oil and then amped up the garlic flavor by sliding slices of fresh garlic into the cuts in the potato. If you can find Star Garlic Olive Oil in your store, give it a try...it imparts a nutty, earthy garlic flavor to the potatoes and it's also great for roasting other root vegetables and also for dressing salads. These turned out to be not only delicious, but got lots of oohs and ahhs for their appearance. They take a little time, but are not hard to do, and would be great to roast in the oven alongside a nice cut of meat.

You will need:
Potatoes, one per person plus a couple extra. I used russet baking potatoes but just make sure they are not too big. Scrubbed and dried, but not peeled (even though the sticky note said peel, I didn't and I loved the way the skin got nice and crispy.)
Star Garlic Olive Oil
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
One clove of garlic per potato, peeled and sliced thin
One tablespoon Parmesan per potato, finely grated



Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Using a sharp knife, make slices into the potato at 1/8" intervals, almost but not all the way through.
Place on baking sheet and drizzle generously with Star Garlic O.O. and season with salt and pepper.
Roast for about 30 minutes, remove baking sheet from oven and carefully slide garlic slices into cuts in potatoes and drizzle with more Star Garlic O.O.
Roast for about 15 minutes more until potatoes are tender.
Sprinkle each with 1 Tbls. Parmesan, return to oven for 5 minutes.

Put on your party dress and serve.