Green is Good: Basil Pesto!

When basil is abundant I add it to a food processor with olive oil and a little salt.  The paste is frozen in ice cube trays until solid and then transferred to ziplock bags.  The cubes will keep in the freezer for months. 

Pasta with Pesto Sauce:

Garlic and pine nuts are heated until golden in olive oil and then a few cubes of basil are added and heated just until defrosted.  Toss with al dente pasta and freshly grated Parmigianno cheese.  Quick and delicious.

Vitiano - A Blended Red

This 2010 Vitiano is a blend of Merlot, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon.  For under $10 a bottle, it is light and tasty!

DOC White Wine- Inexpensive!!

This Ruffino 2011 Orvieto Classico DOC wine was only $7.77 at Pascale's Liquors in Liverpool.  It was a dry, delicious blend of 50% Grechetto, 30% Procanico, 10% Verdello and 10% Canaiolo Bianco.  Great for summer and well worth the price!

Quick Shrimp Dinner- Ready in 25 minutes

The Rice:
Onions were browned in olive oil with red pepper flakes and salt, then added  1 part short grain white rice to two parts water and brought it to a boil.  The rice was covered and simmered on low for 20 minutes.  During that time I prepared the shrimp and crab cake appetizer. 

The Shrimp:

Onions and garlic were sweated then white wine, parsley and peeled and deveined Wood's Fisheries Wild American Florida white shrimp (Wegman's Frozen) were added for just 3 minutes.  During the last minute one diced fresh tomato was added.

Ultimate Crab Cakes

These are "Handy" Ultimate Crab Cakes from BJ's.  They are browned on the stove in olive oil and then the pan is wiped clean and then put in a 400 degree oven for 6 minutes. Fantastic!

Cockles for That Special Lunch

A fresh clam sauce with cockles, clam strips, scallions, garlic and parsley.  Once the garlic was golden, a little rose was reduced then the other ingredients were added and all steamed together for 10 minutes.  The Wegman's in Dewitt never disappoints in the seafood section.

Yippee-Ki-Yay

This "Cowboy" veal chop was also found at the Dewitt Wegman's!  It was dried for the day and then grilled.

Dewitt Wegman's Has Speck!

Speck and Rosette de Lyon before dinner, what a treat!  Wegman's in Dewitt has some really wonderful meats!

Shrimp on the BBQ

This shrimp is coated with a flour, cayenne, oil and salt batter and then grilled.

Leftovers? What to do? Why a Frittata of course!

Left over fried potato wedges and corn are the foundation for this frittata.  3 earns of corn (removed from cob), 3 eggs, 1 cup of fried potato pieces, scallions, small cubed cheddar and a little pastrami. Wonderful!

Old Fashioned Fish Fry

Fried haddock with all the sides made for a delicious dinner. Fried potato wedges and freshly made tartar sauce!

Cookie Cake with Peanut M&Ms

This chocolate chip cookie cake was topped with peanut M&Ms to make it extra satisfying!

Octopus Before and After

Nichol's Grocery Store in the village had this beautiful octopus.  We simmered it for an hour and then grilled it!

BBQ Ribs

BJ's double pork rib package is great for 6 people to feast on. The ribs are braised in the oven for 3 hours and then topped with your favorite BBQ* sauce and grilled.  Mixing the BBQ sauce with a little Bourbon, honey and Redhot makes it even better!

So, we ate the lobster tails, but what to do with the rest of it?

Why, make sauce, of course!

Yesterday's Lobster is Today's Lobster Roll

No caption needed!

Lobster: It's What's for Dinner!

Steamed lobster makes for a quick dinner! We served it with a side of microwave baked potatoes topped with a yogurt dill sauce, fresh corn on the cob and melted butter- it was ready to eat in less than 20 minutes!

Seafood Pasta

This spaghetti dish is served with shrimp, squid and scallops in a light tomato sauce. Delicious and simple!

Sausage Ravioli

These are homemade semolina ravioli filled with Italian sausage, baby bella mushrooms, spinach, onion and garlic. We sauteed the filling ingredients first, and then we pulsed them in the food processor. The ravioli are topped with a light basil sauce, toasted pine nuts, and chopped fresh tomatoes. Yum!

Cinnamon Buns with Pecans

Today we made cinnamon buns. The trick to making them light and fluffy is to not over-mix the dough. Our recipe comes from a hodgepodge of cookbook, cooking show, and trial-and-error techniques. The kitchen smelled so good when these buns came out of the oven!