[Dairy_Queen]

Rainey: I thought of you, personally when I posted that Fig and Berry dessert. You remind me of a close friend I had, who adored All.Things.Fig. She got me hooked on Fig Vinegar, Fig Jam, Fresh Figs...and Whole Foods Fig Newtons. She was the one that I'd make this for, and when she married and moved to Manhattan, I'd make it for new friends, in her memory.

I sure hope that you poor figs are on the mend; I do know how much you love them.

As long as I have my recipe books out, here's another favorite dessert I make with cinnamon basil.

CINNAMON BASIL CUSTARD

(This is also good with scented geranium leaves)

2 Cups of Milk

5 Stems of Cinnamon Basil (about 1 Cup of Leaves)

1/2 Cup of Maple Syrup (lately, I've been using Golden Treacle)

3 Large Eggs

1/4 Cup of Sugar

Boiling water for bain marie for custard

Heat the milk in a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Just before it reaches the boiling point, turn off the heat. Submerge the cinnamon basil stalks and leaves in the hot milk, cover the pan, and allow the basil to steep for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Divide the maple syrup or treacle equally between 5 individual custard cups, drizzling the syrup into the bottom of the cups. Beat the eggs slightly with the sugar. Reheat the milk and strain out the basil leaves and stems. Add the milk slowly to the egg mixture, 1/2 cup at a time so the eggs don't curdle and cook.

Stir until blended, then pour egg mixture THROUGH A SIEVE, while pouring it into the custard cups. This eliminates bubbles and any egg bits that aren't beaten. Place the cups in a pan, pull oven shelf out and place pan on shelf. Slowly pour the boiling/hot water into the pan; the water should be at least 1/2 of the way up the custard cups.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until knife inserted in custard comes out clean. Remove the cups from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Serves 5.
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Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
Groucho Marx

[madameshawshank]

Dairy_Queen ~ do you EVER rest? My god...the energy! Or are there clones at work
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"I've never accepted the external appearance of things as the whole truth. The world is much more elaborate than the nerves of our eye can tell us." - James Gleeson

[Erin]

I have never used a recipe for pesto, I do it all different ways. The traditional kind I love to mix with ricotta and eat on crostini. I make a sundried tomato basil pesto with pepitas that is thick and works as an amazing spread. I agree about the cilantro pestos, they are a very sunny tasting addition. Italian parsley pesto poured over tomatoes is so wonderful, when you want a fresh taste. Besides the traditional pesto I adore the French style pistou and love a giant bowl of soupe a pistou on a rainey day.
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"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

[Dairy_Queen]

[simona]

Pesto day is over, and it yelded 1.750 kg of pesto. I divided it in little jars and freezed all but one. Tomorrow, before the all meat independence day barbecue, I'll serve little baguette crostini with pesto,chopped tomatoes and a slice of mozarella as a tapas/appetizer.
There is no more room for other appetizers, as we are going to swallow kebobs ( the romanian version, which contain garlic), entrecotes( Beef steaks?), chops, chorizos, chicken breast skewers for the kids, hot dogs. Roasted baby potatoes and two salads will complement this carnivore feast. The first watermelon ,chocolate truffles and ice cream will be the desert. No wine, only beer.
DQ, MS, thanks . The words "no more war, no more bloodshed" were spoken by President Anouar Saadat on his historical visit to Israel in 1977. He paid with his life for this visit and the following peace treaty. I want to believe his wish will come true.

No more war

[JustMe]

Simona, and what time should we all arrive???
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Life is too short to drink cheap wine.

[simona]

At 1 p.m. JustMe and all, take the first turn left , then straight on untill you arrive at a little two-families cottage; we are the ones with lot of red geraniums on the porch. Kids are welcome.


No more war, more happy independence day for everybody!

[Judy]

And a very Happpy Independence Day to you, simona. Have a wonderful celebration!

[David]

My best wishes to simona! I enjoyed your Pesach feasts, I'll enjoy your independence day one as well!
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Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!

[elemenoh]

echoing everyone (and a day late, but shhh): Have a happy independence day, Simona! And if you have any leftovers from your feast, I wouldn't mind lending a hand finishing them off...

Meanwhile, I'm in love with sage recently. Has anyone tried a sage pesto?

[simona]

Many thanks to all of you for you warm wishes. It was a beautiful late spring day, not too hot yet, and the house was full of children's voices and barbecue smells. Sorry you've missed it, but there is always next year .
Going back to the topic of this post, next week we will be in the motherland of pesto for 10 days ( Umbria and Milan) , and I'm starving myself ( literally) so as to make place for the extra pounds I'll certainly gain in this eden of gastronomy. I hope I'll have some good addresses to share with you when back.

No more war, more happy independence days to the people of the world!

[eileen]

mmmmmmmmmm.....pesto, a perfect food.

elemenoh, i've never tried sage pesto.
what i did last summer was deep-fry sage leaves in a beer batter. sublime.
would love some other sage ideas.
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eileen

[JustMe]

[Dairy_Queen]

Yahoo! I just got in the mail today, courtesy of Amazon, VERY PESTO, a marvelous wee booklet/book on....pesto!

Here's the editorial review of the book:

Book Description
Traditionally a paste of fresh basil leaves, garlic, olive oil, Parmesan, and pine nuts, pesto has come a long way since its humble beginnings in Genoa, Italy. Over the years, cooks have experimented with pesto, introducing diverse herbs such as cilantro, rosemary, mint, and lemon thyme. In VERY PESTO, you’ll learn how to make 20 different fresh and flavorful pestos and use them in more than 30 recipes for salads, pastas, pizzas, vegetables, and more. With such tantalizing recipes as Fresh Pea and Mint Pesto Pasta, Red Pesto Ceviche, Chilled Cucumber Pesto Soup, Tabbouleh with Mint Pesto, and Pesto Frittata, you’ll relish this sublime sauce year round.

From the Publisher
* More than 20 recipes for traditional and innovative pestos, including Tarragon Pesto, Garlic Chive Pesto, Caraway Thyme Pesto, Pistachio Pesto, and Sorrel Pesto with Lemon.
* More than 30 recipes for pesto dishes.

* Includes tips on ideal ingredients, equipment, and storing as well as instructions for growing and harvesting your own herb garden."



There are 17 individual pesto recipes from Classic, Red Basil Pesto, Pistachio Pesto, Fennel Pesto, Mediterranean Pesto, Oregano Pesto, SAGE Pesto, Thyme Pesto, Anchovy Herb Pesto and others. And recipes galore! I sure know what I'll be eating this summer when the heat finally gets turned UP (and stays UP) in the North Country.

Here's a pesto for sage:

SAGE PESTO

Try under the skin of chicken or turkey breasts or mix with pine nuts and fresh bread crumbs and stuff Cornish Hens.

1/2 Cup of loosely packed Fresh Sage Leaves
1 1/2 Cups of loosely packed Fresh Flat-leafed Parsley
2 Large Cloves of Garlic
1/2 Cup of Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Cup of Toasted Pine Nuts or Toasted Walnut halves
1/2 Cup of Olive Oil
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper, optional

Combine the sage, parsley, garlic, cheese and nuts in a food processor. Process to mix. With the machine running, slowly add the oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if desired. Let stand 1 hour before serving.

Yields 1 Cup of Sage Pesto
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Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
Groucho Marx

[Dawna]

Oh! Sage pesto! I never thought of it, but I was trimming some sage seedlings to force them to branch, yesterday, and I minced up the leaves and put them under the skin of a chicken I was roasting - no butter or oil or anything, but it was a fatty little bird on its own - and it was delicious!

When my sage supply becomes bountiful, I must remember this recipe and use it as a sauce for chicken and mushroom ravioli!