Spinach-Basil Pesto

  Summertime, especially here in the south, brings the hot, sunny days, slows the blood in our veins, and brings on a hunger for lighter, brighter flavors.  Pesto hits the spot with its fragrant herbs, toasted nuts, and luscious olive oil.  You can serve this versatile sauce on pasta, as a spread, or mix with mayo for sandwiches.  This recipe takes advantage of both spinach and basil for this particular version of pesto.   

Spinach-Basil Pesto

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups baby spinach
3/4 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup walnut pieces
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped into 3-4 pieces each
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Special equipment - food processor

  To begin, toast the walnut pieces.  This is an easy process that really brings out the flavor of the nuts.  Take a small skillet and bring the heat up to medium.  Toss in the nuts.  No oil, no cooking spray - just the nuts.  Give them an occasional shake and take them off the heat as soon as you smell the walnuts. This will only take a couple of minutes.  Toasting brings the oils to the forefront and brings a much more complex taste to the nuts. 

  Set up the food processor and dump in the spinach, basil, toasted walnuts, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.  Pulse until the mixture is nearly smooth, taking the time to stop and scrape down the sides with a spatula a time or two. At this point, drizzle the rest of the olive oil in as the processor is churning.  Once all the oil is added, stop the processor, stir in the grated cheese and serve.

  When I serve it on pasta, I normally use a thin spaghetti or angel hair.  The pesto will loosen up a bit when you add it to hot noodles, but if you want the sauce a tad more loose, add a little olive oil when you are stirring the sauce together with the pasta.  Of course, extra cheese on top isn't going to hurt anything, either.

  To store the leftovers, there are a couple of options.  If you plan on using all the pesto in the next few days, drizzle a little olive oil on the top, cover and stash in the refrigerator.  If you plan on more long term storage in the freezer, skip adding in the Parmesan before freezing.  Spoon into an ice cube tray and into a heavy-duty freezer bag once the cubes are solid.  Add in the cheese when you thaw the sauce for use.

Hot Spinach Dip

  It's football time!  Cooler days ahead, and lots of time hanging out with friends.  Today I'm going to share one of the very first entertaining recipes I learned, shortly after getting married.  It's absolutely quick, easy, makes good use of the microwave, and tasty, to boot.  Every time I make it, there's a flurry of tortilla chips diving into the bowl.  This recipe originates from Desperation Entertaining by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross. 

Hot Spinach Dip

Ingredients

1 package (9 or 10 oz) frozen creamed spinach, Stouffer's preferred
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Tortilla chips, for serving


  Start off by cutting a small slit in the top of the creamed spinach bag and lay it on a microwave-safe plate.  Microwave the spinach on high until it's thawed, about 2 minutes.

  Open up the spinach and pour it into a microwave-safe bowl.  Add in all the other ingredients and stir until the cream cheese is pretty well incorporated.  You'll still have some lumps, and that is perfectly fine.  Microwave the dip, uncovered, on high, until it gets bubbly - 5 minutes.  Stop it halfway through the 5 minutes to give it a good stir.  Serve at once with tortilla chips.

Notes: Normally I don't detect much difference in brands of ingredients, but this is a case where the brand makes a difference in the outcome of the recipe.  I really suggest trying to find the Stouffer's creamed spinach for this dip.  It gives it a decadent richness that other brands just don't give - if you can't find Stouffer's, feel free to sub, but if you can find it, use that creamed spinach.

Spinach Stuffed Squash or Zucchini

  This is one knock-out dish - squash dressed to the nines.  Another Paula Deen creation for you to enjoy.  It can be made with zucchini or yellow summer squash; my favorite is made with zukes, but this last trip to the store, the yellow squash was so much better than the zucchini.

Spinach Stuffed Squash or Zucchini

6-10 servings

Ingredients

3 large zucchini or 5 medium/large yellow squash  (this last batch was made with 3 large yellow squash)
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup chicken flavored stuffing mix (dry - do not prepare)
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 oz by weight)

  Start off by preheating the oven to 400°F.

  Cut your squash in half lengthwise.  Brush the cut sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Lay  them on a lined baking sheet, with the cut side down.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Let the squash halves cool down a bit, and lower the oven temperature to 350°F.  Once the squash is just cool enough to handle, scoop out the pulp into a bowl, taking care not to break your "shells".  Lay the squash back on the baking sheet, this time, cut side up.

  In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.  Toss the diced onion in and saute until they are transparent, around 5 minutes.  (I personally like to cook mine until they turn slightly brown and take a bit of caramelized quality to them.)  At this time, add in the stuffing mix, spinach, cheese, squash pulp and sour cream, mixing everything together.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cook for 3 minutes, and remove from the heat.  Scoop the stuffing mixture evenly as you can into each squash shell, and return to the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes.

Serving Ideas - These are great served with fried chicken livers. (Don't knock it until you try it!)  But they are pretty filling if you buy the large squash/zukes, so serving 1-2 halves as a meal isn't too shabby, either.

Helpful Tip - A potato ricer does a nice job squeezing dry thawed frozen spinach.