Perfectly Pesto

Recipe: Pasta with Pesto Cream Sauce

Source: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/pasta-with-pesto-cream-sauce/

Time: 30 minutes total

Ease: 1

Taste: 8

Leftover Value: 8

Down the Drain or Keep in the Strainer: Keep it in the Strainer!

I love pesto anything.  The only part I hate about making my own pesto is the darn pine nuts.  They are expensive!  A large bag at Shop Rite costs $8, a small bag at Acme $4.  

For pine nuts? 

Now, you obviously get more than one batch of pesto out of either of those bags, but still, the shopping trip where I have to buy pine nuts I always groan a little.  (When I pick them up, when I put them back deciding that I definitely can not reason spending that much for pine nuts, when I pick them up again knowing that I will not make the pesto without them, when I'm checking out and see the pine nuts on the conveyor belt, after I've checked out and my bill is much bigger than I wanted....you get the idea).

You need basil for this recipe.  I love my basil plant.  I'm trying my hardest to remember to water it.  I have serious issues with plants. So far this summer, I've kept them alive.  So, I'm doing good.

I love knowing I have fresh basil ready whenever I want it.

I call this picture, "The Pesto Collage, sans Olive Oil".

After your pesto is a green and white speckled masterpiece, melt some butter with some heavy cream.

Oh, yes.

Then add your pesto.

I'm sorry, I thought just pesto was wonderful, but pesto and cream. Oh. My. Gosh!

By the way, at this point it's important to remember that you should have started boiling the water for your noodles before you begin making your pesto.  I tend to forget about boiling water (just like I forgot to mention it in this post until now).

The last step said to add four roma tomatoes diced.  I have problems and didn't like the texture of the tomatoes I bought three weeks ago, so I used a can of diced tomatoes (drained) instead.

Just as delicious, just not as fresh.

Next time I would probably add extra tomatoes and maybe a zucchini, broccoli, asparagus, or oh I don't know, just about anything green!