Tasty Tuesday: Grill-Roasted Vegetables with Pine Nut Pesto

Today's recipe was specifically requested by my grandmother, which is a big compliment, since I am usually the one asking her for recipes!  I made this savory vegetable dish for Garrett back in November for the first time, served alongside a pan-seared halibut with pistachio pesto (I'll also include this recipe below).  It turned out to be such a heavenly meal - especially on a cold night - that I quickly filed the recipe into my favorites.  Over the holidays, I made the veggies again for my whole family, and the dish was a huge hit.  I have received several requests for the recipe, so here it is!  Enjoy!

Grill-Roasted Vegetables with Pine Nut Pesto

1 pound carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 pound parsnips, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 pound brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise

One 2½-pound butternut squash—peeled, seeded and cut into ½-by-1½-inch pieces

2 large shallots, cut into ½-inch wedges

6 thyme sprigs

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons pine nuts

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced

¼ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

In a large bowl, toss the carrots and parsnip pieces with the brussels sprouts, butternut squash, shallots, thyme sprigs and ¼ cup of the olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Preheat a gas grill to high heat (about 425°). Place 2 perforated grill pans directly on the grate to heat for about 10 minutes. Divide the vegetables between the grill pans and grill over high heat, stirring and turning occasionally, until they are tender and lightly charred in spots, about 50 minutes. Alternatively, roast the vegetables in a large roasting pan in a 425° oven, stirring them occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the pine nuts and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until they are lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and garlic and cook, stirring, until the pine nuts are browned and the garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Let cool, then transfer to a mini processor. Add the grated cheese and the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil and pulse to a chunky puree. Season the pine nut pesto with salt.

Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl and toss with the pine nut pesto. Serve hot or warm.

Pistachio Pesto

½ to 1 clove garlic, peeled

2 cups packed flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons fresh lemon thyme leaves

2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves

1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves

1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves

½ cup grated Parmesan

¾ cup roasted pistachios

Salt and pepper

⅔ cup olive oil

Into a blender with the motor running, add the garlic and pulse until finely chopped. Add all of the herbs, cheese, pistachios, salt, and pepper to the blender, and blend until finely chopped. With the blender running, add the olive oil in a steady stream until the mixture becomes creamy and emulsified.

Serve over pasta or use as topping for crostini or bruschetta.

Introducing: Tasty Tuesdays!

As you may well know, Garrett and I are big into cooking.  While we're not professional chefs, we do have a special affinity for a fine chef's knife, and I could watch Food Network all day.  Giada De Laurentiis is one of my idols, and I am constantly looking for new recipes in Food and Wine magazine, Epicurious, and Bon Appetit.  Garrett and I have had to adjust our cooking schedules since our move to Houston, given his busy work day, so I typically get the prep work started while I wait for him to get home.  And, of course, we have had to resort to more frozen and take-out options since Samara arrived into the world, but our favorite thing is still to cook together.

So, given our passion for cooking, we decided to add a little flavor to this family blog of ours.  From now on, we will be sharing a new or favorite recipe with our readers every Tuesday for "Tasty Tuesdays."  We hope you'll enjoy the addition, and maybe get into a little cookin' yourselves!

On Sunday evening, we made one of our favorite recipes that we have neglected for some time: "Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce."  We had both forgotten how absolutely delicious it is!  The sauce is creamy and winey, thanks to the mascarpone and marsala, and the Dijon mustard adds a lovely bite.  Garrett cooked the chicken perfectly and the mushrooms and linguine were perfect complementary textures.  I served the chicken with my stand-by "Caramelized Brussels Sprouts," except I subbed walnuts for the pine nuts, since we were out of pine nuts.  The walnuts were yummy with the sprouts, and the veggies completed the meal.

Here are our recipes.  We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce

1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, each breast cut crosswise into 3 pieces

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 tablespoons butter, divided

¾ cup chopped onion

1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 cup dry Marsala wine

1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves, plus whole sprigs, for garnish

12 ounces dried fettuccine

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cool slightly.

While the chicken cools, melt 2 tablespoons of butter to the same skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onion and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until the mushrooms are tender and the juices evaporate, about 12 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Stir in the mascarpone and mustard. Cut the chicken breasts crosswise into ⅓-inch-thick slices. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain. Toss the fettuccine with 3 tablespoons of butter and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Swirl the fettuccine onto serving plates. Spoon the chicken mixture over top. Garnish with parsley sprigs and serve.

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

1 lb. fresh Brussels sprouts, peeled, trimmed, and halved

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper, to taste

¼ cup pine nuts

Place Brussels sprouts in a large sauté pan and cover with water. Add salt and bring water to a low boil over medium-high heat and cover. Allow to simmer for about 8-10 minutes and then drain water from sprouts.

Add olive oil and garlic to pan and sauté sprouts for another 10-15 minutes, or until sprouts are very browned (more olive oil may be added if needed). Add salt and pepper, to taste. Add pine nuts in the last few minutes and sauté frequently – do not allow the pine nuts to burn. Dish is done when pine nuts are toasted and sprouts are fully browned.

San Antonio Wine & Food Festival

Back in November, we visited our great friends, Lauren & Ricky, for a weekend in San Antonio, specifically to attend the New World Wine & Food Festival at the nearby Rio Cibolo Ranch in Marion, Texas. Had we truly been prepared, we would have come as some of the other patrons did, with wine glass holster necklaces fashioned out of leather, so that we could eat, drink, and socialize with ease. These Texans were hard-core about their wine! Seriously, next year, I am going to have to hunt one of those babies down so I can wear one myself! The closest I can find to such an item is this Cup Caddy necklace, but it's not quite the same as the awesome leather version we saw at the festival, adorned with fringe and branding.

All coveting aside, our weekend in San Antone was fabulous. The weather was, as the snow-birds will tell you, the reason why people love Texas in the winter. Sunny, breezy... perfect. We stayed at Lauren and Ricky's apartment and watched The Ugly Truth on Saturday night. Worst movie EVER, by the way. If you haven't seen it, don't bother. Katherine Heigl needn't downplay her performance due to poor material over this one; she decided to take the part, so I blame her for the suckiness. And it did suck. It had potential, but the writing was absolutely horrid, and no acting talents on Katherine Heigl's or Gerard Butler's parts could have saved it. Anyway, we made fun of the entire horrible movie and then went to bed.

The following morning, we set out for Marion, Texas to hit the festival. Once there, we devised a plan of attack that would allow us to taste the most wines and break for food as needed. Central Market provided a huge spread of antipasto selections, including assorted fine cheeses, peppered prosciutto and other sliced meats, and gourmet olives and peppers. Another table made some strange nacho concoction meant to look like an egg, with a tortilla chip on the bottom, melted white cheese on top of a jalapeno slice, and then a little circle of melted yellow cheese in the middle - literally meant to look like a fried egg. We weren't sure what the point was behind the design, but the nachos still tasted pretty good. We tried dark chocolate truffles, stuffed mushrooms, and fresh sushi at a picnic table under the shade of a gigantic scrub oak, while listening to covers of Jimmy Buffet and Billy Joel classics. We tasted Sicilian olive oils with artisanal breads (and even bought a few bottles of the oil), and compared spicy Zins to buttery Pinots. It was a perfect day, and Samara took in all the action from the vantage point of her stroller. It was her first full day in the stroller, and she thoroughly enjoyed it, closing her eyes in the breeze and taking in the smells of the food, wine, and hill country air. As you probably guessed, she was out like a light before the sun began to make its way down for the day.

The highlight of the day for both Lauren and I was our first experience with a professional lassoer. I'll bet most of you have seen a calf tied at a rodeo, but I'll also bet most of you have never allowed yourself to be lassoed voluntarily. Well, we did. And it was awesome. You'll have to view the video below to fully appreciate the experience. I've also included a slideshow below that of images from the weekend, for your viewing pleasure.

Little did I know that my wine-drinking days were numbered at this point, thanks to Baby #2, so drink a glass for me until it's my turn again, will ya?

Until next time...