Pesto!

We tried our first homemade pesto the other day and it was wonderful. The best part is that you can make this in your blender (we don't have a food processor or a big mortar and pestle...). Be aware that everyone around you will be able to tell that you had this for dinner!

This does not make much (~1 cup) but with pesto, a little goes a long way.

1 pinch coarse sea salt
60 small or 30 large fresh basil leaves, stems removed
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons pine nuts or brazil nuts
1/4 cup parmesan
3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

Put all ingredients into blender except only 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Puree on lowest speed, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides with a spatula. Pesto should be thick and creamy, without recognizable sections of leaves. Don't blend so much that it becomes thin. Scoop out pesto into a bowl. Add remaining olive oil 1 tbsp at a time, stirring well, until desired consistency is reached. You want it thick enough to stick to pasta but thin enough to spread easily.

And here's the bonus: a recipe from an Italian coworker when I was monitoring birds in Southern Illinois... homemade Gnocchi [pronounced "nyoh-kee"], something like mini dumplings. This one's a little more open to interpretation. You'll need a few large potatoes or sweet potatoes, fine flour (if you use whole wheat, use WW pastry flour) and 1 egg.

Peel and boil potatoes, mash in a large bowl. Add as much flour as you have potato and add 1 egg. Lightly knead into dough, adding flour as necessary until dough is elastic and fluffy, but does not stick to your hands or the sides of the bowl. Meanwhile boil water in a large pot. Form 1 inch pasta with the dough using a floured surface if necessary. Making round flat "medallions" is easy, or 1" nugget shapes are fine. Boil gnocchi 10 minutes - stir often in the beginning as they will fall to the bottom and may stick to each other; they will float as they are cooked. Scoop out with a slotted spoon (they might fall apart in a colander) and toss with butter. Excellent with any kind of pasta sauce, including the pesto.