Time to make pesto

[YO!!!]

My basil has about given out. So it's time to harvest what's left and make pesto for the winter.

This year I am using muffin tins for portion control. Once frozen I can place in air tight containers for later use.

Romano or Parmesan gets added during final cooking and not now.

I also use the same procedure but use cilantro instead of basil for the base.

[Too Tall]

My basil has about given out. So it's time to harvest what's left and make pesto for the winter.

This year I am using muffin tins for portion control. Once frozen I can place in air tight containers for later use.

Romano or Parmesan gets added during final cooking and not now.

I also use the same procedure but use cilantro instead of basil for the base.

Neat :) Yrs. ago thru experimentation we discovered that you can have very good results by only leaving out garlic than freezing it.

[BShow]

Cool idea.

Do you guys do anything tricky with the pesto recipe? And the cilantro pesto... what are you doing with that? The wife and I like Cilantro, but don't really use it very often. I mostly buy cilantro for salsa type things and if I have leftovers I'll chop some up in marinades. That's about it. Always open to new ideas for grub.

Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Pine Nuts, Pecorino, Garlic and Basil. Sometimes with some red pepper flakes. Toots - Does the garlic go bad in the freezer?

That's been my standard concoction.

[YO!!!]

Cool idea.

Do you guys do anything tricky with the pesto recipe? And the cilantro pesto... what are you doing with that? The wife and I like Cilantro, but don't really use it very often. I mostly buy cilantro for salsa type things and if I have leftovers I'll chop some up in marinades. That's about it. Always open to new ideas for grub.

Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Pine Nuts, Pecorino, Garlic and Basil. Sometimes with some red pepper flakes. Toots - Does the garlic go bad in the freezer?

That's been my standard concoction.

I experiment with different ingredients as follows:

Pecans and walnuts added instead of pine nuts

Lemon or lime juice for some freshness

I most often toast the garlic and nuts before adding

I use the cilantro based one as a quick sauce base for sauted pork and chicken dishes.

Usually thin it out with sherry or white wine then reduce to desired consistency.

[Too Tall]

We tried several permutations. With and without pine nuts etc. and the no-garlic versions tasted the freshest. After the fact I was told that garlic is notorious for harboring bacteria.

[rec head]

I have tried lots of these ideas and they are all good. For freezing I just do basil garlic and oil. I use it as is or add the cheese and nuts later.

[dang]

We tried several permutations. With and without pine nuts etc. and the no-garlic versions tasted the freshest. After the fact I was told that garlic is notorious for harboring bacteria.

This might seem odd, but I've taken to zapping garlic in the microwave for lots of applications. Mice a couple of cloves of garlic; add to a ramekin with olive oil; and nuke the oil for a minute. The garlic should look and smell cooked (but not singed at all), and if it doesn't, hit it again. Just run the oil through a strainer and you have a lot more lee-way with heat in the pan if you are cooking. For pesto, obviously you don't want to cook the basil, but you can add both the oil and the cooked garlic to the pesto before serving. And for a dish in the saute pan, you can toss in the garlic late in the game.

And yeah, I'd be careful about chopped garlic in jars sitting around.