Ten Minute Dinner

This is the easiest, quickest (other than calling for take out) dinner you will ever make it and it's delicious.  It was inspired by a recent cooking show that I was watching.  Olive pesto.  Much like regular basil pesto, this is an uncooked sauce so in the amount of time it takes you to boil pasta, that's how long this dish is to make.

I used linguine because it's my favorite and what I had on hand, but I think it would be pretty great with a wider pasta, like a pappardelle.  So get your big pot of water on to boil and make your pasta.  Don't forget to salt your water when it comes to the boil.

While the water is boiling and the pasta is cooking, drag out your food processor.  Now, you can chop everything with a knife or you can use a mortar and pestle if you prefer.  The food processor makes very quick work of this though so that's what I went with.   You will need about a cup of pitted olives.  I used Kalamata, but I think any good olive would be good.  Just don't use canned olives.  It definitely won't come out the same.  Frankly I wanted to use oil cured Moroccan olives, but they are difficult to pitt so I went with the already pitted Kalamata's.  You will also need a clove or two of garlic, the juice of one lemon, a small bunch of fresh basil (about 10 leaves or so) and a small bunch of fresh Italian parsley (about 1/4 cup).  There is no need to add salt to this because the olives are plenty salty.  But you may want to add some pepper to taste.

Put it all in the food processor and pulse until you have a small chunky consistency.  You don't want it completely smooth but a little texture is nice.

And here's the thing, this is so fast that you even have time to do the painful task of washing the food processor before the pasta is even done!   So set your sauce aside in your favorite zebra bowl and get that pain in the ass thing washed before dinner.  You'll be so happy you did, trust me!

Once the pasta is done, drain with just a little of the pasta water left in the pan (not much, just about a 1/4 cup but you can hold some more aside in case you need it).  And then toss the pasta and the olive pesto in the pan (or a big pasta bowl if you prefer).  

This is absolutely going into my go to recipes.  It was so easy and so good!   I suspect I will make it often and tweak it as I go.  I think it would be great with the addition of pine nuts or maybe some Parmesan cheese (although we did add it to the top after it was done).  Possibly the lemon zest in addition to the juice.  Maybe even some anchovy or hot pepper flakes.  The possibilities are endless!!!

Mangia!

This Blog is Not for Diane!!

Don't read it Diane! I'm warning you right now. The pictures alone will probably make you woozy. My friend Diane, for those who don't know her, has as big an aversion to bananas as I do to oranges. For everyone else, this Banana Bread is A.Maze.Ing! Probably the best I've ever made or had.

Start out by taking a non-stick loaf pan. Butter and flour the bottom and sides well. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.



Banana bread is one of those things I make when I have overripe bananas. (Look away Diane!)




I happen to have had four of them. The recipe (which I believe is from Cook's Illustrated) calls for three bananas, but using four only made it better in my opinion. So take your bananas, peel and then mash them up well.



Leave them a little lumpy though. You don't want them smooth or you might as well just use baby food! To the bananas, add 2 eggs (beaten), 6 Tablespoons of melted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 cup of buttermilk.



In another bowl, mix your dry ingredients: 2 cups of all purpose flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts (Nick's crazy for nuts so I often add more, this being no exception. I probably used 3/4 cup or even more), 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.



Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and gently fold the mixture until the flour is thoroughly moistened.



Then pour the mixture into your prepared loaf pan.


Bake for 45-50 minutes.

YUM!






Now, in the interest of full disclosure I have to admit that I got the whole thing into the loaf pan and had forgotten to add the eggs. How did I do such a thing? Well I blame Madonna. No not the singer. My friend Madonna happened to call me while I was making the bread and I lost track of the ingredients. Luckily for me, after putting it in the loaf pan I looked down at the recipe and realized I did not add the eggs. So I took it out of the loaf pan, back into the bowl and mixed in the eggs. The bread was no worse for the wear!

This bread is really moist and delicious. I think though, if I were to change anything it would be to add some nutmeg. Otherwise, I wouldn't change a thing!

Ingredient List:

Dry:
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet:
2 large eggs, beaten
6 Tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk (or plain yogurt)
3 ripe bananas, mashed