Fresh Tomato, Artichoke and Basil Pasta

With apologies to my favorite Italian TV chefs and friends, I am not a big fan of tomato sauce or gravy. Yes, I use it on my stuffed shells or lasagna, but other than that you won't find it on my menu. But when I made Grilled Chicken Involtini this week pasta with some type of tomato sauce seemed like the right side dish. While it does have tomatoes, the pasta is not smothered in sauce.

You can use what ever shape of pasta you choose. I used a corkscrew which did a nice job of holding on to the sauce. Just cook your pasta in salted water and be sure to reserve some of the cooking water for the sauce.

To start heat up some extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet. Then add a pint of fresh grape tomatoes. I prefer these because they have so much more flavor than anything else I can find in the grocery store. Cover the skillet and cook the tomatoes on medium heat until they burst open. Next just add crushed garlic and artichokes. When the pasta is finished cooking add it along with some pasta water to the skillet along with Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh basil. You should try this soon!

Ingredients
8 oz corkscrew pasta, cooked
1 cup pasta water, reserved
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 pint fresh grape tomatoes
6 oz canned artichoke hearts, quartered
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1 cup of cooking water. Heat extra virgin olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add tomatoes, cover and cook until tomatoes burst open. Add artichokes and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes. Drain pasta and add to skillet. Add Parmesan and enough pasta water to bring sauce together. Finish with fresh basil. Top servings with more Parmesan.



Grilled Chicken Involtini with Proscuitto and Basil

Puppy Daddy and I had a major dilemma this weekend, what to have for dinner on Sunday night. While our Wednesday night dinner tradition is something quick and easy, I try to make our Sunday night dinners something special. Now when I was working full time, I spent Saturday mornings planning a menu for the week and making my grocery list so that I could shop once for everything I'd need for the week. But since I've been working part time from home, I've gotten lazy about our weekly menu, deciding many times day by day what I feel like eating, thus the weekend dilemma. At about 3 PM Sunday afternoon I started trying to decide what we would have for dinner that night but nothing was inspiring me. So, I asked Puppy Daddy what he wanted for dinner. He thought something cooked on the charcoal grill would be good so I put him to work looking through my Weber Grill cookbooks. He let the first book, Weber's Way to Grill by Jamie Purviance fall open and Chicken Involtini with Prosciutto and Basil was the first thing he saw. After perusing the cookbooks and discussing several options, we decided to try this recipe and boy were we glad we did!

 

The ingredients are very simple, chicken breast, prosciutto, provolone cheese, basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. The result is super tasty! Just pound your chicken breast out nice and thin. Sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Top each with prosciutto, provolone and basil.

Next roll up chicken breast and tie up in several places with kitchen twine to keep the cheese from oozing out while it cooks. We cooked this on a charcoal grill which I think gave it a great smoky flavor, but you could use a gas grill, stove top grill or even bake it in the oven.

Yes the finished product photo from the cookbook shows it served on  tomato sauce, but I served it with pasta and homemade sauce made with fresh tomato, artichoke, garlic, basil  and parmesan . DELICIOUS! You should try this soon!

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 8 ounces each, tenders removed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon powdered garlic
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 very thin slices prosciutto
4  slices provolone cheese, halved
8 large basil leaves, plus more for garnish
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups good-quality tomato sauce

Directions
Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat.

For each piece of chicken, use about 12 inches of plastic wrap. Place the chicken, smooth side down, to one side of the plastic, about 2 inches from the edge. This will allow the chicken to spread out as it gets thinner. Starting from the thick side, gently pound the chicken with the flat side of a tenderizer or the bottom of a small, heavy skillet, moving to different areas with every stroke until it is about 1/4 inch thick and just about doubles in size. Don’t pound too hard or the chicken might break apart.

Season each piece of chicken with salt, granulated garlic and pepper. Arrange the chicken with the smooth side down on a work surface.

Lay a slice of prosciutto on each piece of chicken. Then lay down 2 halves of the provolone and 2 basil leaves. Carefully roll up the chicken, keeping it snug as you work, until it is tube-shaped. Tie 2 pieces of butcher’s twine around each piece to keep it together. Trim the loose ends of twine.

Lightly brush each rolled piece with olive oil.

Brush the cooking grates clean. Grill the chicken over direct medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until golden on all sides, about 12 minutes, turning a quarter turn every 3 minutes. Remove from the grill and let rest for 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, warm the tomato sauce.

Remove the twine from each chicken piece, cut into slices and serve warm on a pool of sauce. Garnish with torn basil leaves.
                                                                                                                                                                                     

Grilled Salmon Salad with Basil-Garlic Aioli and Basil Viniagrette

Here is another one of Puppy Daddy's favorites. We have some version of this meal every couple of weeks. It's also perfect with crab cakes, which by the way are BOGO at Fresh Market this month on Tuesdays. This makes a simple and light supper, that looks and tastes very fancy! It's a great meal when you come home after a long day because it's so quick and easy.

I like to grill the salmon, but you can cook it in the oven, which I have done if it's raining outside. You could also cook it on a grill pan. Just rub it with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Grill on medium high heat and don't try to flip it until it comes off the grill without sticking. While it's cooking, make your vinaigrette and aioli. For the vinaigrette I use home-made basil oil which I make during the summer to use up the basil from my plant outside. Just heat up some light olive oil or vegetable oil and drop in a bunch of basil. Let it sit for 1/2 hour. Don't let the oil come to a boil. Let it cool and strain the oil through a fine mesh strainer. Viola, basil oil. It will last a long time in a cool, dry cabinet. Just mix this in a 3:1 ratio of oil to vinegar ratio with white balsamic vinegar. For the Basil Aioli mix mayonnaise with chopped basil, garlic and extra virgin olive oil.

To serve, put some spring lettuce mix on the plate. Top with vinaigrette, salmon and aioli. Delish!






Ingredients

Salmon fillets
6 TB basil oil
2 -3 TB white balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, crushed or finely chopped
2 TB chopped fresh basil
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil + a small amount for grilling salmon
Spring lettuce mix
Salt and pepper

Directions

Brush salmon fillets lightly with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat for 5-8 until fish lifts easily off grill. Flip and cook for about 3-4 more minutes. While fish is cooking make the vinaigrette and aioli.

Combine basil oil, white balsamic vinegar with salt and pepper to taste in a small jar or bowl.

Combine mayo, garlic, chopped basil and 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil to make aioli.

To serve dress spring lettuce mix with vinaigrette. Top with salmon and a dollop of aioli.

Try this recipe and let me know what you think!