Presto Pesto!

Growing up I never understood what all the hype was about pesto. I saw it all the time on the menus at restaurants, and saw many chefs on Food Network like Rachel Ray and Giada whizz it up in the blender, but I never thought I would like this Italian concoction. It sounds almost too simple to be good: basil, olive oil, garlic, parmesan, nuts, and a little lemon juice to keep the color a vibrant green. Where was the tomato or alfredo sauce that I was more accustomed to? Well after trying it for the first time in a pasta dish a few years ago at the Cheesecake factory, I instantly fell in love with it. Sure it left a huge puddle of greenish tinted olive oil at the bottom of the plate but it was an incredibly heavenly tasting puddle of grease, excellent for bread dipping! The above picture is my own rendition of the pesto pasta, using liguine, shrimp, cream, and of course, pesto! I didn't measure everything exactly, and I used a lot more pine nuts than what most recipes use, but I thought it suited me well since I love pine nuts. Enjoy!


Pesto sauce

Ingredients:
3 cups basil
3/4 cup toasted pine nuts
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste

Directions:
Place everything except salt and olive oil in the blender. Turn the blender on and gently pour in oil until the desired thickness is reached. You may not need all the olive oil. Add salt to taste.