Garlic Passion

Morley Safer of 60 Minutes said: “You can never have enough garlic. With enough garlic, you can eat The New York Times.”

You know, I think he might be right. Garlic is one of those things that, of course, combines greatly with its usual companions of onion, tomato, and basil, either by itself with each or all together in one flavorful dish. But sometimes I think you can put it with just about anything and improve the taste of the original.

You can’t have good Asian, Mexican, or Italian food without garlic. In fact, of all the different kinds of food in our world, Scandinavian is the only kind that didn’t develop with garlic as a seasoning. So if you think garlic is limited, then let me broaden your culinary horizons.

How do I love garlic-seasoned foods? Let me count the ways.

1. There’s garlic bread, and garlic mayo.
2. Garlic mashed potatoes and garlic barbecue sauce.
3. Garlic-stuffed olives and forty clove chicken.
4. Roasted garlic spread.
5. There’s pesto and–! Oh my. Let me stop right there. I‘ve got to tell you how my honorary aunt, my Granny’s best friend Dinah, makes Pesto. It is totally to die for. This is a secret family recipe, but I know Aunt Dinah won’t mind my sharing it with you.

This is how Aunt Dinah tells the story. When she was a B-movie actress in old black and white films, she started designing the life she wanted. Acting didn’t pay much for an actress who wasn’t a star so she couldn’t afford to eat out much. She learned to cook and got so good that most of the cast and crew would come to her tiny apartment on Sunset Boulevard for Saturday dinner. She said Sunset was still an acceptable place to live back then.

She created this pesto and called it Starving Actor Pesto because it was cheap to make. Plus you could take some of it, add some other things to it, and serve it again later in the week. It was what she fed Uncle Walter, the producer’s accountant, she met on set who swept her off her feet and away from Hollywood.

STARVING ACTOR PESTO, makes enough for a Hollywood party

4 ounces fresh basil
8 ounces extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2/3 cup grated Parmesan (fresh please!)
1/4 cup almonds (traditionally, pesto calls for pine nuts but they’re expensive)
4 peeled garlic cloves, crushed
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Toast the almonds in a dry iron skillet. Toasting nuts is an art. What you’re looking for is enough heat to use their natural oil to toast. You can do it in the oven at 350 degrees, checking and stirring often to make sure they don’t burn. I actually do it on the stove top over low heat, but I keep a sharp eye on them. There’s a fine line between the time they’re toasted and the time they begin to burn. They should be a rather uniform brown color.

In a sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the EVOO, add the crushed garlic, and sauté 2-3 minutes. When sautéing garlic, you never want the garlic to brown. You just want to wilt it.

In a food processor or a blender, combine the fresh basil, the garlic and residual oil, the Parmesan, and the toasted nuts. Process or blend until chopped fine. With processor or blender running, add the rest of the oil through the opening in the blender top or processor chute.

You’re looking for a paste-like consistency.

Use immediately. If you have any leftover, place in an airtight container and cover it with a thin film of EVOO. Refrigerate. It’ll keep a week in the fridge or you can freeze it for several months.

Here comes the good part. You can take 2 tablespoons of the pesto and 1 cup of heavy cream or half and half and combine it to make a creamy pasta sauce. That will serve two, and that’s exactly how much I need to make for my dinner tonight with Brian.

That’s another thing Aunt Dinah, and Granny, and my mom keeps trying to teach me. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

I don’t know about that, but I do know that the way to a great evening is with a great meal. As far as finding Brian’s heart?

Who knows what the future may hold.