HHDD #24: Pesto!

Is the week over already? It seems like only a moment ago I was seated at a beautifully appointed table with many like-minded people, sharing stories over an incredibly delicious roast pig! And now, I am at my desk, at the end of another week, winded by work, but satisfied still that I give it my best every day. Little by little I will stretch out of my “work-week” speed and slow down as I approach the weekend, a time that I always seem to be longing for. I think everybody deserves a spot of spoiling ourselves during the weekend, don’t you? Whether that means a flurry of parties, a day at the spa, or simply sleeping in shamelessly…this weekend, please indulge yourself! You deserve it and so do I! 🙂

Now, before I burrow into the obscurity of my duvet (taking a couple of books and a bottle of Brunette with me) I will leave you with something to think about. The next theme of Hay Hay it’s Donna Day!!! (and hopefully you will all be thinking about what your entries will be!)

As I’ve mentioned here, I am hosting this round of HHDD – having won the last round for my Chai Yogurt! Hay Hay it’s Donna Day is a food blogging event created by Barbara of Winos and Foodies, and is now under the auspices of Bron of Bronmarshall.com. HHDD is without a doubt the blog event that I participate in the most! Why? Because I am an absolute, unabashed, dorky, fangirl of the marvellous Ms. Hay!

I’ve decided to go with simple this round as I’m sure many of you are preparing for Thanksgiving and the other upcoming holidays. I also wanted something that could be adapted in many ways and incorporated into many meals…to avoid waste and all 😉 So this round we’ll be making PESTO!

Rough Chop Basil Pesto
(from Donna Hay Magazine, issue 35, page 104)

• 1 cup roughly chopped basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped toasted pine nuts
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 3/4 cup olive oil

– Place the basil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and oil in a bowl and stir to combine.
– Makes one cup.

This is a very basic pesto recipe done without a food processor so I figure everyone can do this! Having used some sort of processor for all the pesto I have ever made, this was new to me. I have to say I liked its coarse and chunky texture very much! The flavours of the ingredients were more pronounced individually then in the usually paste-like pestos I make. I had some with pasta (excellent!) and it was fantastic dribbled on some store-bought rotisserie chicken!

Please feel free to take this theme and run with it in whichever way fate takes you! You can make modifications to this recipe OR you can make your own pesto recipes using whatever ingredients you want OR you can incorporate this pesto into another dish OR you can make a dish that involves pesto…in which case please have the pesto play an important role in the dish as a whole! Donna has made many versions of pesto herself – aside from regular basil, she’s used coriander, capers, rocket, spring/green onion, mint, and olive! This doesn’t even include the dishes she’s made that use pesto!

As with all HHDD rounds, here are the guidelines:
– Hay Hay it’s Donna Day is open to all food and wine bloggers.
– Entries submitted for HHDD must be made specifically for the current round of this event, although photos may be submitted to photo competitions such as “Does My Blog Look Good In This.”
– The host (that’s me!) will select, make and post an original Donna Hay recipe without any changes (all done!). Participants may make that exact same recipe as is, or put their own spin on the recipe by altering the ingredients whilst remaining with the theme. Or if they prefer participants may share a well loved recipe within the same theme.
– Participants must include a link to the host and the facilitator (that’s bronmarshall.com) in their entry post.
– Entries can be made at any time once the event has been announced, but must be posted and emailed to the host by the closing date.
– I will then assemble all your entries together into a roundup, from where the participants of the round vote to elect a new host for the following event.

Deadline for all posts to be up and submitted is December 12, 2008. I will be posting the round up about a week after that, after which voting will begin!

Please email all your entries to eighty_breakfasts[AT]yahoo[DOT]com. In your email, please include the following information: your blog name, your name, your location, your recipe name, and the permalink to your entry.

So go and pesto yourselves silly! And when you’re done, take a photo and send me the link 🙂 Happy weekend everyone!