David's Pesto and Green Bean Pasta

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves 

3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted lightly in a pan over medium heat until golden brown

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

3 Tbls parmesan cheese, grated

3 Tbls asiago cheese, grated

Salt

12 oz green beans, ends trimmed

2 packages fettuccine, 8 oz packages

Combine basil, pine nuts, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel-blade attachment (or a blender). Pulse until well chopped. While the machine is still running, slowly add the olive oil, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl one or two times. Puree until almost smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in the grated cheeses. Season with salt to taste. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the green beans and cook for 5-7 minutes or until barely crisp tender. Add the fresh pasta and boil for 2-3 minutes more, or until pasta is cooked through. Drain beans and pasta, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid.

Add a couple of tablespoons of cooking water to the pesto to thin a bit. Add the pasta and green beans to the pesto and toss to coat. If necessary, add some of the reserved cooking liquid so that the sauce easily coats the pasta. Top with additional grated cheese and serve immediately.

9/19/2012
barley
it was a thick grain in a curry seasoning taht was very delicious
orzo
accompanied by a delicious assortment of kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes and fetta cheese
carbanara
great tastes with the bacon and butter cheese sauce. pretty hard to make something taste bad with bacon

9/18/2012
yakisoba noodles
great noodles and perfectly sauced. wished that there was some veggies to enhance the yakisoba experience.
bulger
liked the use of asparagus and lemon zest. personally not a big fan of the grain.

David's fruit salad recipe

Ingredients:
2 Bananas
1 Cantaloupe
6 Kiwis
15 Strawberries
2 tbs of lemon juice
1/4 cup of blue agave syrup sweetener

Dice the Bananas, Kiwis, and Strawberries into 3/4 inch to 1/2 inch pieces. Use a smaller mellon baler and ball the Cantaloupe. Throw all of the fruit into a bowl and mix them together. Pour the blue agave syrup sweetener and the lemon juice into a bowl and stir until fully mixed. Finally pour the agave/lemon mixture on to the diced fruit and stir it all around. You just made David's fruit salad.

my masterful plating NBD

yesterday we tried three salads

1. Very good light yet buttery salad made of eggplant, feta cheese, and spinach

2. Sweet and oily made from chicken, spinach, lettuce, carrot and chives

3. A mix of black beans,  edamame, corn and cherry tomato. All covered in a vinegar sauce made from red wine vinegar, olive oil, sugar, and limes. Together it tasted sweet, bitter, and beanie.

9/10
green bean salad
nice creamy in texture with different textures of crunch from beans, tomato, and avocado

mac salad
strong taste of pickles, almost overpowering in taste. it was hard to enjoy the other flavors of the salad

green salad
nice fresh assortment of veggies (tomatos, cucumbers, and peppers) good balsamic vinaigrette

9/11
green salad
enjoyed the use of feta cheese in the salad, it gave the salad a great taste. had eggplant in it, but wished there was something sweeter

noodle salad
although i didn't get any noodles, the salad reminded me of a Thai chicken salad. it was delicious and refreshing

9/12
apple salad
it was a sweet and sour salad that was refreshing with the abundance of apples

leak salad
really sweet and slimy, it tasted fine but its not my salad of choice

pomegranate salad
salad and dressing were great. liked the use of pomegranates, but the block of cream cheese was overpowering

BBQ chop salad
interesting assortment of things could not taste the ingredients, but it was still tasty

Cesar salad
great salad, not overly dressed like most Cesar salads. cheese added a nice kick to the salad