Cooking at Home - Bucatini with Avocado Basil Pesto

Cooking at Home - Bucatini with Avocado Basil Pesto or Bucatini con Pesto di basilico Avocado...

Cooking at Home - Bucatini with Avocado Basil Pesto 

Bucatini with Avocado Basil Pesto is a great dish to us for picnics, pot lucks and large family gatherings or when you want to sit down to a nice summer meal. Avocado Basil Pesto pasta is served room temperature, no need to worry about keeping it warm…

We chose to use bucatini pasta because of the way it holds the sauce. You can use any of your favorites.

For those who do not know what bucatini pasta is: it’s a thick spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the centre. The name comes from Italian: buco, meaning "hole", while bucato means "pierced".

Enjoy…

Avocado Basil Pesto

Ingredients:

1 to 2 avocado (depending on size)

2 lemons (to taste)

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup pine nuts

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese

Directions:

Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.

Cooking at Home - Avocado Basil Pesto - Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor

Cooking at Home - Avocado Basil Pesto - Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor

Cooking at Home - Avocado Basil Pesto - Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor

Add the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth.

Cooking at Home - Avocado Basil Pesto - add the oil

Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh from the avocados and place in a food processor process until smooth.

Cooking at Home - Avocado Basil Pesto - add avocado

Season with salt and pepper.

Add the juice of fresh lemon (to taste).

Cooking at Home - Avocado Basil Pesto - add the juice of fresh lemon

Mix in cheese and blend until smooth.

Cooking at Home - Avocado Basil Pesto - mix in cheese

Pour the pesto over the pasta and toss together. Add the cheese and pine nuts and toss together until coated, adding the pasta water, as needed, to loosen the sauce.

Cooking at Home - Avocado Basil Pesto - pesto over the pasta and toss together

Cooking at Home - Avocado Basil Pesto - Add the cheese and pine nuts

Enjoy!

Cooking at Home - Avocado Basil Pesto 

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Around the Area:

Lake Stevens Oktoberfest

Lake Stevens Oktoberfest is a new. The event brought fun for the entire family including a Beer Garden and a Wine Garden, Root Beer Garden, Food and vendor booths, music, kids’ activities and more.  

Lake Stevens Oktoberfest

Lake Stevens Oktoberfest – Supper Foot Long Corndog

Lake Stevens Oktoberfest

Lake Stevens Oktoberfest – In the Beer Tent – They had a Root beer Tent Too…

Lake Stevens Oktoberfest – In the Beer Tent – Setting up for music – There was German music and dancing down by the lake

Lake Stevens Oktoberfest 

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Cooking at Home – Steak with Morel Marsala Sauce and Visiting Indigo - Kitchen / Ale House – Lynnwood

Cooking at Home – Steak with Morel Marsala Sauce – Preparing the Marsala Sauce

Cooking at Home – Steak with Morel Marsala Sauce

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
4 to 5 Morel mushrooms, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1 pad of butter
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cooking at Home – Steak Marsala with Morel Marsala Sauce – staging your ingredients

Its always a good Idea to stage your ingredients.

Directions:

Add olive oil to heavy hot saucepan. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms.

Cooking at Home – Steak Marsala with Morel Marsala Sauce – add onions, garlic and mushrooms

Note: Re-hydrated dried morels (soaked them in boiling beef stock for 30 minutes).

Sauté until mushrooms are tender.

Cooking at Home – Steak Marsala with Morel Marsala Sauce – sauté until tender

Add flour and cook about 1 minute.

Cooking at Home – Steak Marsala with Morel Marsala Sauce – add flour and cook until flour no longer taste raw

Deglaze pan with Marsala wine.

Cooking at Home – Steak Marsala with Morel Marsala Sauce – deglaze pan with Marsala wine

Cooking at Home – Steak Marsala with Morel Marsala Sauce – stir vigorously until thickened

Cooking at Home – Steak Marsala with Morel Marsala Sauce – stir vigorously until thickened

Add beef stock and cook until thick and flavors are blended.
 

Cooking at Home – Steak Marsala with Morel Marsala Sauce – add beef stock

Cooking at Home – Steak Marsala with Morel Marsala Sauce – cook until thick and flavors are blended

Finish by adding butter.

Cooking at Home – Steak Marsala with Morel Marsala Sauce – finish by adding butter

Keep the Morel Marsala Sauce warm until ready to serve.

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Cooking at Home – Steak with Morel Marsala Sauce – The Steak

Always bring your steak up to room temperature. And make sure to season well.

Cooking at Home – Steak Marsala with Morel Marsala Sauce – The Steak

We cooked this steak by grilling 3 min. on each side then placing it in the oven for another 3 min.

Cooking at Home – Steak Marsala with Morel Marsala Sauce – The Steak

Steak with Morel Marsala Sauce can be served either as a whole steak or thinly sliced as we did.

Cooking at Home – Steak Marsala with Morel Marsala Sauce – The Steak

Spoon the sauce over the steak

Cooking at Home – Steak with Morel Marsala Sauce

Enjoy...

Cooking at Home – Steak with Morel Marsala Sauce

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Around Town

Indigo - Kitchen / Ale House – Lynnwood

Indigo - Kitchen /Ale House – Lynnwood

Indigo - Kitchen /Ale House – Lynnwood - Indigo Steak Bites

Indigo Steak Bites – Tender steak marinated in a spicy chipotle-soy sauce served over sautéed veggies

Indigo - Kitchen /Ale House – Lynnwood - Meatloaf Sliders

Meatloaf Sliders - Home made with beef, pork and bacon and smothered with a tangy chipotle ketchup

Indigo - Kitchen /Ale House – Lynnwood

Indigo - Kitchen /Ale House – Lynnwood

A little hidden location in a busy and new strip mall. Love the food and ambiance.

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Toto’s Mexican - Snohomish

Toto’s Mexican - Snohomish

After having wonderful experiences here, I am not sure what happened...if we picked a bad day for service.

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Anthony's HomePort Everett

Anthony's HomePort Everett

Anthony's HomePort Everett  - Beef Sliders

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Cooking at Home – Chicken with Lemon Marsala Cream Sauce

Cooking at Home – Chicken with Lemon Marsala Cream Sauce...

Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce

 Ingredients

Two chicken breast

3 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup dry Marsala.

1/4 cup lemon juice (or to taste)

3/4 cup heavy cream (substitute: half-and-half)

Capers to taste

Italian seasonings (thyme, garlic, marjoram, onion, rosemary, oregano, savory and Sage)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, pan roasted lemon slices and chopped fresh parsley to garnish

Directions

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce - Pound chicken breast to flatten

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce - Cut each breast in half or quarters

Pound chicken breast to flatten. Cut each breast in half or quarters.

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce - Spread out flour in a shallow bowl

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce - Season well

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce - coat the meat

Spread out flour in a shallow bowl. Season well and coat the meat.

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce – Its always a good Idea to stage your ingredients

Its always a good Idea to stage your ingredients...

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce - Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan until sizzling

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce - this is a good time to pan roast a few slices of lemon

Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan until sizzling. Note: this is a good time to pan roast a few slices of lemon.

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce – Add as many pieces of chicken as the panel will hold

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce – sauté over medium heat

Add as many pieces of chicken as the panel will hold and sauté over medium heat for about 3 min. on each side until crispy and tender.

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce – Transfer to a warmed serving dish

Transfer to a warmed serving dish with tongs and keep hot.

Lower the heat.

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce – Mix the Marsala and lemon juice

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce – Mix the Marsala and lemon juice

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce – Add Marsala and lemon juice to the pan

Mix the Marsala and lemon juice in a bowl, add to the pan and raise the heat. Bring to a boil, stirring in the sediments (deglazing the pan).

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce – Add the cream

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce – simmer and stirring constantly

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce – Add Italian seasonings and capers

Add the cream, simmer, stirring constantly. Add Italian seasonings and capers, stirring until the sauce is reduced and glossy. Taste for seasoning.

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce – Spoon the sauce over the chicken, garnish with a lemon wedge and parsley

Spoon the sauce over the chicken, garnish with a lemon wedge and parsley. Serve immediately.

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce 

Cooking at Home - Chicken with lemon marsala cream sauce - Enjoy 

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Around Town

Sunday Nights Soft Opening of Lombardi’s Mill Creek.  Opening was September 12^th.

Sunday Nights Soft Opening of Lombardi’s Mill Creek – Nate and Janet – Sally also shared our table… Photo using Instagram

Sunday Nights Soft Opening of Lombardi’s Mill Creek - Veal Picatta – capers, lemon juice and white wine… Photo using Instagram

Sunday Nights Soft Opening of Lombardi’s Mill Creek - The Bar after closing… Yes, once again we closed the bar! - lol

Lombardi’s Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar – Mill Creek – New Sign and Open for Business

Lombardi’s Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar – Mill Creek – New Sign and Open for Business

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