triple a pesto

We invited some folks over for dinner last night who have just moved into the neighborhood, which sent me to the refrigerator and the pantry to see what I could make of what I had on hand. I have a couple of recipes to post, but I'll start with this one. I found

marinated aritchokes
dried unsulphured apricots (an equal amount)
almonds (about half the volume of the first two ingredients)
cinnamon basil (from our garden)

I added

a little lemon juice
salt and pepper

and pulsed it in the food processor. Once it was fairly well pureed, I began pouring a slow stream of

olive oil

into the food processor and let it run for a good bit, until the mix was the consistency I wanted. It turned out to be quite good.

Peace,
Milton

balsamic berry chicken

This has way more to do with the sauce than it does the chicken.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Grill the chicken or saute it. Remember, we're trying to get to the sauce. If you saute the bird, remove it from the saute pan and set aside. If you grill it, you can start the sauce while the chicken is on the grill. Add

8 oz raspberry fruit spread
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 small finely diced onion

Cook over pretty high heat until it begins to bubble; lower the heat and let the sauce reduce by about half. You can either add the chicken to the skillet to coat, or plate them and pour the sauce over the top.

Note: I found a good deal on fresh raspberries at the grocery store and covered a pint of raspberries with water and added about 3 tablespoons of honey and let it simmer until the berries fell apart. Then I added the balsamic vinegar and finished the sauce.

Peace,
Milton