I recently proclaimed that I have been in a bit of a cooking rut. But that’s all about to change, because each week for the remainder of the summer we’ll get our CSA share from Loon Organics.
I look forward to the box of freshly picked veggies each week. And there’s a fun adventure packed in each box….what will you do with the medley of fresh produce? You have 7-12 days to use the treats, so you have to craft your meals around the weekly bounty.
Tonight, a cool 58°F with rain in the distance, seemed like a great night for a hardy pasta dish. And we had the perfect ingredients to make a masterpiece.
A couple weeks ago we were in NYC for a wedding and we went to Murray’s Cheese Shop in the Village. I had a gift certificate with $100 burning up a hole in my pocket. We were able to have lunch for three at the Melts sandwich bar and then we brought home eight stunning, stinky, scrumptious cheeses.
Side note: Seriously, we got a cooler, froze a few sausages from Harlem Shambles and then put the cheese on top. We had the smelliest carryon bag. Sorry fellow passengers. We’ll pretty much do anything for good cheese.
Back to dinner tonight.
First, up we made a rue in our Clay Coyote Flameware Cazuela. Then we added three of the cheeses from Murray’s. We went for two super soft and stinky French treats: Preferes de nos Montagnes and Brillat-Savarin. And a touch of super rare Parmigiano Reggiano aged 5 Years.
Second, we made a basil, garlic scape, pine nut pesto and covered two boneless skinless chicken breasts in the mixture.
While the cheese was melting into a perfect sauce we were boiling pasta (rigatoni) and grilling pesto chicken.
Once the chicken was almost done we brought it in, sliced it up. Then we mixed the pasta into the cheese sauce. And laid the chicken over the top. A little sprinkle of panko and into the oven at 375°F for 20 mins.
While the cheesy chicken was in the oven, we made up a Looney Salad. Fresh greens, sweet hot house tomatoes, carrots, radishes, and finished it off with a couple crunchy croutons and a balsamic vinaigrette.
Cheese Sauce:
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup 1% milk
3-5 oz soft cheese
Melt butter, blend in flour, let brown, add milk and whisk, add cheese and simmer on low, whisk until fully incorporated.
Garlic Scape Pesto:
2 garlic scapes
handful basil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch of sea salt
Add scapes, basil, pine nuts, and salt to food processor. Blend. Add olive oil until pesto like consistency.
