8/7/11

Basil- it’s what’s for dinner!  Basil is by far my favorite herb to cook with. I love it for its fresh earthy licorice-ness. I find it has the most flavor when served raw or when added to a cooked dish at the very last minute. Heating it seems to destroy it’s flavor. And dried basil, just forget it. I usually pick up a fresh bunch of it at the grocery store, stick it in a pint glass with some water, and set it on the window sill over my kitchen sink…. then it’s at my fingertips to pluck off a couple leaves and throw them in whatever. I love adding basil to salads, sandwiches, omlettes, you name it. I had my family over for dinner a few nights ago and cooked a meal that included basil in all these courses… bruschetta and olive tapenade for appe, creamy pesto pasta for dinner, and the margherita pizza ended up being a late night snack. Dessert that night was my sister and brother-in-law’s 1 year old wedding cake but I did see a recipe by Giada De’Laurentis for Basil Cheesecake I’m dying to try…

Recipe

1 pizza crust ( i always use pillsbury)

olive oil

8 oz. shredded mozzarella 

1 large tomato, sliced

3 T. grated parmesean 

shredded basil

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

S&P

Roll pizza crust out onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 8 minutes to get it started. Remove pizza crust from oven, brush with olive oil, top with garlic, mozzarella, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Bake for an additional 10 minutes until cheese is melted. Then, top with basil and parmasean.