Enter Your Recipes For A Chance To Attend BlogHer 2013 in Texas

This post brought to you by Pompeian. All opinions are 100% mine.

Every now and then, a bit of change in your life is a good thing. Changing up your routines and styles keeps you from falling into ruts, slumps and becoming bored with your surroundings. In the kitchen, change can often result in the awakening of the senses and spirit. Nothing compares to taking a bite of something memorable for the first time especially when you made it with your own hands. Pompeian & Hungry Girl are challenging foodies and bloggers from all around the World to re-create some of their favorite recipes using Pompeian grapeseed oil or OlivExtra Premium Mediterranean Blend, instead of their usual butter or vegetable oil. All you have to do is simply post your recipe on your blog w/ a picture of the finished product, head to the Pompeian’s Time to Change Your Oil app to share your link, enter your contact info and click submit. The lucky winner will be selected by Hungry Girl Lisa Lillien and will receive an expense paid trip to BLogHer Food ’13 in Austin, TX in June. The winning recipe will also be featured throughout the event courtesy of Pompeian.

Chefs for years have known about the wonders of grape-seed oil because of its high smoke point and its light flavors that lend to just about any dish. We here at The Supreme Plate tend to use the Grape-seed in recipes like these Smoky Fried Chickpeas or this amazing Beef-Stir Fry that will have your friends begging for more. This is an incredibly easy contest to enter and can be won by anyone particularly those of you who have skills in the kitchen and take great photos (which happens to be most of our readers) just make sure you use the right products and then post it to the Facebook pge listed below. Just for entering alone, you will get a coupon for a free bottle of Pompeian Oils that you can use at your local grocery store. Please make sure so that you don’t find yourself excluded from the contest that you keep whatever post you submit, strictly about the contest and the oil itself, don't make this about your recent trip to Greece, that could be where ya find yourself lost.

Recipe Of The Day: The Classic Pesto

Over the weekend we got a few tweets asking us just what is Pesto and how hard it is to actually make. Pesto is a sauce that originates in Genoa, Italy and traditionally consists of crushed garlic, basil and Pine nuts, blended with olive oil & Parmigiano Reggiano. These days, crushing the nuts by hand and using a mortar and pestle is a bit much for some people so the recipe is widely made in a food processor or blender.

When I was in Culinary School, I was amazed at how quickly one of my Chefs would pull together a quick Pesto a few of his choice students were allowed to snack on after the madness of the day had subsided.

The great thing about Pesto sauce is that it goes with A few fresh ingredients that pull together rather quickly and can be added to quite a few different dishes. Try mixing it directly into the pot you boiled your pasta in (after draining it of course,) drizzling over minestrone for a garnish, sprinkled over sliced beef steak tomatoes, the possibilities are endless.

Whatever you do, enjoy it, cause it is truly one of life’s treasures.

Ingredients

2.5 Cups Packed Fresh Basil Leaves

3 Cloves Garlic (if your familiar with roasting Garlic, roasting the garlic first, allowing it to cool down, then incorporating it into this recipe makes it that much more amazing.)

¼ Cup Pine Nuts

1 TBS Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

2/3 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, Divided

Kosher Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste

½ Cup Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

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

Add 1/2 cup of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth.

Season with salt and pepper.

If using immediately, add all the remaining oil and pulse until smooth.

Transfer the pesto to a large serving bowl and mix in the cheese.

This is a recipe that can be frozen, If freezing, transfer to an air-tight container and lightly drizzle the remaining oil over the top, but do not stir it in. Also only stir in the cheese if your going to be using the Pesto right away. That way the cheese will keep its crisp flavor.

Freeze for up to 2 months.  

Thaw and stir in cheese, when ready to use again.