Grilled Chicken and Pesto Spaghetti

Homemade Pesto

1/4 cup olive oil or cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts and/or pine nuts
2 cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
1/4 tsp salt
Black pepper

1. In a food processor bowl or blender container combine oil, nuts, basil, cheese, garlic, and salt. Cover and process or blend until nearly smooth, stopping and scraping sides as necessary. Add pepper to taste. If you're not serving the pesto immediately, divide it into 3 portions. Place each portion in a small airtight container and chill for 1 to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Makes enough pesto for 18 side-dish servings (about 3/4 cup pesto total).

I decided to try homemade pesto since I had some fresh basil around. I didn't want my basil to go bad so I made it a couple of days ahead of time. The recipe I used is from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

The ingredients:

I didn't have 2 cups of basil on hand, only about 2/3 cup. I decided to go ahead and make it and just cut the rest of the recipe down to a third.



I don't get to use my food processor nearly enough. Here it is all loaded up and looking happy.



I've heard of pesto many times but I've never really worked with it or had it all by itself before (I've actually only had it in pesto mayo). The processed pesto smells incredible. I had to stop and scrap the sides a couple of times; I even had to take out the blade and clean out from under once to make sure I got all the pieces.



This picture doesn't do it justice; the coloring of the pesto is so pretty. It has an awesome tang to it. With my adjustments to the recipe, I ended up with about 1/3 cup of pesto.

Herb-Lemon Marinade for Chicken

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced fresh herbs, such as tarragon, chives, basil, or parsley
1 Tbsp juice from 1 lemon
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 Tbsp)
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp water

1. Whisk together ingredients in medium bowl. Place marinade and chicken in gallon-sized zipper-lock bag; press out as much air as possible and seal bag. Depending on chicken type, refrigerate 30 to 90 minutes, flipping bag halfway trhough to ensure that chicken marinates evenly.

Makes enough for 2 pounds chicken.

I found this recipe in June 2009 edition of Cooks Illustrated. It was accompanied by an article, "Marinating Done Right." It debunks myths like using a "bottled dressing is a great time-saver" and gives awesome tips. It's a good read.

The ingredients:

I didn't have any fresh basil left over so I substituted dried basil instead. I also made the full recipe of marinade even though I only had about 1 pound of chicken to marinate.

I have tried to reduce grocery costs lately by buying bulk frozen chicken breasts. You don't get as good a quality of meat but it is significantly cheaper and less likely to spoil since it's already frozen. The quality of meat usually isn't a big issue for me since I usually serve chicken incorporated in a casserole or more complex dish.

My husband is definitely the grillmaster in our household. He has gotten pretty good with charcoal since we started using it over the past year. I grew up grilling with gas but I've grown to prefer the extra flavor you get with charcoal. This was Tyler's first attempt grilling chicken and it went quite well. Kudos to him.

The final product: I tossed the pesto with spaghetti and served it on the side of the grilled chicken. Despite the lower quality of meat, the chicken turned out really well, moist and tender and very flavorful. The marinade added a wonderful tang and a bit of sweetness to the chicken. The pesto spaghetti tasted good but was a bit dry. I might try tossing the spaghetti with a little butter before adding the pesto just to make the whole thing a bit moister. On the whole this meal still gets a gold star from me (and the rest of the family).