Ciao a Tutti!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend!  Now that we've managed to slowly pull ourselves away from the barbecue, it's time to get back to the kitchen so we can work on quick and easy meals for the other 364 days in the year!  This week finds us traveling to the northeast corner of the map, nestled comfortably between the azure Ligurian Sea and the snowy peaks of the Apennine Mountains -- you guessed it -- Genoa -- from the lovely region of Liguria!

With the help of the radiant Nonna Marisa, we'll be crushing and grinding our way to making the simplest homemade topping for pasta, the world famous Pesto alla Genovese and to showcase this delicious sauce Nonna Marisa and I will prepare for you Trofie con Pesto.  Traditionally, the ingredients are combined in a marble mortar and crushed to a creamy consistency with a pestle.  The pine nuts are added and crushed together with the other ingredients.

When the nuts are well-incorporated into the "cream", grated cheese or olive oil can be added and mixed with a wooden spoon. In a tight jar (or simply in an air-tight plastic container), pesto can last in the refrigerator up to a week, and can also be frozen for later use.

Often imitated, but never duplicated, this recipe is sure to be one of your favorites.  Of course, the most fun part is grinding away at the ingredients (my goodness, the aromas!), but a food processor will more than suffice to combine your ingredients, and will certainly do it in short-order.  Whichever way you choose, you will be happy with the results every single time.

Tanti Baci,

Rossella