Pistachio Pesto Chicken and Pasta

This is a recipe I found on Pinterest from How Sweet It Is, a great cooking blog. I had basil growing in the garden that I needed to prune a large section off of, so I decided to make pesto. Jeran has said before that he doesn't really like pesto so I normally wouldn't make it but this looked so good, and it uses pistachios which are delicious and easy. We both loved it. I liked the pasta better, Jeran liked the chicken better. Either way, it's a win.

Pistachio Pesto Chicken and Pasta

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup finely grated pecorino romano cheese

1 cup shelled pistachios
10 large basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, torn
1 garlic clove
1/3 cup finely grated pecorino romano cheese
1/3-1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bring water for pasta to a boil.

Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a large oven-safe skillet on medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, add chicken and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes each.

While the chicken is cooking, add pistachios, basil, parsley, garlic and cheese to a food processor. Pulse and blend until the nuts are coarsely chopped, then with the processor on, stream in 1/3 cup of olive oil. Add a little more if necessary, depending on how "spreadable" you want your pesto to be. Finish by adding in salt and blending once more. Spread a thin layer of pesto on top of each chicken breast in the skillet, then place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

While chicken is baking, boil pasta and prepare according to directions. Once finished, drain pasta and toss with remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, about 1/4 cup of pesto, the red pepper flakes and grated pecorino. You just want a very light coating of pesto on the noodles. Once chicken is done, remove and spread a little additional pesto on top. Serve together!

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We found that it makes enough pesto for twice the amount of chicken or pasta or you can use it for something else completely. Or you could do JUST pasta or JUST chicken. Whatever you put it on will be very tasty.

Mac and Cheese with Roasted Poblano Chiles

Kara and I have been looking for quite some time for a good mac and cheese recipe. I think we finally found it - we loved this dish! Even though this is a slightly spicy recipe, variations should be pretty easy. The hardest part of the recipe was timing everything - I'd suggest doing the peppers first, and putting the noodles in to cook about when you start the Bechamel sauce.

Mac and Cheese
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 large fresh poblano chiles
Sea salt
1 lb dried pasta
4 cups hot Bechamel sauce (recipe included)
8 oz sharp white cheddar, grated
8 oz sharp orange cheddar, grated
8 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano or Asiago, grated
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp Hungarian paprika
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 c breadcrumbs

Bechamel sauce
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 c unbleached all-purpose flour
4 c whole milk, heated till steaming
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

Peppers:
Lay chiles on the sides on a gas burner and turn flame on high. Roast chiles, turning with tongs, until skins are evenly charred, about 10 minutes. (We put them in the oven on high broil).
Steam until cool in a closed paper bag (we put them in a covered bowl), about 15 minutes. Under cold running water, rub off burned peel. Then discard stems, core and devein chiles, scraping away all seeds, and cut into long thin strips.

Pasta:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to instructions on package until just tender. Drain pasta and transfer to a large bowl (do not rinse) and toss with butter.

Bechamel Sauce:
Melt 6 tablespoons butter over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking often, without allowing flour to brown, about 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in hot milk. Add salt and nutmeg (and black pepper, if desired). Return to medium heat and bring to simmer. Continue to cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sauce has thickened to texture of melted ice cream, about 10 minutes.
Add cayenne, paprika, mustard, and Tabasco to sauce.
Stir all but one cup of the grated cheeses into the bechamel sauce. Heat, stirring until cheese just melt and sauce is smooth.

Pour the sauces over the pasta in the bowl. Add chiles and stir. Spoon into a buttered 9x13 baking dish . Top with remaining cheese and breadcrumbs.

Bake at 400 until pasta is heated through, sauce is bubbling, and top is browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand on a rack for 5 minutes. Serves 8.