Pesto party!

Had a blast tonight throwing a pesto party!

A friend was looking for reasons to get out of the house this summer, and I saw a pesto recipe and thought, “That would be fun way to use up all the basil I’m going to have,” thinking I was going to have fresh basil coming out of my ears like last summer.

Well, my basil plants didn’t deliver, but the pesto party did!

I stocked up on extra basil and pine nuts from Joe Caputo’s Market (wonderful produce) and borrowed a food processor from another friend. I also picked up 16 little plastic Ziploc containers, so my guests could bring pesto home. Between the internet and my Everyday Food magazines, I found two recipes — one for a standard basil pesto and a second for a basil-mint pesto (because I have fresh mint plants, too, purchased primarily for mojitos on the deck, but they’ll make great pesto, too).

Printed up the recipes, added some ideas for using pesto and tagged on a recipe for Almond-Apricot Chicken with Mint Pesto.

Before the guests arrived, I roasted the garlic and started toasting the pine nuts. I picked as much fresh basil and fresh mint from my garden as I could, but I got less than a cup of each. Thank goodness for the backup!

When everyone arrived, we looked at the recipes and made small talk while making the pesto together. Funny how everyone’s experiences are different — lots of talk about how to roast garlic and where to buy Parmesan cheese and such.

The basil-mint pesto was better by far — that recipe called for lemon juice and lemon zest, which really added great punch. Taste-tested it and spooned it into the little containers.

Then assembled the desserts (which were completely unrelated, but still delicious: grilled apricots with homemade whipped cream). We sat around and chatted and ate. It was fun!

Here’s the recipe for the Basil-Mint Pesto:

• 2 cups basil leaves, stems removed
• 2 cups mint leaves, stems removed
• ½ lemon, juice and zest
• ¼ cup pine nuts or almonds
• 3-5 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or more if needed
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

 Roast garlic if you’d like, and toast the pine nuts (10 minutes in a 350-degree oven). Using a food processor, finely chop the basil, mint and garlic. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, Parmesan cheese and pine nuts or almonds and pulse into a course paste. With the machine on, slowly add the olive oil until incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Makes a rounded cup.

Ways to use your pesto:

• Smear on sliced, toasted French bread and top with sliced tomato for bruschetta.
• Spread on a pizza crust instead of pizza sauce. Top with mozzarella (fresh mozzarella is delicious) and bake.
• Mix with sour cream for a veggie and/or cracker dip.
• Add to hot, cooked pasta noodles (add cooking water and/or cream if necessary) and toss. Also good in a pasta salad.
• Brush onto grilled meats (basil mint pesto is especially good with lamb).
• Beat into eggs before cooking.
• Stir into vegetable soup.
• Spread on inside of sandwich bread and add your favorite meats and cheeses; grill like a panini.