<p>Great ideas guys - thanks so much!</p>
<p>I had no idea what to expect when buying pinenuts because I had never bought before - I bought them at a local market that has lots of fresh produce, meats, etc. - I will have to try and compare somewhere else now that I know that the price I paid was a shockeroo!</p>
<p>Note on post 20…you can also add black olives. And I add more tomatoes because I like them.</p>
<p>It was my job as a child to make the pesto but we called it basilico. I would pick the basil and chop it and then with a mortar and pestle grind it down with olive oil and parmesan cheese into a paste. I learned it from my mom who learned how to do it from her MIL who learned from her Mom and so forth all the way from San Colombino de Certinoli in the Cingue Terre region. We then steamed green beans, boiled egg noodles or fresh made spinach noodles and mixed in the basilico. That was a California summer meal back in the fifties! When I moved to the Mediterranean region in 1990, I learned the stuff was called pesto and you put in pine nuts. 
I grow basil on my deck and pick it now to use fresh in salads in sandwiches in whatever. It goes well with lots of food. I prefer the broad leafed variety to the skinny leafed plant.</p>
<p>slightly off topic: I make a mint pesto that is terific with grilled lamb (think mint instead of basil; sometimes I add grated lemon zest).</p>
<p>Good lord, I thought the thread title said “Festo…” I thought I was reading a wrong forum. I need a vacation…</p>
<p>Pesto-pita toasts</p>
<p>Spread a thin layer of pesto over a whole pita round. Sprinkle with sundried tomatoes, dabs of goat cheese, and walnuts. Bake at 400 degrees for 5-8 min. Serve hot.</p>
<p>Delicious!</p>
<p>Besides the basic pesto on fresh-cooked (warm) pasta—always a favorite in our house—we also do a summer pasta salad version, cold pasta with pesto, grape or cherry tomatoes, and small fresh mozzarella balls. Spectacular addition to a picnic, potluck, or backyard barbeque.</p>
<p>Or just mix a little pesto with extra-virgin olive oil for an elegant dip for a good baguette or crusty Italian bread.</p>
<p>One of my favorites:</p>
<p>Chicken breasts (boneless):
Dredge in flour and brown in butter (or olive oil)
Transfer to pyrex baking pan
Top with about 2 tbs pesto each, and a slice of Jarlsburg
Bake (about 350) until jarlsburg is bubbly (about 20-30min)</p>
<pre><code> I top with shallot cream sauce, but even just as is they are good!
</code></pre>
<p>I usually grow a large crop of basil and make a basic pesto containing just basil, garlic, and olive oil. I pour it into a baking pan and freeze it, then turn it out and cut into rough chunks. I put the chunks in a plastic bag and freeze. During the year, I can take out chunks and toss into spaghetti sauce, soups, sauces, make pistou or finish the pesto with nuts, cheese, and butter, etc.</p>
<p>I would rather do without nuts entirely–and usually do-- than use walnuts. The flavor is too bitter. You can get pine nuts for a LOT less $$ at BJs and probably the other stores of that type.</p>
<p>I have found that adding some parsley to the mix helps to keep the pesto green when I refrigerate or freeze it.</p>
<p>Another tip: I have started popping the garlic cloves into boiling water for about a minute prior to adding them to the mix. I think that sometimes the bite of the raw garlic overpowers the other flavors. This slight cooking mellows it but does not detract from the flavor.</p>
<p>I freeze the pesto I make every summer, pine nuts,cheese and all and it lasts until the next summer! i use smaller sized plastic containers.It will look darker green in the freezer but lightens up when reheated.i buy the pine nuts at Costco.One large bag will make all the pesto for the year.In fact, i just stocked up with parmesan,olive oil,nuts etc to do the harvest prob before next weekend.
I also do the cubes of basil mixed only with olive oil do them in ice cube trays and then pop the cubes and freeze in plastic bags.I pop those cubes into tomato sauce.
Use pesto for pizzas (with onions,chicken,cheese) pasta (rotelle, with fresh diced tomatoes and more cheese),crescent rolls (packaged rolls, roll them out, spread pesto on them and some parm cheese rollup and bake)topping for sandwiches as mentioned before.</p>
<p>Cathymee, perfect ideas for me! Thanks a bunch!</p>
<p>I agree, pine nuts are definitely worth it and much less bitter than walnuts.</p>
<p>I recently had a breakfast with pesto that was absolutely delicious:
Toast some baguette type bread, spread pesto, top with a fried egg, sprinkle with parmesan. It was great.</p>
<p>I also made “pesto” with roasted red peppers instead of basil, but all the other ingredients the same. (I added some capers too.) Definitely use pine nuts for this. It was delicious, and you can use it for all the same uses as basil pesto.</p>
<p>With mint (or parsley), as someone mentioned, it becomes like chimichurri, which is great with steak.</p>
<p>Also a pine nut user here, I buy them at Costco.
Never freeze my pesto. Since it is with oil, it is preserved well in the fridge. Never lasts too long anyway.
In wintertime I use parsley instead of basil. Excellent!</p>
<p>I make an appetizer that is so easy…alternate about layers of cream cheese (about 1/4 inch thick layer) with pesto in a lined loaf pan - maybe 4 layers, beginning and ending with cream cheese. Chill for a couple hours, turn out onto a plate and spread some chopped up roasted red peppers on top. Serve with crackers. It’s so yummy, and pretty too (I posted this in another thread a couple weeks ago). </p>
<p>I made 2 huge batches of pesto this weekend and have been spreading cream cheese on crackers, putting a little dab of pesto on top, viola!</p>
<p>Do you know why pine nuts are so expensive? </p>
<p>There are only two on each tree…</p>
<p>^^^and they’re teeny tiny and hard to find.</p>
<p>For a subtler flavor, substitute cilantro and a little fresh-squeezed line juice for the basil. Delicious!</p>
<p>Use the basil on a Caprese salad: slice home-grown organic tomatoes (or seasonal farmer’s market organic tomatoes, if that’s the best you can do).
Place tomato slices on a flat dish.
Layer sliced fresh mozzarella (“mozzarella di bufala,” if available) over sliced tomatoes.
Layer whole fresh basil leaves over mozzarella.
Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Magnificato!</p>
<p>Been eating that ^^^ all summer!</p>
<p>first summer for a long time that we have been able to grown our own tomatoes and we have been living on BLTs and Insalata Caprese!
And yes bclintonk the flavors ARE magnified (magnificato) 
and magnifico as well!</p>