Time: 10-15 minutes

Serves: 8-12 as an appetizer

Inspired by: One of women in my book club, Nancy Beth Garrett, made something very similar to this recently with a pesto sauce from Trader Joes. I couldn’t stop eating it and stuffed myself before dinner!

Ingredients

• 2, 14 oz cans cannellini beans (white kidney beans), drained
• Juice from about ½ a lemon
• 1 garlic clove – crushed
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 bunch basil
• 2-4 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
• ½ teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Pesto – Wash and dry basil leaves; put into food processor and chop a bit first. Add olive oil, crushed garlic, grated fresh Parmesan and salt. Chop/blend well. Pour the pesto into a bowl or jar to store (you will only use some of it).

Dip – Without cleaning the food processor, add the beans and 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice and pulse chop to your desired consistency OR instead, you can just hand mash this in a bowl. Unlike when I make hummus, for this dip I like the beans to keep some texture and lumps, but you can also make this very smooth and creamy. If you want it to be smooth and creamy, continue the rest of this with the processor. Otherwise, put the mixture so far in a bowl, add 2-3 tablespoons of pesto and mix by hand. Add a little at a time and taste to get it to desired intensity. Add additional pesto oil, salt or lemon juice as desired. Garnish with drops of basil oil, basil leaves or flowers.

Notes: Serve with crackers, pita bread or raw veggies such as celery and carrots.  You can skip a step and purchase your favorite pesto sauce instead of making your own pesto oil.

Wine Suggestions: Yummy with light, crisp whites and aromatic whites such as Grüner Veltliner, Sancerre, Albarino, Verdejo, Chablis or other lightly oaked White Burgundy. Although I’ve heard that Cabernet Sauvignon is a good pairing with Pesto, and I can see how that could be the case, I think the whites are much better matches flavor and weight-wise for this fairly light dip.

Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 8

Inspired by: I’ve always loved the ingredients in a Greek salad – in any way, shape or form as long as there is not raw onion (which is fairly common). I especially love it with a lot of crunch (romaine, cucumber, bell peppers),  large chunks of tomato, feta. I also often simplify the dressing to just olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Salad Ingredients:

• Romaine lettuce chopped into easier to eat strips (6-8 large handfuls)
• 1/2 bunch Italian flat leafed parsley – de-stemmed – just keep the leaves
• Additional greens (optional – I prefer to add more green)
• Organic on the vine or cherry tomatoes – chopped into chunks and lightly salted and peppered
• 1/2 English cucumber, or Persian cucumber, sliced lengthwise and then sliced and lightly salted
• A few slices of petite bell peppers (optional)
• 4 oz of feta cheese in 1/2 inch chunks

Dressing Ingredients:

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon tarragon (optional)

Preparation:

• Mix the salad dressing ingredients in a shaker.
• Toss the romaine and parsley in a large salad bowl with about half of the dressing – enough to coat the leaves well.
• Add the rest of the salad ingredients and toss lightly/carefully – adding additional dressing if needed.

Notes: I love this with curry chicken kabobs or with grilled or blackened salmon, blackened chicken, or spicy grilled shrimp.

Wine Suggestions: the vinegar in the dressing often makes wine pairing difficult for salads. Champagne is a great way to go as a first course with a salad, or go with another high-acid white wine such as a White Burgundy. If you serve this as a side dish with spicy chicken or fish, check out those recipes for additional pairing suggestions.

Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 2-4 as a side dish

Inspired by: My love for asparagus, lemon and quick turn cooking when I’m in a hurry but want to eat healthy!

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch asparagus – ideally thin tender ones
• 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

• Begin to heat a sauté pan or cast iron skillet.
• Wash and drain the asparagus. Snap the tough ends off the bottom.
• Grate the peel of the lemon with a fine grater (approximately 1 tablespoon of zest).
• Put the olive oil and the asparagus into the hot pan and toss well.
• Cook until you begin seeing the outside char but still firm.
• Squeeze lemon over the asparagus and add salt and pepper to taste.
• Cook asparagus just a bit more until it is your desired firmness; toss with lemon zest just before removing from skillet to serve.

Wine Suggestions: You might select a wine that goes best with your main course, however, Asparagus is one of those foods that has certain chemicals in it that can make your wine taste green and vegetal. Charring the asparagus on the grill or as in this recipe can help reduce that effect quite a lot, as can cooking with thin spears (which have less of these chemicals). Cheesy sauces and dressings help too, but I prefer to eat lighter and taste the asparagus! A few rules of thumb are to stay away from wines with lots of tannin and oak and choose crisp aromatic varietals such as Sauvignon Blanc, Verdejo, Pinot Gris or Gruner Veltliner and maybe an unoaked Chardonnay. Fruity, spicy and off dry whites such as Riesling and Gewürztraminer are good too, and Champagne is always a great option. With the lemon flavors in this dish I think the best pairing are high acid wines such as Champagne, an unoaked Chablis, White Burgundy or Sancerre.

Time: 5-10 minutes

Inspired by: Rikke’s vegetarian lasagna with homemade pasta and a layer of pesto! This was the most amazing lasagna so when I tried to come up with a lasanga recipe that would be similar, I wanted to make my own pesto oil and concocted the below. Now I use this on pasta and in veggie dips. It’s so easy.

Ingredients:

• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 large bunches fresh basil leaves (approximately 3 cups lightly chopped leaves)
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ – 1 teaspoon of salt (to taste)
• 2-4 tablespoons parmesan (optional)
• pine nuts (traditional pesto has some pine nuts, but I prefer to leave them out)

Preparation: Blend all ingredients well in a food processor.

Serve with: Awesome on pasta. I use this in my grilled vegetable lasagna and white bean pesto dip.

Wine suggestions: I have heard that pesto can be a good pairing with Cabernet Sauvignon. I can see how that might be true with a pretty rich dish that uses a lot of pesto.

Time: 15 minutes plus cooling time

Inspired by: my super sweet, ex mother-in-law, Betty Moore, gave me this recipe! She always made the yummiest sandwiches, and this mustard was one of her tricks! I almost always keep some in the fridge as it is awesome on everything. This is a sweet and quite spicy mustard. The Coleman’s Dry Mustard gives this a sinus-clearing bite similar to fresh horseradish.

Supplies: a microwave, microwave-safe bowl and a whisk or electric mixer

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Coleman’s Dry Mustard
• ¾ cup white wine vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• pinch of salt

Preparation:

• In a large, microwave-safe bowl, blend all ingredients together with a whisk or on a low to medium speed with an electric mixer. I usually start with the eggs, add in the sugar and salt, and then the dry mustard and vinegar.
• Microwave for 2 minutes. Remove and stir well. Repeat 3-4 times until it is as thick as you’d like it to be. It will also thicken up quite a bit when it cools. Makes between 1 pint and 1 quart.

Notes: It’s best to make this a day or more ahead as it will cool and thicken up – making it easier to spread on wraps or sandwiches if you don’t want it to “run”. When I know I’ll be using it as a spread for wraps I usually make it a little bit thicker with an extra cycle or two in the microwave.I love using it warm as a pretzel dip as well!

Time: 5 minutes

Serves: 1

Inspired by: One of my favorite breakfasts – a bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese.

Ingredients:

• 1 tortilla
• 4-6 thin slices of smoked salmon
• 2 tablespoons spreadable goat cheese
• 2-4 thin slices of cucumber (1/4 x 1/4 inch slices – this keeps them crunchy but also easy to roll)
• 1 teaspoon of dill (dried or fresh)

Preparation:

• Lay the tortilla in front of you and spread the goat cheese on the bottom third
• Sprinkle the dill over the goat cheese
• Add the salmon over the dill
• Add the slices of cucumber in a narrow band across
• Starting from the bottom, roll the tortilla tightly with all the fillings
• Spear with a toothpick through the middle to help hold it together, or wrap in foil

Note: For party sandwiches, cut into 4-5 slices. You may need to cut off a tiny bit of the ends. This is awesome dipped in a yogurt dill sauce.

Wine Suggestions: Good matches with the smoked salmon include off-dry wines such as Viongier, Condrieu, Riesling or light bodied reds such as a California Pinot Noir or Red Burgundy.