Pesto Festo (for three)

Laura Gibson, that wonder of energy and joy, tells of her mother's annual August party celebrating that wonder of leaves, basil. For my wedding cookbook she contributed:

Pesto Festo is an annual event held at Mama Gibson's house where all the remaining basil growing in the backyard is harvested at the end of the summer and many baggies of pesto goodness are created. They are then stored in the freezer so we can enjoy pesto all year long. Mom generally divides one recipe of pesto in half for freezing so that each bag contains enough pesto for 2 servings.

The pesto recipe itself is from a Stars and Stripes newspaper article mom clipped in Naples..we tried many recipes before discovering this one which is indeed the favorite and, we think, the most authentic.

The recipe is more garlicky than I would expect, uses almonds rather than pine nuts, and omits salt (but I suspect they put it in anyway), but is basic, classic basil pesto.

With the four pots of Trader Joe's basil growing on my herb table in the backyard starting to show their age, it was time for a little festa of our own. Since the schedule for the day left a larger hole in the afternoon than dinner would really take to make but not long enough to go out for an activity, I made fresh pasta.

I have not one but two pasta makers. I have, but never really use the typical double roller device for rolling down pasta dough thinner and thinner to fettuccine or spaghetti width that comes with a cutter attachment for the final and most satisfying run through the machine to produce dozens of strands at once. The pasta maker I do use (occasionally, a few times a year) is my pasta extruder Cuisinart attachment. It is one of those seemingly useful kitchen items, like an ice cream maker or chafing dish, that often ends up at tag sales. Mine still has the $2 handwritten sticker on it, three years later.

It can make macaroni! Following the exceedingly detailed directions that sound at once colloquial and translated from another language/culture.

Pick up the extruder housing, holding it as shown. Place your left hand with the fingers over the screw cap and the thumb on the front panel. Place your right hand with the fingers on the back panel and the thumb in the hopper locking track. DON'T PUT YOUR FINGERS UNDER THE ATTACHMENT; THEY MAY GET PINCHED AS THE ATTACHMENT LOCKS INTO PLACE.

It's the semicolon that gets me.

Still, it is awesome and fresh pasta, while related to the everyday dried stuff, really is a different and superior food. Pesto Pasta Festa!

Yesterday's run destination: DK's Donuts

Yesterday's menu:
breakfast: donuts
lunch: the last of the crepes, eaten savory with smoked mozzarella, pepperoni and capers
dinner: pesto pasta and salmon