I have a big match tomorrow and all of the family has left town, so I had a splendid little evening planned for myself tonight. To start things off right, I was able to grab a serious sports massage at 4. Following that, I was planning on heading home and creating a tasty concoction which would allow me to do my best tomorrow….then something really great happened!
As I was walking back to my car, I heard someone call my name, I knew right away it was Pam, at Red Ticking, because I was just across the street from her fabulous shop. She was standing with another woman, and as I walked up, they were very quiet…I had a suspicion of who this lovely, chic gal might be, but I wasn’t sure.
Then, finally. we met… someone I’ve been interacting with for months in the blogosphere. She’s the creator of “I dream of”, I met the one and only Jeanne, and it was a delight.
We were all so happy to have a spontaneous sidewalk gathering and talked about getting together for drinks, dinners, etc.. The 3 of us had so much to talk about, creativity, blogging, our neighborhood, furnishings, fashions, food, and I am sure that is just scratching the surface. But, I had a date with my empty house, I had to get home… they both asked “what are you going to do?” I told them my plans, which included a couch, a bowl of pasta, a shower, some blogging, sleep and a glass of wine. When I got home I clicked over to I Dream of.. and enjoyed again her post on the pleasures of a girls night.
I love a great {or even average} girls night, or weekend, but tonight, I needed a girl night..a night to regroup and take care of things. Amongst other indulgences, I had a great little bowl of pasta.
I created a dish that features one of my long time favorite and early published recipes, rustic pesto. When “whipping” up something like this, I always try to create a flavorful base, mixed in with something fresh. I always follow the French practice of not allowing any flavors to go to waste. Also, I always salt along the way. I know there is a lot of concern over sodium these days, but I read recently {and I believe}, that if you eat mostly fresh, pure ingredients, it is fine {and actually healthy} to add a moderate amount of salt to your food.
I wanted some pasta with some protein, and I was really in the mood for spinach! I love poaching chicken for dishes like this. I find the meat comes out nice and tender and once it’s cooked, you have a pan of tasty poaching liquid to flavor the final dish.
In a saute pan I poured a tablespoon or so of olive oil, threw in large clove of garlic {coarsely chopped}, and 1/2 half of a tomato, chopped. I sauteed it all until the tomato became soft and then poured in about a glass of white wine and used a spatula to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Into the white wine I slipped a boneless, skinless chicken breast, sprinkled in 5 fresh basil leaves and covered the breast with water. Then I put the lid on the pan and allowed it to cook on a high simmer for 25 minutes.
I loved wandering out to my little potager to pinch a few herbs for the dish, there is nothing like the fragrance of fresh basil leaves warmed by the sun.
I made my favorite rustic pesto sauce with walnuts. Generally, I added about a 1/4 of the ingredients in this recipe, though I found I needed to add a little more olive oil to make it saucy. Also, I’ve had this crush on sundried tomatoes lately, so I added a couple of tablespoons of those ruby lovelies to my pesto.
I also added a few shavings of Parmesan Reggiano, then I mixed it all together with a fork.
Into salted, boiling water I dropped about 2 ounces of my favorite egg~spinach fettuccine.
And, into the broth in which I poached the chicken breast, I piled about 1/4 pound of baby spinach leaves. I turned up the heat and allowed the leaves to wilt.
Doesn’t that look flavorful and yummy??
While the spinach with wilting, I chopped up about 1/2 half of the poached chicken breast.
and a couple of slices of prosciutto ham.
Then I tossed everything together and topped it with a sprig of basil {which I proceeded to tear up and add to the pasta for added fresh flavor}.
that’s it ~ bon appetito!
Do you like having a girl night? What do you like to do??
emily…
i think we should have followed you home… my mouth is watering and it is 9:00 in the morning!
it was so fun yesterday… we do need a girls night soon!
enjoy your weekend… and good luck today! xoxo
Emily! This looks delicious. I'm with Pam–we should have followed you home! I will definitely be trying this out on my next "girl night" (I might be a bit over due come to think of it). It was such a delight to meet you in person. What a treat! And so fun to have a "kindred spirit" right here in the 'hood. We definitely need a girls night soon!
Hope your match goes well today and that the rest of your weekend is full of good things! Xoxo
Absolutely divine! I had a girls night last night and we ate pasta. Wish you had been here in Birmingham with us!! You could have brought your dish. It looks wonderful. M.
I know, I was missing you all! another time!
I wanted to share this great comment, about a great "girl" day sent to me by a reader in Denver:
I had a wonderful, girl night in NYC recently.
After a weekend of manic fun, my galpal had flown-home. I had a whole day/night to myself. I went to the Green Flea on the Upper West side (unlikely spot, eh?) and bought a lovely mink stole…so fun. I happened upon an amazing dress shop and partook in 3 of their lovely wares (tisk!). Then, I walked all the way back to midtown…passing Julluard, Lincoln Center (which had a great market and music set-up), I ate Tonno Putanesca over linguine…fab!, and then I then I got gussied up for a 7p show: Billy Elliot…which made me laugh & cry,cry,cry! The piece de la resistance of the day was stopping at a brasserie near my hotel for tart tatin and coffee. It was a Girl Day that I'm sure I'll remember.
Emily, this looks absolutely fabulous. I've been off of grains for a couple months, but this is far too tempting!
Hi Margo ~ I, too, and trying to stick to a more gluten free diet. Every once in awhile I love to splurge on pasta though! I used a spinach egg noodle pasta, thinking that that would mean less flour…