Italian Cooking....Mmmmmm

Pea Pesto Crostini

Last Wednesday I took another demonstration cooking class at William's Sonoma. It was another class out of their "Cookbook" series - where they demonstrate recipes from cookbooks - you get to see how it's done, eat all the fantastic food, and get to take home the cook book. This time we learned a few super yummy recipes out of Giada DeLaurentiis's new cook book Giada at Home.

The first recipe was for the Pea Pesto Crostini (as pictured above). It was so simple to make and was super delicious and refreshing. I made this at home on Friday night and it turned out just as well as when they had made it at the store.

Pea Pesto Crostini
(recipe by Giada De Laurentiis of course)

1 (10 oz) package of frozen peas, thawed
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly grown black pepper, plus more to taste
2/3 cup olive oil
8 (1/2 inch thick) slices of baguette or ciabatta bread
Cherry tomatoes, halved, or 1 small tomato diced

Pulse together in a food processor the peas, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. With the machine running, slowly add 1/3 cup of the olive oil and continue to mix until well combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

For the crostini: preheat a stovetop griddle or grill pan over medium high.

Brush both sides of each of the bread slices with the remaining 1/3 cup of olive oil and grill until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the bread to a platter and spread 1 to 2 tablespoons pesto on each slice. Top each crostini with 2 tomato halves and serve.

I don't have a food processor - it's just too large an appliance to add to our collection that already takes up our tiny kitchen counter tops. I bought the other day a really fantastic "hand operated" food processor called the Veggie Chop. It's really fantastic, and is I am positive perfect for chopped cucumber and tomato salads or salsas. I made the pea pesto in this, as well as the next recipe (below) and it worked well...and gave me a bit of a work out too!

The Next recipe was for Artichoke and Bean Bruschetta


This was also extremely delicious and flavorful. I could eat this just for dinner itself really. Of course - to keep it vegetarian you can leave the prosciutto off.

Artichoke and Bean Bruschetta

Vegetable oil cooking spray
4 very thin slices of prosciutto
12 (1/4" thick) slices rustic country bread
1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 (12 oz) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
1 (15 oz) can cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place an over rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray

Lay the prosciutto in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until crispy. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes

on another baking sheet, arrange the bread slices in a single layer. Using a pastry brush, brush the bread with 1/4 cup of the oil. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden.

In a food processor, combine artichoke hearts, beans, cheese, basil, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pulse until the mixture is chunky. With the machine running slowly, add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and mix until combined but still slightly chunky.

Spoon the artichoke mixture onto the crostini. Crumble the prosciutto and sprinkle on the top. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Then we had the main dish - Chicken Milanese with Fennel and Tomato Sauce


And for dessert - Raspberry Poundcake with Moscato Whipped Cream


It was so delicious! I can't wait to make the chicken milanese and I am sure that felipe is really looking forward to trying the raspberry poundcake (he'll just have to wait for raspberries to be more in season).