When I was in college, we had a little cafe in one of our academic buildings that served cilantro petso pasta salad. I love regular pesto, but I really love cilantro, so it’s a perfect fit. I made a standard cilantro pesto and added some veggies for crunch and color. Tasty!

Cilantro Pesto Pasta Salad

1 lb pasta, I used campanelle
~3 c cilantro (about 1.5 bunches)
5 T olive oil
juice of half a lime
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1/3 c parmesan
1/4 c skinned almonds or walnuts
1 large jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 c sweet corn

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, but slightly undercook (it will soften more as it chills). Rinse under cold water and let sit at room temperature until ready to make the salad.

2. Put garlic, cilantro, nuts, olive oil, lime juice and parmesan into blender. Pulse until smooth. Add water if necessary to thin.

3. Combine pasta with pesto and veggies. Add S+P to taste. Chill until ready to use!

Welcome to JS readers! Feel free to browse my previous posts and recipes. For now, here’s the recipe that was in the paper, in case you’re looking for an electronic copy. Bun is probably one of my favorite summertime salads. If you don’t like beef, feel free to use shrimp, pork, tofu or chicken as the protein in this salad.

Vietnamese Bun with Seared Beef

Salad (makes 4 servings):
1 recipe seared beef
1 recipe nuoc cham
8 oz rice vermicelli or bean thread noodles
1 small head red leaf or Boston lettuce, shredded
3 carrots, julienned
1/2 large English cucumber, julienned
4 T chopped basil
4 T chopped cilantro
2 T chopped mint
roasted peanuts, crushed, optional

Cook noodles according to package directions and chill in ice water under ready to use. Arrange a bed of lettuce on each plate. Top with chilled, drained noodles, carrots, cucumber, sliced beef, herbs and peanuts, if using. Drizzle nuoc cham over salad and serve extra along side.

Seared beef
1 lb sirloin or flank steak
1 large sprig basil (6-8 leaves)
1 large sprig mint (6-8 leaves)
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 T fish sauce*
3 T canola oil
juice of 1/2 lime

Tear basil and mint and combine with other ingredients. Add beef and marinade for at least 1 hour but no more than 3. Pat meat dry, then pan sear over medium-high heat or grill until desired doneness.

Nuoc Cham
1/2 c hot water
1/4 c fish sauce*
3 T sugar
2-3 T lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Thai bird chiles or one large serrano, seeded and minced

Combine hot water and sugar to dissolve. Add other ingredients and adjust seasoning to your liking by adding more acid (lime), salt (fish sauce) or sugar.

* Preferably 3 Crabs brand. Look for the pink label with 3 crabs on it.

I mean, just look at it. You can’t argue with that.

I made this cake for Nick’s birthday. He’s a pb and chocolate kinda guy…although he has been getting slightly sick of the combination lately, as I’ve been making a ton of pb+c baked goods. Oops.

This recipe is shamelessly stolen from SmittenKitchen.com, one of my favorite food blogs. Please, make this cake. It’s as tasty as it is gorgeous.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cakepans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely.

4. To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.

5. To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Simply pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 5 cups

10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

8 ounces seimsweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half

1. In the top of d double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.

A couple tips: The cakes are very, very fragile. Chill them before frosting and assembling. Also chill the frosted cake before you glaze it, so that the glaze hardens in suspended motion down the side of the cake. Yum.

Lobster Dave, how do I love thee? You gave me one of the best days of my life.

Lobster Dave is the name of the restaurant…well, shack with a kitchen, run by well, Dave, located in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. My friend Lynn and I had the good fortune to be able to visit Lobster Dave on a cruise last year. I had read some great things about this local restaurant, mostly on cruise message boards from people looking for a non-touristy experience, and Lobster Dave did not disappoint. He lived up to the hype and then some.

It's Lobster Dave! In front of his kitchen.

Just getting to Lobster Dave is an adventure. If you’re ever in Ocho Rios, go to the Margaritaville in the tourist jail…I mean, shopping area closest to the port. Head down to the beach through the restaurant, then go to the left. You’ll see a broken down fence and some rocks in the surf. Climb over those fences and rocks and surf. There will probably be some locals around to help you out (yes they will be trying to sell you things, but tell them you’re looking for Lobster Dave and they will treat you well). It’s just a few steps from the back wall of Margaritaville.

Once you actually get there, take a seat and talk to Dave or whoever else is working the kitchen at the time. There’s no menu, you just ask — or look — to see what’s fresh (everything is, they catch it that morning). We had our hearts set on lobster, so that’s all we asked for. What we got is the photo at the top of the post: 3-4 small Caribbean lobsters (different than Maine), split, grilled and topped with garlic sauce. Plus a piece of traditional breadfruit on the side. It was one of the most delicious meals ever.

Besides seafood, Jamaica is also known for a special kind of plant…well, a weed, actually. And if you’re at all uncomfortable with a certain type of weed, then I suggest you don’t go to Lobster Dave (let alone Jamaica). We ended up getting a contact high just from sitting in the shack for an hour. Perhaps that helped make this experience so good…?

Regardless, if you’re wanting to be the next Anthony Bourdain and you’re cruising to Ocho Rios, I would highly suggest you take the time to find Lobster Dave. He was extremely hospitable. He sat down with us while we were eating and wanted to know where we were from, what we did, etc. Apparently, his young daughter lives in Milwaukee with her mother, and for a while we thought she went to the same school that Lynn’s mother teaches at. So Dave gave us some souvenirs to take back to his daughter. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the same school, so we never connected with her. But if you’re reading this, Lobster Dave, we still have the shirt! E-mail me and we’ll get it to the right school!

As far as cost goes at this place, we have no idea. He didn’t want to charge us since we were doing him a favor for his daughter. We each still gave him $20 though, which was more than worth it. Once we were finished, Lobster Dave gave us a little tour of his fishing boats and nets, the shark he had caught that morning, and walked us back to the pier (so as to keep the beggar children away as we went through a non-tourist area…Sad fact of life there.)

To sum up, Lynn and I made a pact to go back to Lobster Dave’s at some point. It’s worth a special trip (and the rest of Jamaica is pretty nice, too!). Ya, mon!

I love me some tomato soup. Especially homemade. Especially near the end of summer when I can go to the farmer’s market and buy tomato seconds by the bushel. They’re the tomatoes that might have gotten bruised or blemished that don’t sell as well, and as a bonus, they’re really cheap. But they’re perfect for soup. Look for roma (plum) tomato seconds. They’re nice and meaty. Don’t forget to get an onion and some fresh basil while you’re at the market!

Tomato Basil Soup

~8 cups chicken broth, or as much to just cover the tomatoes you have
as many fresh, ripe roma tomatoes you can buy
1 small bunch of fresh basil
3 T tomato paste
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic, optional
1 pint heavy cream, optional (half and half works well
too)

1. Peel the tomatoes. It’s easy, it just takes a little time. Score the bottom of the tomato with an X with a knife, like this. —->

2. Drop the tomatoes into boiling water for 30 seconds or so, or until you see the skins starting to peel back or shrivel up. Fish them out of the water with a strainer and plunge them into a bowl of ice water to cool off.

3. Once you do that, the skins should just slip right off. Keep the skins in a bowl, and seed the tomatoes into the same bowl. I just use my hands, since the tomatoes are already slightly mushy at this point anyway. Keep the tomato ‘meat’ in a large bowl or pot until ready to use.

4. Take the bowl of seeds and skins and press through
a mesh sieve to extract as much of the tomato pulp and juice as you can. Add that back to the bowl of tomato ‘meat’ and discard the skins.

5. In a large pot, heat olive oil and sweat the onions
and garlic until soft and translucent. Add the tomato paste and cook for another minute to concentrate the flavors and caramelize the paste.

6. Add your tomatoes and juice, chicken broth, and the
cleaned bunch of basil. I just leave the basil on the
stems and fish the entire
bunch out later on. It flavors the soup but doesn’t leave green specks.

7. Simmer for at least 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the basil, and puree with a stick blender, or in a counter top blender in batches.
Add cream, if using.