Hay, Hay, It's Donna Day-I Won! Wow!

I am thrilled to have been chosen as the winner of the HHDD #13 hosted by Laura of eatdrinklive with my entry blackberry lemon verbena sorbet.Thanks, Laura for such a great job hosting and to all of you who voted for me. I was very surprised! There were so amazing entries from so many talented cooks out there in the blogging world. I hope to try all the recipes as sorbets are one of my favorite light and refreshing desserts.

A special thanks to Barbara of winosandfoodies who created this very popular blogging event.

I will be shortly posting my theme for the next Hay, Hay, It's Donna Day.

Basil Pesto Bread

Emerald green basil pesto swirled through this easy French bread recipe makes a delicious companion to a grilled poultry or meat dish. The pesto bread is also a great picnic bread served with summer tomatoes. I used this pesto bread for the open-faced egg, applewood smoked bacon and tomato sandwich drizzled with basil here.

Pesto
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup parsley leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese


Puree the basil, parsley, oil, garlic and salt in a blender or food processor. Stir in the cheese. If not using immediately, store in refrigerator with a thin layer of olive oil on top or freeze.


Dough
1 1/2 packages active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
6-7 cups all-purpose flour
Cornmeal for the baking pan

In a large bowl of a heavy duty mixer, dissolve yeast in the warm water and add the salt and sugar. Mix thoroughly and set aside until foamy.

With the paddle attachment, beat in flour one cup at a time, until a smooth dough forms. Using the dough hook attachment, knead until dough is elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and set in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.






















When doubled, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, punch down and knead again. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Pat out 2 rectangles, each about 10x12 inches. Spread a thin layer of the pesto mixture over each, leaving a 1-inch border. Beginning with the long side, roll each rectangle into a cyclinder and shape into a loaf.























Place the loaf on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Brush with cold water and place in a cold oven. Place a pan of boiling water in the bottom of the oven and turn the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the loaves are browned and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on a rack and serve warm for the best flavor.

Makes 2 loaves.

Recipe from "Herbs, Gardens, Decorations, and Recipes by Emelie Tolley and Chris Mead.

Part Three: Herbal Oils , Open Faced Egg and Bacon Sandwich Drizzled with Basil Oil on Toasted Basil Pesto Bread

Michael Chiarello's book, "Casual Cooking" has a great recipe for basil and other herbal oils which are designed to be used as a flavor enhancer whereas true infused herbal oils are generally used for cooking and for salad dressings. Chiarello's basil oil is a great drizzled over tomatoes or as in this recipe called "green eggs and ham" which I have adapted using applewood smoked bacon for the prosciutto, adding fresh sliced tomatoes and substituting my basil pesto bread for the thick-sliced country bread Chiarello used.


But first, the Basil Oil:

Ingredients

4 cups basil leaves, washed and spun completely dry using a salad or herb spinner
2 cups olive oil-not extra virgin


Combine basil leaves and olive oil in a blender and puree until completely smooth. A food processor is not recommended as it doesn't grind the herbs fine enough. When smooth, place basil and oil mixture in a saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Cook for 45 seconds, then pour through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Don't press on the mixture, but you can tap the sides of the strainer with your hand to get the oil to drip through faster.

Immediately strain the oil again through a flat-bottomed paper filter. You may need to change the filter if it clogs. Also, you may squeeze the filter some to hasten the oil dripping through, but take care not to break the filter. Let the filtered oil settle a few hours, then pour in an air-tight container and keep in a cool, dark place. Will keep for a week if you have any left by that time.



For the Open-faced Egg Sandwich

For each serving, toast a 1/2 inch slice Basil Pesto Bread on both sides. Top with 2-3 slices cooked applewood smoked bacon, add sliced tomatoes, top with fried or poached egg cooked to your liking, then drizzle basil oil over the top of the egg. Season with salt and pepper, as desired.

Cantaloupe Granita

Growing up on a farm where there was always a vegetable garden, which included cantaloupes and watermelons, gave me the knowledge of how to pick a ripe cantaloupe. When ripe, cantaloupes have a wonderfully sweet fragrance, the stems should not be attached and the blossom end should yield to moderate pressure.I only buy cantaloupes in the summer time when I know they are fresh from the field. My father, who loved both watermelons and cantaloupes, once planted several acres of both melons and offered them free to anyone who wanted to pick them. As a little girl, there were melons as far as my eye could see. Those images are burned in my mind as mental photographs.

We always ate cantaloupes au naturel which is how everyone ate them when I was young. Now that I have been cooking for many years, I have used cantaloupes in many ways-compotes, cold soups and this granita recipe for a quick, easy and very flavorful dessert.


Adapted from Epicurious


Ingredients

2 cups coarsely chopped ripe cantaloupe
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon triple sec
1 cup ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into a 13x9 pan and freeze for about forty minutes. Scrape with a fork and serve in chilled glasses

Serves about 4.

Photo -Per-Diem

Check out my second blog called-Photo-per-diem. A photo a day blog mostly non-food related, but with a few food still-life photos thrown in.

Blackberry Lemon Verbena Sorbet

What a great food event begun by Barbara winosandfoodies and is hugely popular with all us bloggers. Laura at eatdrinklive, the winner of HHDD #12 is hosting HHDD#13. Sorbets are my thing at the moment so I am thrilled to include my Blackberry Lemon Verbena sorbet into this competition.

Taking advantage of the great blackberry season and my prolific herb garden , Blackberry Lemon Verbena Sorbet is my own creation after reading about herbal syrups and compatible herbs and fruits. Sorbets are light and refreshing in the summer months especially where I live in Georgia when the heat combined with the high humidity can wilt you pretty quickly. Not only made with fruits, sorbets can be made with most herbs and vegetables for savory options such as an intermezzo, a term typically used in music as a brief interlude of lighter works performed between longer and more serious works, but in culinary terms,, cleanses the palate for the next course. I wrote earlier posts on sorbets that you can read here and here.















Blackberry Lemon Verbena Sorbet

Ingredients


1 cup (240 ml) water

1 1/4 cup (250 grams) granulated white sugar

10 fresh lemon verbena leaves

1 pound (454 grams)fresh blackberries, washed and drained well, or frozen unsweetened blackberries

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons blackberry or raspberry liqueur (optional)

Bring water to a boil in saucepan, remove from heat and stir in sugar. When dissolved, add lemon verbena leaves and let steep 10 minutes. Strain sugar syrup, discard leaves and place in a covered container in refrigerator until cold.

Meanwhile,( if using frozen blackberries, thaw them), otherwise place fresh blackberries and lemon verbena sugar syrup in a saucepan, bring to a boil and continue to boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes, then pour contents in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Strain the mixture to remove the seeds. This may take awhile, just keep stirring the puree to allow the juices to run through the sieve. Add lemon juice and liqueur, if desired, and chill until very cold. Following instructions for your ice cream maker, process the sorbet. The sorbet will be the consistency of soft ice cream. Place in very cold containers and freeze for at least 2 hours. If frozen longer, place in refrigerator for about 20 minutes until soft enough to serve.

Makes about 4 cups sorbet.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July! American Independence Day
For all my British friends and bloggers-Happy British Thanksgiving