Basil Pesto

Basil Pesto is an uncooked sauce that can be used on pasta, about 2 tablespoons to a portion, with equal parts of butter, or 1 tablespoon to a bowl of minestrone or on a baked potato, or as pizza sauce or simply enjoyed as a spread on toasted baguette.

It can be made in advance and stored in a cool place.

Basil Pesto Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves

2 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup pine nuts

3/4 cup thinly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan cheese)

3/4 cup olive oil

Directions:

Ground in a mortar, basil, garlic and pine nuts.

Add, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese until it forms a thick purée.

When the mixture is really thick, add olive oil very slowly, stirring constantly, until the mixture has a consistency of creamed butter.

Pour mixture in jar.

Run a film of olive oil over the top before covering and store refrigerated.

Source: The Joy Of Cooking

Grise Des Alisiers

Grise Des Alisiers is a semi-firm raw sheep-milk cheese from France.

This farmer style cheese has a natural crusty gray speckled exterior rind. The cream color non-cooked pressed pâte with small crevasses is dense, rich with a nice creamy texture. This cheese has a well-developed but not too strong flavour, slightly sweet and nutty and leaves a lingering aftertaste that is distinctive to sheep's milk cheese.

Grise Des Alisiers can pair nicely with a French Pouilly-fumé or try it with one of Beau's Brewery Doc's Feet Dubbel.

Bob Dylan - Duquesne Whistle

The first time I heard 'Duquesne Whistle' it caught my ear. I loved the boppin' jazzy blues groove and that infectious gritty vocal which reminded me of Tom Waits and Arlo Guthrie.

What I was listening to was Bob Dylan's 'Duquesne Whistle', the opening track on his latest album 'Tempest', his 35th studio album.   Wow, fifty years after the release of his first album, one can see why Bob Dylan has remained one of the most influential rock & roll musician.

 

I am not particular fond of this video but I just can’t get enough of this song; I need to play it over and over. This is definitely my favourite track for the month. Fantastic!

http://www.bobdylan.com

John Lee Hooker - Mr. Lucky

Godfather of Blues, John Lee Hooker was a singer-songwriter and blues guitarist. He was born in Mississippi in 1917, left home at fifteen, went on to work in Memphis, Tennessee and ended up in Detroit, Michigan in 1943 where his popularity grew quickly when his recording career began.

John Lee Hooker was known for his trademark 'talking blues' style, incorporating the boogie-woogie piano and the use of his electric guitar bringing together the Delta blues with the post-war electric blues. John Lee Hooker recorded hundreds of singles and albums over the years. Two of his hit songs, 'Boogie Chillen' released in 1948 and 'Boom Boom' in 1961 are both named in the list of 'The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll'.

John Lee Hooker's single 'Mr. Lucky' was originally released in 1967 on Bluesway Records a track recorded for his album 'Urban Blues'. Hooker released another version of ‘Mr. Lucky’ with Robert Cray in 1991 for the title track of his album ‘Mr. Lucky’. This album has some of the biggest names in modern blues and rock making appearances; Ry Cooder, Carlos Santana, Johnny Winter, Albert Collins, John Hammond, Van Morrison, Keith Richards and Robert Cray.

This is a great live recording of 'Mr. Lucky' performed by John Lee Hooker with Robert Cray.



They call me, Mr. Lucky

Bad luck don't follow me

They call me, Mr. Lucky

Bad luck don't follow me

Everything I touches turn to gold

That mean I can't do no wrong

I woke early one mornin'

Mr. Lucky, standin' by my bed

I woke early one mornin'

Mr. Lucky, standin' by my bed

I listened to him real closely

This is what he said

You was born for good luck, Johnny

Bad luck can't do you no harm

You was born for good luck

Bad luck can't do you no harm

I guarantee you'll never go wrong

That's why they call me, Mr. Lucky

Bad luck don't follow me

That's why they call me, Mr. Lucky

Bad luck don't follow me

Everything I touches turn to gold

I never felt misery

Another great version of 'Mr. Lucky' that I truly enjoy, appears on the album 'Strictly Whatever' recorded by Canadian guitar masters, Harry Manx and Kevin Breit. Worth checking out!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lee_Hooker

La Tome de Chèvre Paul Georgelet

La Tome Georgelet is an artisanal ash covered goat-milk cheese from France.

The exterior rind is dry with a grey-blue mould covering its surface and has a musty odor. The interior cream coloured paste is lightly salty with a wonderful goat milk flavour that melts in the mouth.

Since this chèvre comes in the form of a small tomme of approximately 18 cm (7") diameter, the center (le coeur) of the cheese remains soft and creamy for a longer period. La Tome Georgelet can easily be enjoyed aged up to six months. Naturally, as the cheese ages the texture becomes firmer and the cheese flavours develop into more complex intensity.

This excellent Tome de Chèvre is produced by artisan cheesemaker and farmer Paul Georgelet. As well as producing international acclaimed goat cheeses, Le Chabichou du Poitou and Le Mothais Sur Feuille, Paul Georgelet owns and operates an eighty hectares farm with five hundred goats. The farm and fromagerie Les Fromages de Chèvres Paul Georgelet is located in Villemain, a small commune in the department of Deux-Sèvres, in the Poitou-Charentes region of France.

http://www.paulgeorgelet.fr

Public Enemies (TV Series)

Public Enemies is a quality three-part BBC television drama series, created by the award winning writer Tony Marchant (The Mark of Cain).

 

The story is about the relationship between a convicted murderer, Eddie (Daniel Mays - Ashes To Ashes, Made in Dagenham) who is released from prison after serving 10 years and his probation officer Paula (Anna Friel - Pushing Daisies, The Street) who is just back at work herself after being suspended for a crime that was committed by an offender under her watch. Both characters have to deal with the strain of personal and public disgrace while they are still trying to reclaim their lives and reputations.

Public Enemies is an amazing, riveting and incredibly moving drama with a captivating performance by Mays.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0196wrt/episodes/guide

Nosey Goat Camelot

Nosey Goat Camelot is an award winning goat milk cheese from Ontario's Niagara Peninsula.

Nosey Goat Camelot is a semi-firm cheese, with a washed rind made from pasteurised goat milk. It has a golden colour washed rind and a firm wheat colour paste with eyes dotted throughout. It has a strong earthy aroma as a result of being aged for two months in a cellar. The paste's texture becomes quite creamy on the palate with a delicious lingering goat milk flavour.

Nosey Goat Camelot is produced by Upper Canada Cheese Company a small artisanal creamery located in Jordan Station in the heart of the Niagara wine region of Southern Ontario. Lauren Petryna is the skilled cheesemaker behind Upper Canada Cheese Company celebrity cheeses including Niagara Gold, Guernsy Girl, Comfort Cream, Nosey Goat Camelot and Nanny Noire.

Upper Canada’s Nosey Goat cheeses are made with the milk from a rare herd of Lamancha Goats pastured at Gord and Melanie Wood’s Idllywood Farm in Keene, Ontario in Peterborough County. Lamancha goats are perhaps the most distinctive goat breed. They are easily recognizable by their very short ears. They are also known for their high milk production, and the high butterfat content in their milk.

http://www.uppercanadacheesecompany.com

Photo source: http://wecanhearyafarms.webs.com/

Chèvre d'Or

Chèvre d'Or is a soft pasteurised goat-milk cheese shaped into a small 150 g (5.3 oz) disk. It has an almond coloured natural rind with spots of white mold.

Chèvre d'Or is a living cheese. It is not wrapped and can ripen slowly, gaining in character. The texture also develops from creamy soft to flaky as the cheese ages. Naturally the flavours also develop from smooth to powerful. After three weeks it becomes dry and crumbly.

This chèvre is best served at the end of a meal. It pairs well with a white Sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc when the cheese is young or a more robust red wine when the cheese is more mature.

Chèvre d'Or is produced by Sèvre et Belle, a small cooperative that was founded back in 1893, in the village of Celles-sur-Belle in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.

At Sèvre et Belle, the principles of artisanal production are kept alive. In the manufacture of dairy products, the cheese makers use the ladle 'molding' technique: where the curds are collected using a ladle and placed in straining molds. The molds are then turned over three times by hand and then curds are removed from the molds.  The salting, maturing and packaging processes are carried out with the same meticulous precision.

http://www.coop-sevrebelle.fr

Le Pizy

Le Pizy is a soft ripened pasteurised cow-milk cheese from the Lanaudière region of Quebec.

Le Pizy has a soft, mild, salty butter flavoured paste and an ivory coloured bloomy rind that emits hints of whey with a slight mushroom aroma. Le Pizy is a small circular 200 g. (7 oz.) flattened cheese wheel.

Le Pizy is produced by Fromagerie La Suisse-Normande located in St-Roch de l'Achigan, Québec. La Suisse-Normande operate a lovely goat farm and this gives them greater control over the quality of the raw cheese.  The fresh cow milk used for Le Pizy is supplied by their neighbors’ herd. La Suisse Normande are familiar with food, health and care given to the animals and the neighboring cow farm has the same values and the way it conducts its farm.

La Suisse-Normande produce several artisanal type cheeses among them Le Sabot De Blanchette and Le Barbu two of my favourite Quebec chèvres.

http://lasuissenormande.com/

Cake aux Tomates, Basilic et Le Pizy

Here is an easy delicious recipe for a tomato, basil and Le Pizy cheese loaf. It is called "Cake" inspired by the recipes "Les Cakes de Sophie" by Sophie Dudemaine. I think these cakes are great in the summer time served with salads and they are ideal to take along for a picnic.

Cake aux Tomates, Basilic et Le Pizy

Recipe Ingredients

3 eggs

150 g (5.3 oz) of sifted flour

1 small 8 g yeast envelope

80 ml (1/3 cup) of olive oil

125 ml (1/2 cup) of milk

100 g (3.5 oz) of grated gruyere cheese

200 g (7 oz) of Le Pizy cheese

2 red tomatoes

1 tbsp of olive oil

8 leaves of basil

2 pinches of salt

2 pinches of pepper

Directions

- Preheat oven at 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).

- Pass the tomatoes under boiling water for a few seconds.

- Peel, seed and dice the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes with 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, add salt and pepper and simmer for a few minutes. Let dry out and cool down.

- In the meantime, cut "Le Pizy" into small pieces; mix them into the tomatoes along with the chopped basil.

- In a large bowl, whip the eggs, flour and yeast. Slowly incorporate the olive oil and the pre-heated milk. Add the gruyere cheese and mix well. Incorporate the tomatoes and Le Pizy mixture and stir until well blended.

- Pour the batter mixture into a non-greased loaf pan and place in the oven for 45 minutes (or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and cake begins to pull away from sides of pan).

Serves 5 – 6