Cooking by feel. Pesto and salad.

Some times, you just have to trust your instincts and cook by feel. I always find it fascinating when someone tells me that they don't know how to cook. Don't get me wrong, I get nervous sometimes and screw things up but I've been eating my whole life... so I have a fairly decent understanding of what I like and what tastes good together.

Tonight, I was inspired by some gorgeous basil I found at Trader Joe's. So, I decided on making some pesto, but didn't have a recipe in hand, and didn't care. I was in a groove.

Here's what I did:
Got out my food processor. Loaded it with washed basil leaves- fairly well packed, but not super tightly packed... about 6 ounces, maybe. Sprinkled in a handful of pine nuts. Sprinkled in a handful of grated Parmesan cheese,  threw in four cloves of garlic, closed the lid and ran the processor. When it was mostly broken down, I drizzled in olive oil till it was the consistency that I wanted. I stopped, tasted it, added a bit of salt, whizzed again and tasted it. Yum!
I had some purchased gnocchi, so I followed the instructions to cook it. You can use whatever pasta you like. I happen to love the texture of gnocchi, so that's what I used.
While that was going on, I cleaned some lettuce leaves. In the bottom of a large bowl, I poured a puddle of olive oil- just enough to cover the leaves I was going to throw in there- maybe 2 tablespoons. Then, I added red wine vinegar- about 1/3 the amount of the olive oil. I took a fork, dipped it in some dijon mustard, and proceeded to use it to whisk the oil and vinegar together. I threw the leaves in on top of it, salted and peppered the leaves. I didn't toss it till I brought it to the table. 
I drained the gnocchi, threw it back in the hot pan with some of the pesto and stirred it to coat. I served that with a little additional grated Parmesan and called it dinner.

The gnocchi were rich, herby and garlicky. The tangy lettuce cut through the richness left on my palate from the dinner. Delish.

I'm having some fresh strawberries for dessert and pretend that summer is really happening, despite the fact that it's 60 something and raining. Enjoy!