Ingredients

1. 2.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon salt 10 chicken wings oil for deep frying 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup hot sauce 1 dash ground black pepper 1 dash garlic powder

Directions
In a small bowl mix together the flour, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Place chicken wings in a large nonporous glass dish or bowl and sprinkle flour mixture over them until they are evenly coated. Cover dish or bowl and refrigerate for 60 to 90 minutes. Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). The oil should be just enough to cover wings entirely, an inch or so deep. Combine the butter, hot sauce, pepper and garlic powder in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir together and heat until butter is melted and mixture is well blended. Remove from heat and reserve for serving. Fry coated wings in hot oil for 10 to 15 minutes, or until parts of wings begin to turn brown. Remove from heat, place wings in serving bowl, add hot sauce mixture and stir together. Serve.

3.

I would never forget the very first time I had my taste of Pesto Pasta at Fazolis, Eastwood City. I was in elementary that time, and like most people my age, I hated herbs and vegetables. My sister and I had no idea what Pesto was back then, and because it sounded delicious, she ordered that for me. I didnt enjoy any bit of it, but since its a bit expensive I tried with all my might to finish the whole plate. I even remember saying, "Lasang puno (It tastes like a tree)," and it made my sister laugh. So, I learned my lesson and made a mental note to avoid food that has anything to do with Pesto. Image credit: Shootdelay But weird as it may seem, I think maturing into an adult is accompanied by a huge change with food palatability. We realize that vegetables arent that bad tasting after all, and that our food choices no longer fall under just two taste categories sweet and salty. There is now the delectable bitter, the sour, or the hot/spicy (though technically spicy is not a flavor or taste. Its a sensation. Try putting chili on your tongue and on your lip/skin. They experience the same thing heat.) Moving forward. As I started exploring the whole variety of flavors I could experience in the world, I found "Pesto" once again. This time, its not on a chalkboard menu at Fazolis, but on a backlit display of

World Chicken at TriNoma

Mall, Quezon City. The food adventurer inside me took over, and soon I had a plate with a whopping serving of Pesto Cream Pasta, Potato Salad, and Grilled Chicken with Ranch Barbecue Sauce. If we were not inside a mall, Id lick my whole plate clean because I was sure I had a taste of heaven. From then on, I would always opt for Pesto Cream Pasta, and even influencing my other friends to give it a try. They loved it. I had many failed attempts on making Pesto Cream before. Not that I dont have the skill to make it, but because I found the ingredients to be a bit pricey. So a big thanks to my sister, Mhel, for shouldering the expenses as a gift on my birthday, and to my friend, Katrina Castro, for giving me the idea. Lets start with the Basil

Pesto. I made this the day before my birthday because I thought it would take hours to

finish, but in less than 20 minutes I was done.

Basil Pesto Recipe

Makes about 1 cup.

INGREDIENTS:
3 garlic cloves

1/3 cup pine nuts Expensive!! Php 360/100grams, but dont worry youll only need 50 grams for this recipe 2 (Very cheap!) cups fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil Expensive! Php 96 for a 250-ml bottle. We bought this brand. Its the cheapest. 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese Expensive! Php170+ / 100grams. Perfect Italiano was the only available parmesan cheese available. Salt and pepper

PROCEDURE:
Note: If you dont have a food processor, you can use a blender or manually grind the ingredients using a mortar and pestle. Make sure everythings chopped into bits to minimize grits or coarse grains in your pesto sauce. 1. Chop garlic and pine nuts in food processor. Pulse a few times. 2. Add the basil and pulse a few more times. 3. Add the olive oil slowly while the food processor is running. 4. Scrape down the sides of the processor, add the grated cheese, pulse again to blend. 5. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 6. Refrigerate/Freeze the basil pesto mixture. FYI: If you refrigerate Pesto Cream, it could only last 1 WEEK max! But if you freeze it, it can last for many, many months.

Creamy Pesto Pasta Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup of Basil Pesto (Recipe above) 250 ml or 1 cup of All-purpose Cream 2 tbsp. of Olive oil 1/2 kilo of linguine pasta (or any kind of pasta would do) Salt and Pepper

PROCEDURE:
1. Use a sauce pan on low heat. 2. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil. 3. Put 1 cup of Basil Pesto, then stir to warm it evenly. 4. Add the 1 cup of All-purpose cream slowly, then stir. 5. You can add 1/3 cup of pasta water (the water you used in cooking your pasta) to thin out the sauce. 6. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 7. Cook for 5 minutes. 8. Slowly pour to your cooked linguine pasta (al dente).

Grilled Chicken Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
1 kilo of Chicken Breast Fillet 2 tbsp. of Brown sugar 2 tbsp. Olive Oil

3 tbsp. of Garlic Powder Salt and Pepper Lemon Juice / Calamansi

PROCEDURE:
1. Flatten chicken breasts so they would be equal in thickness. You can use a bottle to flatten them or a meat tenderizer. 2. Drizzle generously with olive oil. 3. Add the garlic powder and lemon juice / calamansi. 4. Salt and pepper to taste. 5. Grill until well done, about 5 minutes per side. There you have it. Its that easy. I just made my own simple gravy to accompany my grilled chicken and served it with my Creamy Pesto Pasta. Its a perfectly healthful meal to share with your family and friends. So go ahead, try it and tell me how your own version went.

"Eat to live, not live to eat."

P.S. If youre going to prepare this for kids, as much as possible, use extra virgin olive oil in your pesto sauce. We know its expensive, but it will definitely make the pesto more tasteful for kids. We all super loved Kiens pesto pasta that I think I downed 3 big plates of it. I know, it was so good, you might end up reading diet pill reviews after making this. Anyway, everything here is healthful so dont worry too much about it. Just enjoy!

Ingredients

1. 2. 3.

1/2 cup chopped onion 2 1/2 tablespoons pesto 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 1 (16 ounce) package pasta salt to taste ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until done. Drain. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium low heat. Add pesto, onion, and salt and pepper. Cook about five minutes, or until onions are soft. In a large bowl, mix pesto mixture into pasta. Stir in grated cheese. Serve.