A Thyme to Die (Willa Friday Food & Wine Mystery #1)

by Jamie Lee Scott

SUN-DRIED TOMATO BASIL PESTO This pesto would pair nicely with a Petite Syrah or Chardonnay. INGREDIENTS 1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (drained) 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried 2 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted (I prefer almonds to pine nuts because they are less expensive and easy to find at any grocery store) 3 garlic cloves, peeled 3/4 cup olive oil PREPARATION Add sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, basil, slivered almonds and garlic to your food processor. Run your processor and slowly add olive oil until everything is combined into a smooth paste. This will keep in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks in an airtight container. When using the pesto on your pasta, reserve ½ cup of your cooking water and combine ¾ cup of pesto, add to drained pasta and toss over low heat to coat the pasta.

BASIC HOMEMADE PASTA DOUGH I’d drink Chardonnay or a Sauvignon Blanc with pasta. INGREDIENTS 4 Cups All-Purpose Flour 4 large Eggs PREPARATION Place the flour in a mound in the center of your work surface. I use a marble cutting board, but wood is great too. Make a well in the center of the flour and place crack the eggs into the well. Using your clean hands, break the egg yolks and begin to incorporate into the flour, starting with only the middle and edges of the well, and working your way outward until you’ve incorporated all of the flour into the eggs. Keep pushing everything toward the center to keep the shape. This step is messy. Once the dough starts to hold together, start kneading, using the heels of your hands. Once you have a nice mound of dough, continue to knead for about 10 minutes. Dust your board with more flour as needed. Once your dough is elastic and only a little sticky, portion into 4 separate balls and wrap in plastic wrap and give it a 30 minute nap. making your noodles Pasta Roller directions: Flatten the dough on one end and feed into the pasta machine. Feed it all the way through with the rollers on the largest setting. Once fed through, fold into thirds, and roll again. Repeat this process, narrowing the roller settings as you go, until the dough is the desired thickness. Roll slowly to avoid cracks. Fettuccine noodles: cut the sheets about every 12 inches. Attach the fettuccine noodle cutter (it has approximately 1/4-inch slats) to the pasta mac...

Peanut Butter, Jelly & Brie on flatbread Totally yummy with a bubbly Moscato or Pinot Grigio Ingredients 4 piece of flatbread or 4 thick tortillas 8 inches 2 T Peanut Butter (or more if you love peanut butter) 2 T favorite jelly (I prefer grape jam with this, but strawberry is delicious too) ½ Wheel of Baby Brie (3.5 oz.) you can add more cheese to taste. 1 T butter preparation Melt butter over medium heat in a medium skillet. Pre-toast the flatbread or tortilla by placing them in the oven or toaster. Remove flatbread and let cool, about a minute. Spread 1 T peanut butter and 1 T jelly on 2 of the pieces of flatbread. Remove outer coating of Brie and cut into ¼ inch slices and divide evenly on the other 2 pieces of bread. Place the bread with the Brie back in the skillet (cheese side up) until the cheese begins to melt (30 seconds to 1 minute usually) Once the cheese has started to melt, place the other slice of bread with the PB&J side down, over the cheese. Allow to warm for 15 seconds and remove from skillet to a plate. Makes 2 sandwiches. Serve with lots of napkins because it’s messy.