Seared Tuna with Arugula-Lime Pesto

2 Tuna steaks 4oz. each
1 ½-2 cups baby arugula
1 clove garlic
2 lime
1 teaspoon olive oil, more for tuna
salt and pepper

Using a food processor, blender or mortar and pestal grind up the garlic and juice of one lime. Add the arugula and pulse a few more times to grind it in, then slowly add one teaspoon of olive oil and pulse one or two more times. If you use a blender the “pesto” will be smoother and if you use the processor it will be chunkier.
Heat grill or grill pan (I use a grill pan). Rub tuna steaks with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Squeeze half of the other lime over the tuna, don’t let them soak too long in the juice because it will start “cooking” them. On medium-high heat cook the tuna steaks about 3-4 minutes on each side. This depends on your comfort with their doneness, if you like them a bit rare inside cook less and if you like them opaque all the way through (medium well) then go about 6 minutes on each side. I’m kind of a medium gal when it comes to tuna. Serve the steaks with a wedge of lime and pesto divided between the two.

A&E at Unhinged

Abby and I had a blast doing our sketch show A&E at the Second City's Unhinged Series. No one was safe in this show, not our Mom's, Denise Richards, Barbie or Billie Jean King. Look for us to bring it back when I return from Denver.

Sultry Summer Pasta

olive oil
1 cup diced bell peppers (orange, green, red, yellow, whatever)
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
4-6 ounces sliced mushrooms (about half of a package, more if you like)
¼ cup basil, cut in thin ribbons (about 10 leaves)
4 ounces grape tomatoes, cut in half (also about half of a package)

grated parmesan cheese
4-8 ounces Gemelli pasta (depending on how “veggie” you like this)

serves 2-3Prep all the vegetables and ingredients (this goes together very fast). Prepare a big pot of salted water for the pasta, put in on high heat with a lid. While the water is boiling start the vegetables. In a large skillet heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil. Saute the garlic for about a minute then add the pepper. Continue cooking until the peppers soften (about 3 minutes) then add the mushrooms. Keep stirring this because I like to leave the heat pretty strong and like of caramelize the veggies in this last stage. Add the pasta to the water when it’s ready. Drain the pasta and take the vegetables off the heat. Add the tomatoes and basil at the last minute to the pan, stir a few times then add the hot pasta to the pan. Serve this with grated parmesan cheese and an extra drizzle of olive oil if you like.

Rosemary Skewers

I had just a ton of Rosemary left over from a job I worked on at MK for Pizza. There were piles and piles of fresh herbs in the background of the commercial so I gladly took a bunch off their hands. But when I got home I realized, I don't really like rosemary, why did I take home so much rosemary, I'm always bitching when people put a lot of rosemary in some dish. But then I also realized, I have some chicken breasts and I could cut up the chicken and skewer it on the rosemary. Would it work? Would it taste to "rosemary-y"? Yes! And NO! It was awesome. My friend Cayner came over to help me move a cedar chest to my basement and we filled ourselves full of chicken skewers and a bottle of vine Verde wine from Trader Joe's ($3.99 and so good). All I did to make these beauties was strip most of the leaves from the rosemary stalks. Then I trimmed the ends on an angle, to make a sharp point like a needle. I threaded three or four pieces of chicken on each, sprinkled with salt and pepper and drizzled with a bit of olive oil. I cooked them on my grill pan for about 3 minutes on each side. Wow, I'm telling you this is good, right Cayner?

Honey Garlic Pork Tenderloin with Chipotle Potatoes with Sweet Onions