SPICED ESPRESSO FRAPPE

This Sunday with breakfast, we felt like having a refreshing iced coffee with chocolate hazelnut spread and the little kick of grated ginger.  Make your coffee the night or day before and pour into 2 plastic ice trays so they are ready to go in the morning.  The sugar is optional. . .it may be sweet enough for you without.

These Italian Christmas cookies do not contain butter, flour, or egg yolks and are another Christmas family favorite. They are so easy to make and totally delicious. You can also replace the vanilla extract with almond extract and replace the pecans for almonds. Save your yolks covered in the refrigerator for another recipe.

Lee's Kitchen Tips:

Make sure your mixing bowl is impeccably clean or the eggs whites will not form into stiff peaks.

5 large egg whites, room temperature

¼ t cream of tartar

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 t pure vanilla extract

1½ cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.

aking sheets lightly sprayed with cooking oil or line with parchment paper.

Bake for 45 minutes. Turn off oven and let meringues stay in the oven for 1 hour, or until completely cooled.

Store in an airtight container.

Makes 5 to 6 dozen.

 cups freshly brewed espresso coffee or strong coffee, cooled and frozen into cubes (2 ice trays)

2 cups almond milk

¼ cup granulated sugar (optional)

½ cup chocolate hazelnut spread (I use Nutella)

1 ½ t freshly grated ginger

½ t ground cinnamon

¼ t freshly ground nutmeg

Add all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour into 4 chilled glasses and serve with a straw.

¼ cup brandy can be added for an after dinner dessert-frappe

SPAGHETTI WITH PESTO SAUCE - Spaghetti al Pesto Genovese

In this recipe for Pesto sauce, I added some spinach to tone down the strong flavor of basil and to make it even healthier and the color brighter.
You can make it with just basil leaves and just one type of grated cheese. . .the choice is yours, but this is delicious!

½ cup pine nuts (pignoli)
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3 cups packed basil leaves, about 3 large bunches
1 cup packed baby spinach, about 1 small bunch
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
½ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb spaghetti

Place pine nuts in a non-stick skillet and over medium heat, toast the nuts until golden.  Do not walk away because they burn easily.  Let cool.
Pulse pine nuts in a food processor until they are completely smooth.  Scrape down the sides from time to time.
Add olive oil and garlic and pulse until the garlic is finely chopped.

Chop basil and spinach very roughly, then add to the processor.  Pulse, stopping every few seconds to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Scrape pesto into a bowl and add the cheeses and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water for 7 to 8 minutes, until al dente.
Drain spaghetti, reserving about ½ cup of the pasta water.
Pour pasta back into the pan, add some of the pesto, add some of the pasta water to slightly thin the sauce.

Serves 4