More 2009 food and travel forecasts, including jumbo beans, ice cream supplanting cupcakes, artisanal yogurt, and Cuba and Iceland will emerge as top (i.e., affordable) destinations–Gourmet

If you don’t bake 6,00o Christmas cookies like this 79-year-old, you’re just not trying hard enough–The New York Times

Tell the folks at Pillsbury how you make a America sweeter and you could win $5,000, or just make their rugelach recipe–Pilllsbury

Extra cilantro inspires an impromptu pesto.

 Pesto had its heyday in the culinary sun some time ago, when chefs concocted versions of the Italian-style uncooked sauce using all manner of ingredients in all kinds of dishes.

But pesto will never really fall out of favor, in part because it’s such a great way to use leftover herbs. Certainly in summer, when bunches of fresh basil sell for a song at farmer’s markets, home cooks and professional chefs alike whip up batches of the pesto. And as Debbie Arrington notes in the Sacramento Bee, winter herbs work just fine, too.

You can play with pesto’s formula, using different herbs, cheeses, and nuts to vary the flavor and reflect the season.

Traditional pesto is nothing more than an uncooked sauce made of fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmigian0-Reggiano cheese, and olive oil pounded in a mortar and pestle. These days, most people use a food processor or blender. Of course, you can play with that formula, using different herbs (arugula, cilantro, mint, sage, etc.), cheeses (Manchego, say), and nuts (walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, you name it). You can add other ingredients–a touch of cracked red pepper for a heat, perhaps, or a squeeze of lemon juice for bright acidity. I came up with this version to use a bunch of cilantro sitting in the crisper. 

Cilantro-Pecan Pesto

Cilantro-Pecan Pesto

Serve this multipurpose sauce over pasta, fish, or poultry, or toss a bit with steamed or grilled vegetables.

1/4 cup pecan halves

1 garlic clove

1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1. Place nuts, garlic, and cilantro in a mini food processor; process until minced. Add oil and remaining ingredeints; process until smooth. Yield: about 1/2 cup, 4 servings.