Chorizo Pesto Tortellini

I posted this pic on instagram and thought it was so pretty and the food was so delicious that I had to share the recipe with you guys, if you can even call it a recipe.

Raise your hand if it’s been hot and muggy where you live this summer. This weekend was especially humid, which for San Diego is a big deal. I didn’t want to turn on any heating elements in the kitchen, but we had this fresh tortellini I was worried about turning the corner. So, tortellini for dinner indeed. The good thing is that the amount of time my stove was on was brief.

Ingredients:

  • Tortellini (I prefer cheese tortellini, fresh, not frozen, tricolor)
  • Pesto sauce
  • Shredded parmesean
  • Cherry tomatoes, quartered (mine were so small I just tossed them in whole)
  • Chorizo (I used linguiça, a household favorite since we made Choripan a couple of years ago) Pancetta would also be a yummy option, but takes longer to cook
  • Lemon
  • Salt
  • Good quality olive oil

Directions:

Bring water to a boil, and meanwhile begin preheating a small skillet. You’ll want the skillet right at medium heat.

Cook tortellini according to package instructions. Since mine wasn’t frozen, it only took 2 minutes once the water was boiling. I removed from water using a slotted spoon and put directly into our bowls.

Meanwhile, cut up chorizo into small cubes. Throw them into the skillet with a little oil until hot, greasy and yummy. The reason I like using a sausage like chorizo it it’s already cooked or cured, which means cooking it is really low pressure. Just get it up to heat and it’s ready. The meat step and the tortellini step took me about the same amount of time and were ready simultaneously.

Spoon chorizo onto cooked tortellini in bowls. Immediately sprinkle with cheese so it melts.

Spoon one or two hearty spoonfuls of pesto onto each bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, squeeze on lemon juice, and sprinke a little salt.

Toss on a handful of cherry tomatoes.

Since everything I added to the tortellini was cold with the exception of the meat, it brought the temperature of the meal down to a level that was just right for a humid summer evening, while still being hearty for a good dinner.

I know the recipe is kind of basic but maybe you haven’t thought of this combination yet.
Enjoy! I know I did.

 

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Brunch at Great Maple

Brunch has become so trendy lately, hasn’t it? Every weekend I see a few instagram or facebook friends tagging each other in brunch pics. For good reason, too–brunch is an amazing way to spend a Saturday or Sunday off (rare as that may be in my case) and have delicious pancakes or other breakfasty foods at an hour that (if we’re being honest) is much closer to actual lunch. Brunch is best spent with your significant other or a group of good friends.

Yeah, maybe you should go with a friend ;) 

Several months ago I heard buzz about a new brunch spot in Hillcrest, called Great Maple. The buzz has been lived up to as GM has been named one of San Diego’s best new restaurants in 2013.

Doug and I finally both had Sunday off at the same time, so off to Great Maple we went!

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I had lollywaffles (waffles on a stick) with four different kinds of sauce: raspberry, lemon curd, whipped cream, and dulce de leche. I also supplemented with a side of scrambled eggs. When my meal first came out I thought it looked really small, but I ended up not even finishing all of the eggs. The waffles were more filling than they look!

Doug had a savory veggie scramble–and loved it. Did I mention we spent the last half of October eating vegetarian? I can’t wait to go back to Great Maple and try some ham-laden eggs Benedict (my default brunch order).

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The restaurant is a rehabbed diner. The building been a mainstay of this Hillcrest neighborhood for years so I’m glad it a) wasn’t torn down for new construction and b) has been doing so well.  The interior was swanky (the bar area featured lots of brass) but I liked that they kept things like water glasses and coffee mugs simple and classic.

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My absolute favorite thing about the building is the exterior. There is something I just L-O-V-E about 1960s and 1970s style stone on the out side of a building. Or on the inside for that matter (give me a Brady Bunch fireplace any day of the week).

Happy weekend, all! Find yourself a good place to brunch.

If you’re in town, some of my other go-to brunch spots are the Crest Cafe (also in Hillcrest) and The Mission (several locations around San Diego). 

Take a Tour: Mariposa Ice Cream

Today’s Take a Tour is short and sweet (how punny).

When I lived in the Normal Heights neighborhood of San Diego, this ice cream shop was easily walkable from my apartment. It’s a refreshing reprieve from other generic chain ice cream places or ultra-modern looking frozen yogurt places. Full of personality, it’s clear that the people who run it love a few things: Their ice cream, their community, The Beatles, and the San Diego Chargers. I mean, check out the walls.

To be honest, as a design junkie sometimes it feels good to spend time in a place that just feels home-y and hasn’t been remodeled to keep up with the latest trend in interior design. Somehow, it’s so genuine. This is one of those places. (Of course, there are other places where I look around and wonder if the owner put any thought at all into the decor!! That thought didn’t cross my mind here at Mariposa though).

Mariposa

The ice cream is made on site using an old fashioned family recipe… and tastes amazing!

Oh, and they have a signed and framed tabloid page that has a photo of Kristen Bell eating here–She and I both have a very discerning palate, I guess.

Mariposa

I tried the Mexican chocolate, and may never try another flavor ever as long as I can get neverending scoops of this amazingness. If you’ve ever tried the hot chocolate drink Abuelita, it’s like that, in ice cream form. Doug got peanut butter fudge which was also creamy and good.

The nice thing about a rich creamy ice cream cone is that I feel satisfied with just the one scoop. Any more and I might overdo it! These two cones ran us 5.50 total. Can’t beat that price for an afternoon outing.

Mariposa

3450 Adams Ave
San Diego, CA 92116

Check out some of my other tours by clicking here