New in my kitchen:The SUV of food processors

Would you just take a look at this?

Husband's calling it my new Hummer. It is BIG. It is POWERFUL. It KICKS ASS. And it does not SUCK (like the vehicle).

It even has an UPSTAIRS. See, here we are making pesto in the small-bowl attachment, which sits right inside the main bowl and is excellent for smaller jobs. What is particularly genius is that food processed in the small bowl STAYS in the small bowl; the only things you need to clean are the small bowl, its blade, and top, not the whole dang thing.

Did I mention pesto? Yes, lots of it. For the past months I've been making it my stick immersion blender. Good for soup, bad for pesto. Before that, following the demise of my old Cuisinart, I struggled to make do with a mini-processor, which was a seriously deficient little machine that I eventually burned the engine out of. It was time once again for the real thing. Peace and pesto once again reign over the Fig household.

PESTO

1 large bunch of basil
1/3 cup Italian parsley leaves
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 cup olive oil, more or less depending on consistency you want
lemon juice to taste
salt to taste

Place in bowl of food processor and let 'er rip.

And no, there's no garlic in it, although you could certainly add a clove or two. I love garlic but find that it overwhelms the taste of the fresh basil, and Sophie often complains that raw garlic is too "spicy." If you want to include garlic, blanching a peeled clove briefly in boiled water helps mellow the taste and tame the bite.

What's wonderful about pesto is how much you can do with it. Of course, it's wonderful on pasta, but I also like it for a sandwich spread, a dip, potato and green bean salad dressing, fish topping—and it's not bad on a spoon out of the jar.