Oh my goodness, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind around here. Let me just say, your sister getting married + buying a home + selling a home + moving + travel baseball = one crazy summer!
I got to put the whole selling moving packing shenanigans on hold this past weekend as I headed up to Lake Geneva in a jam packed Wrangler for my younger sisters bach party. How do I say this….perhaps I was a bit, nervous? I’m way more in mom mode than out dancing mode at this point in my life and wasn’t exactly sure I could keep up but you know what? I did pretty darn well. And had fun. A lot of fun. It made me even more excited for my sister’s wedding to come as we all bonded while floating on the lake and of course, the dance floor. I can’t wait to see everyone again in September!
After maybe three hours of sleep Saturday night I got back in the Jeep and armed with coffee, Taylor, and back country roads sped all the way to Wheeling to catch L’s semi final and final tournament game. I was in a bit of a daze but there was no where else I rather have been. Watching those boys play their big giant hearts out in the 90 degree heat is surely something to be proud of.
Sunday evening ended with a loooooooong shower and Jimmy Johns on the couch. Moving at this point was painful and getting the boys bathed and up to bed felt like running a marathon (not that I actually know what that feels like, I’m just guessing).
Ten hours of sleep later mama woke up back to herself and ready to take on another hot summer day with the boys! I could not wait to get the home back in order, spend some time at the pool with friends, and make a ….. wait for it ….. homemade meal. I had eyed this recipe in the current issue of Bon Appetit a bit while back and knew it would be a hit with the big guy. Fresh pasta always is and summer tomatoes mixed in might just be the best thing around. I got the oven going for the tomatoes, chopped up fresh garlic, grabbed the parm out of the fridge. I was in my element and could not have been happier. Well, aside from finally sitting down on the patio to enjoy it all. And I was right. Huge, huge hit.
- ⅔ cup walnuts
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons plus ⅓ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling at the end
- Kosher salt
- 4 oil-packed anchovies, coarsely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ cup parm, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 12 ounces spaghetti (I used fresh)
- ½ cup (packed) basil leaves
- Get a saute pan going on high heat and toss walnuts around for a few minutes to get nice and toasty.
- Heat oven to 425. Toss tomatoes with 2 Tbsp. oil on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt. Roast until tomatoes have blistered, roughly 15-20 minutes.
- Pulse anchovies, garlic, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, and ½ oz. Parmesan in a food processor until finely ground. Add walnuts and half of tomatoes, then, with motor running, stream in ⅓ cup oil; process just until combined and season with salt. Transfer pesto to a large bowl and stir in black pepper.
- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving ½ cup pasta cooking liquid.
- Transfer pasta to bowl with pesto and add a bit of pasta cooking liquid. Toss, adding more cooking liquid as needed, until sauce coats pasta. Add basil and remaining tomatoes.
- Divide among bowls; top with more Parmesan and black pepper and drizzle with some olive oil.
