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Extra Virgin's Debi and Gabriele serve up “Mozzarella and Magic” Feb 23, bonus recipe

By April MacIntyre Feb 22, 2011, 15:55 GMT

Half of Extra Virgin: Debi Mazar - Hollywood, CA, USA © Tommaso Boddi / PR Photos

Tune in alert for Cooking Channel's Extra Virgin episode titled, “Mozzarella and Magic” Feb 23 Wednesdays at 10pm ET.

Together Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos celebrate all the good stuff, family, fun and food, as Gabriele's native Tuscan cuisine rules in the kitchen.

Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos sent M&C a bonus recipe in anticipation for this episode listed below, a delicious Pesto sauce.

Debi is popular star of film and TV, and Gabriele is a respected musician who has collaborated with Perry Farrell, Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox (Eurythmics), and Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme). Now he works with his band, Bossa Toscana, and he's also a bandleader for The Gabop Latin Orchestra.  Together this busy creative couple are managing their roles as parents to two children, and TV and webblog empire.

On this week's episode, things get hectic at home while the family gets ready for their trip to Tuscany, so Debi and Gabriele plan a special day for their girls – a magic-themed party in their backyard. 

Evelina and Giulia help with the preparations and make homemade mozzarella from scratch.  The rest of the party’s menu includes homemade pizza, Bruschetta with Mozzarella and Tomato, Pasta with Pesto and organic marble cupcakes.

Shot in Los Angeles, Florence and Fiesole, Italy, Extra Virgin airs on Wednesday at 10pm ET/7pm PT only on the Cooking Channel. 

Fresh Pesto
Recipe courtesy Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar
Show: Extra Virgin Episode: Mozzarella and Magic
TOTAL TIME:25 min
Prep:25 min
YIELD:6 servings
Ingredients

    * 4 cups (about 4 ounces) fresh basil leaves
    * 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
    * 3 cloves garlic, peeled
    * 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

    * 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
    * 1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Sardo or Romano
    * Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
    * Serving suggestion: Cooked pasta.

Directions
Combine the basil, pine nuts, garlic, and oil in a food processor and blend until a paste forms.  Add the Parmesan cheese, Pecorino cheese, salt, and pepper and pulse until smooth.

This is a crucial moment for your pesto, as you need to season with salt and pepper. Keep in mind that Parmigiano and Pecorino are both dry and salty cheeses, you have to taste your sauce a few times in order not to go overboard when you are seasoning it.

Cover the pesto and keep in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.

Mix the pasta and the pesto, serve garnished with some grated Parmesan (just a touch), fresh ground pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
Important: Dose your sauce.... some people like the sauce thin, others like it very dense....which basically means less or more sauce that goes in the pasta...The Genovese tradition is to use a small ladle of the pasta water-the one you boiled the pasta in-and use it to dilute the sauce when you mix it in the pasta.

Go here for more Extra Virgin RECIPES

Read Under the Tuscan Gun http://underthetuscangun.com/