I would like to give a shout out to my girlfriends.  I love you guys.

And I’m going to give you my secret to sassy, smooth, dreamy, creamy, get yourself in a Spring suit, pesto.  For one whole bunch of unblemished leaves, minus their stems, flatten and crush one clove of garlic.  If you have the fever, get out the mortar and pestle and start grinding, adding a few drops of olive oil nectar at a time with a good pinch of salt and a turn of black pepper.  Smash in a piece of yesterday’s fabulous and now crunchy bread.  Add a  half cup of pignoli (pine nuts) and keep crushing.  Grind in the basil leaves a about three or four at a time, and then add about a half cup more of olive oil.  If you don’t have the fever, you can do the whole thing in a food processor or a blender.  Start with the garlic and bread, a little olive oil, all the basil, and then the nuts and the rest of the olive oil a little at a time.  Add about 3/4 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano that you have grated yourself.  Taste for salt and pepper.  Boil up the water with enough salt to make it taste good, add the pasta, and cook the pasta until it is seriously al dente.  Reserve about a quarter cup of the cooking water and drain the pasta well.  Give a few generous spoonfuls of pesto to the pasta along with a few tablespoons of the cooking water.  Now give it a drizzle of heavy cream.  Nobody has to see this bit.  Put the cream back in the fridge and if you need to make it a little smoother, give it another teeny bit of the cooking water.  Taste for salt and pepper (and cream).