Do you remember the Philadelphia cream cheese advertisements from the late 1980’s with the blonde secretary and her catch phrase of “lovely”? Such was its impact that every time I see Philadelphia for sale, I mutter “lovely” to myself. Sadly I cannot find it on YouTube – perhaps a reader can direct me to it?
I recently received an e-mail inviting me to a bloggers’ Philly lunch where celebrity chef, Ed Baines would be cooking some recipes from the Philadelphia Local Heroes campaign. Philadelphia is a very useful fridge staple that I use in a number of dishes, both savoury and sweet, cooked and uncooked. I had not seen the competition or I would have certainly have submitted my Philly, pesto, chicken pasta (recipe below) which is easy to make, and very child friendly.
We assembled in the rather lovely kitchen above, and were put to work cooking our lunch, with lots of helpful tips from Ed and Natalie, the London local food hero and creator of the Philly leek risotto pictured above.
This was followed by Philly chicken. Pudding was a mini Pavlova, topped with a Philly and icing sugar mix, which tastes delicious, and contains few calories than cream.
For another sweet Philly idea of the perfect cream cheese frosting, check out Ruth’s post here.
My Philly pesto chicken pasta is my favourite thing to cook when looking after small children, it seems that all parents of small children always have chicken fillets, cream cheese and pesto in the fridge. It is quick and easy and children (and most adults) love it. Add some frozen peas and corn to the pasta water when it is nearly cooked.
Obviously, vary the amounts below according to the age of your children. For adults and less fussy children add some garlic. Also works well with ham or bacon.
Recipe: Philly Pesto Pasta
(serves 2 children)
2 handfuls of pasta shapes
1 small chicken breast diced
Small glug olive oil
1 heaped tbs Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 heaped tsp pesto
Handful frozen peas & corn
Sprinkling of grated cheese
Put the pasta on to boil. Gently fry the chicken pieces in the olive oil for 5 mins, until cooked and just starting to brown. Add the Philadelphia & pesto and stir until the cheese is melted. Add enough of the pasta water to loosen the mix so it is at a coating consistency.
When the pasta is nearly done add the frozen peas and corn and bring back to the boil.
Drain the pasta and add to the sauce, serving with a sprinkle of cheese.
I am sending this to Presto Pasta Nights, hosted this week by Cassie the Kitchen Alchemist (together with an apology for sending a non vegetarian dish)
A tired me, and stern looking Ed Baines
Thank you to Philadelphia for a lovely lunch and for all the product samples.
The ads were mid 90s, I think, with Sara Crowe – she’s in The City Madam at the RSC at the moment!
Forgot the link, obviously. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdtnNhO9jBo
I remember those ads!
Your dish looks lovely (pardon the pun) – I never think to cook with Philadelphia
The pasta dish looks lovely(!), but every time I see the Philly Leek Risotto recipe, I think ‘how boring’ – it looks like it needs something else in it! We had an absolutely lovely smoked salmon, leek and mascarpone risotto the other day which would have been similar, I think!
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Thanks for submitting! Cream cheese pasta… yum! So rich and delicious sounding. I’ve never actually done it but I think I might have to! I have some pesto in the fridge, actually. and definitely no worries for the meat :)
Sounds like you had some good food at the Philly Fest. And this recipe does almost seem decadent. I want to give it a try.
Love Philly Cream Cheese