Poor Man’s Pesto: Turnip Green Pesto with Cornbread Crostini

I must confess, I’m not a fan of the reality shows where contestants have to race against the clock to create a fabulous gourmet meal using mystery ingredients. The stress these folks have to endure on national TV stresses ME out. And while I’m usually amazed at how these culinary wizards are able to put together a complete meal using totally random and often weird ingredients, let’s face it. The finished dish is usually not practical for my weeknight dinner menu at home.

That being said, I wasn’t really familiar with Whitney Miller, winner of Fox’s Masterchef Season 1, until she held a cooking demonstration and book signing at my local library last week. She’s a Mississippi girl herself, hailing from the little town of Poplarville. And she just released a cookbook. Other than that, I was in the dark.

Whitney showed up bearing gifts – a sample of her yummy Pumpkin “No Name” bars. They got that name because “they are too good for words.” She then went on to explain the inspiration behind many of her recipes. Poplarville is a small town – much like the town where I grew up – and access to unique ingredients can pose a challenge.

Basically, if it can’t be found at Wal-Mart, it doesn’t exist.

Whitney has learned to adapt her recipes by using what’s easily accessible, like in her turnip green pesto. Most people at the demonstration that night (myself included) had only eaten turnip greens one way – simmered for long periods of time with pork fat. You can make pesto out of just about anything, why not turnip greens?

Whitney revealed she prefers turnip greens rather than other types like collard because the leaves are more tender. I have to tell you, I couldn’t really taste a difference from traditional basil pesto. Now that cooler weather has officially killed all my basil plants and greens are so plentiful this time of year, I can see myself using this as a cheap alternative until spring.

Later that night I took a few minutes to flip through the rest of her cookbook. One thing that stood out was the way she turned plain Jane Southern staples into something totally original – like butterbean hummus. I can’t wait to try that!

I thought Whitney’s cornbread “crostini” would be perfect to serve alongside the pesto.