Tomato-Pesto Cocktail Sauce

An alternative to standard seafood sauce, this recipe uses fresh tomatoes and fresh pesto (two favorite ingredients!) This yields a good amount of sauce, which will keep up to one week in the refrigerator. Best when made with the freshest ingredients available. If you want, use homemade mayonnaise in place of jarred. Excellent on crab, shrimp and other seafood-or as a spread on French bread! Clipped from our local newspaper with just a few minor changes.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Yields: 2 cups

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 1⁄2 tablespoons yellow onions, finely minced
• 3⁄4 cup roma tomato, seeded and diced small
•  salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise (reduced from 1 cup)
• 1  tablespoon  homemade pesto sauce, to taste (I increased the amount)
• 1  tablespoon cognac (brandy)

Directions

1. Tip: If you don't want to invest in an entire bottle of cognac, you can purchase small "sample" sized bottles of it at the liquor store. I was able to find 50 milliliter (approximately 1/4 cup) bottles of V.S. Hennessey cognac-among other offerings: white rum, whiskey, etc. -fyi.
2. In a small skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add the onion and gently sautè until light golden brown and slightly caramelized; approximately 10 minutes. DO NOT cook over too high of heat! Reduce heat if necessary.
4. The objective is to caramelize the onions, not burn them.
5. Increase heat to medium; add the diced tomatoes, salt and pepper.
6. Continue cooking until the mixture has softened and all liquid released by the tomatoes has evaporated. The mixture should be thickened after about 15-20 minutes of cooking.
7. Scrape the tomato mixture into a mixing bowl and set aside to cool.
8. Stir in the mayonnaise, pesto and cognac. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
9. Chill until ready to serve. Yield is estimated.