Summer Kick- off

I hope you all had a lovely holiday weekend.  Can you believe we are already kicking off summer?  How did you spend your long weekend? 

Mine was spent visiting with some of my dearest friends and family.  Naturally there was a lot of food involved…

For our Memorial Day BBQ, I prepared my favorite pasta salad recipe.  It was a hit!  Ingredients like sundried tomatoes, pepperoncini peppers, and feta cheese give the dish a Mediterranean flare- a nice update to the standard pasta salad recipe.

The recipe is as follows:

{***** } Pasta Salad

 Serves: 4 to 6

Kosher salt

1 pound tricolor pasta, such as bow tie or fusili

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 to 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Freshly ground pepper

2/3 to ¾ cup extra- virgin olive oil

1/3 cup diced sun- dried tomatoes

¼ cup basil, julienned

¼ cup diced onion

2-4 large pickled pepperoncini peppers, diced

3 tablespoons halved black olives

2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

1 ½ ounces feta cheese, crumbled

1 ½ tablespoons grated Romano cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook until al dente; drain, then rinse with cold water to cool.

Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette: Whisk the vinegar, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a small bowl.  Gradually whisk in enough of the oil to make a smooth dressing; season with salt and pepper.

Combine the sun- dried tomatoes, basil, onion, pepperoncini, olives and oregano in a bowl.  Add the cooked pasta, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.  Add the vinaigrette and both cheeses and toss.  Chill until ready to serve.

*Original recipe per Nick Anthony