23 May 2013

. . . pesto pasta salad . . .

. . . first things first . . .
. . . thanks for your kind emails 
and inquiries . . .
. . . yes, i'm fine . . .
. . . stuphfromsteph
however, has obviously 
been in a coma . . .
. . . it might be time to wake her up . . .
. . . gently . . .

(if you really want to know 
what i've been up to, 
follow me @stuphfromsteph 
on instagram. it's fun!)

. . . so . . .
. . . it was my turn to be the boss 
of our quilt group yesterday . . .
. . . and i made this yummy salad . . .
. . . you can make it, too, 
if you'd like . . .


what you need:


•1 pound rotini pasta
•1/2 costco-size jar of basil pesto
(or 1 grocery store-size tub)
•1/2 cup craisins
•1/2 cup pine nuts
•1/2 cup shredded parmesan 
(not the powdery kind)
•1 costco-size container spring greens/spinach mix 
(or 2 grocery store-size bags)
•girard's champagne dressing
•rotisserie chicken (optional)

what you need to do the day before:

•cook the pasta in boiling, salted water according to package directions 
drain and rinse in cold water 
stir in pesto 
add craisins, pine nuts, and parmesan 
refrigerate overnight

what you need to do to serve:

in a large bowl, mix greens with a little champagne dressing 
don't drown them
arrange greens on a large platter
(really, you need a large platter for this!)
top with chilled pesto pasta
optional: top with a few nice slices of rotisserie chicken

pro: looks impressive; tastes fantastic; nothing (seriously, nothing, unless you use chicken) to chop
con: after the greens are dressed, you can't really save the leftovers
hint: serve a big crowd and there won't be leftovers!

1 comment:

Nedra said...

I'm sooo glad you posted this. This was such a good salad, and I really wanted the recipe. Thanks! and so nice to have you back.