4th of July in Rochester

Happy 4th from Rochester, MN! 

Denis and I have the house to ourselves this weekend. Charlotte and Ben are spending some time in NC with family and friends and Hutton is watching fireworks with Darin and Spencer. We hung out by the pool and then Denis got busy on the grill. His ribs were fabulous - there's rarely a recipe! One of my retirement goals was to follow him around with pen in hand and record the details but sometimes it's more fun just to be in the moment. This was one of those times. My recipes, sources and notes are posted below.

Minnesota pool boy!

The pool is 76 degrees - COLD!

Perfection!

Rotini Pasta with Summer Vegetables and Red Wine Vinaigrette

Recipe By: The Family Flavor (cookbook)by Whitney Ingram 

Serving Size: 8

Summary:

A fresh pasta salad recipe loaded with summer vegetables and tossed with a flavorful red wine vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

1 lb. rotini pasta, cooked according to package directions

1 seedless cucumber, quartered lengthwise and chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 bunch green onions, diced

8 ounces grape tomatoes, halved

1 15 ounce can black olives, drained

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 4 ounce package crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta, drain and rinse under cold water to cool. Drain very well and pour pasta into a large bowl. Stir in cucumbers, red bell peppers, green onions, grape tomatoes and black olives. Set aside. 2. In a medium bowl, combine red wine vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper. Whisk well. While whisking, slowly pour in olive oil. Whisk in parsley. Pour vinaigrette over pasta and vegetables. Stir well. Fold in feta cheese. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve chilled.

Notes:

I will make this over and over again. I didn't add the feta or parsley - had both but decided against the feta and then forget the parsley!  Doesn't need either but they would be good if you're in the mood or have on hand.

Classic Apple and Blue Cheese Salad

Recipe By: MyRecipes.com

Serving Size: 6

Cooking Light

JANUARY 2003

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 cups torn Bibb lettuce leaves (about 2 heads)

1 cup chopped Granny Smith apple

2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

1 tablespoon chopped toasted walnuts

Directions:

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add lettuce and remaining ingredients, tossing gently to coat.

Notes:

Nice, easy and a very good  accompaniment for a BBQ.  Things I would do differently - we had apples on hand so I used a sweet apple that I decided to grate rather than chop.   It was good but I'd definitely use a Granny Smith and chop or use small slices next time. I dressed the salad before serving and wished I hadn't.  Next time I'll double the dressing, dress everything but the apples, walnuts and blue cheese and then add them to the salad and serve extra dressing on the side.  I used a little too much blue cheese and a little too many walnuts - more is not always better.  Having said all that it really was delicious and will be even better next time.  A salad that Denis likes is always a winner in our house (or wherever we happen to be!).