For Tasha....

Many years ago, I made a sauteed chicken pasta salad for some friends. It wasn't your typical pasta salad, made with rotini and a bottle of Italian dressing. This pasta salad is a celebration of great food.

The first time I made this dish, my friend Jenna and I were both crashing at the apartment of our friends from college until we could each, respectively, find a place to live on our own. I had made at least two pounds of the dish, and there were so many left overs, I was sure I'd be tossing most of it in the garbage. I was wrong. Jenna ate that pasta salad every day at least twice a day until it was gone.

Yesterday, an old friend from college BB Messaged me and Twitter DM'd me to please share my pasta salad recipe so she should make it this lovely Labor Day weekend.

I hope she and anyone else who decides to make it, enjoys it as much as Jenna did!

Beth's Gourmet Chicken Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb fusilli or farfalle pasta

4 T extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 T balsamic vinegar

2 chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and cut into med sized chunks.

1 small head broccoli florets, chopped (stems discarded)

1 bunch asparagus, chopped (tough ends removed)

2 small yellow summer squashes, chopped

1 med zucchini, chopped

1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half

1/4 c. pine nuts, lightly toasted

1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Prepare pasta according to box directions. Add salt and a sprinkle of oil to the water for flavor and to prevent sticking. When pasta is done, strain in sink and spray with cold water to prevent overcooking. Let pasta sit in sink, draining further for about 5 minutes. Put pasta in a very large bowl. Place to the side.

Place a large skillet over medium heat. When pan is hot, add 1 T olive oil. Saute the onion in the oil and when nearly transparent, add the garlic and a little salt and pepper, and saute until the garlic is soft. Do not burn the onion or garlic. Remove from heat if either begin to turn brown. When onion is transparent and garlic is soft, remove from pan and put in large bowl over the pasta.

Return pan to heat, add another T of olive oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Saute chicken in oil. When chicken is almost fully cooked, but not yet brown, drizzle the balsamic vinegar over top. Continue sauteing until chicken is fully cooked and browned. Remove chicken from pan, one piece at a time, and place in large bowl with pasta, garlic and onions.

Return pan to heat, saute each vegetable separately (and slightly seasoning each with salt and pepper) until soft, but still firm. Colors should become vibrant and not dulled or overly browned. Each vegetable is sauteed separately to keep the flavors of each vegetable from getting muddled. If pan gets dry, add another T of olive oil. After each vegetable is sauteed, it should be added to the large bowl of pasta and chicken. Tomatoes should be sauteed last and for the least amount of time.

Once all of the vegetables are added to the bowl, add pine nuts and the last T of olive oil. Toss the ingredients together until well blended. Lastly, add parmesan cheese and lightly toss.

Cover and put in refrigerator until completely chilled.

I have no idea how many people this serves! Sorry!

This recipe is a bit of a hassle to make, but is delicious...

I repent of my diets...

In the opening line of one of my favorite books, Isabel Allende writes, "I repent of my diets, the delicious dishes rejected out of vanity, as much as I lament the opportunities for making love that I let go by because of pressing tasks or puritanical virtue."

The book is Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses, and it is described on Amazon.com as a long, savory, enthralling ode to sensuality, bawdy memoir-cum-cookbook.

I discovered this book during the summer I spent in San Francisco in between my junior and senior years in college. I spent a large amount of time in the North Beach section of the city, studying my Italian and obsessing over men. I found it in an Italian bookstore and bought it immediately. I poured over it for about a year, making the recipes for family and friends.

I would love to dedicate this blog to going through each of Ms. Allende's recipes one by one and showing the results (a la Julie and Julia), but my problem with seafood (and my gag-inducing response to it) throws a wrench in that plan.

Instead, today I'll share with you one of my favorite recipes from this book:

Chicken Alegre

Ingredients:

2 slices hickory-smoked bacon, diced

2 cups chicken, cut in large pieces (I only use breast here, but I'm sure thigh would be especially tasty and tender)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup fresh corn kernels

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced (I use 2 - 3 cloves of garlic, because I love garlic)

1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar

1 cup plain yogurt (I use greek yogurt here)

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt and nutmeg to taste

1 pound fresh spinach, stems removed

2 large tomatoes, peeled and sliced

Preparation:

Saute the bacon and chicken pieces in the oil until golden. Add the corn, garlic, and vinegar and cook for 15 minutes over low heat. Remove from the heat and place the chicken in a baking dish. Stir the yogurt and cream into the pan juices. Season with salt and nutmeg. Pour over the chicken. Cover with the spinach leaves and top with tomato slices. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes. The dish will be a beautiful green highlighted with the red of the tomatoes.

This meal serves only 2, as it is intended as an aphrodisiac for two lovers...

The aphrodisiac qualities in this dish are:

Spinach which, according to Ms. Allende, strengthens the body and longing to make love.

Tomato - "The red, juicy, sensual flesh created a scandal; so much credence was given to its powers that fortunes were paid for a single tomato. Virtuous women refused to eat it, but not their counterparts, who could then blame their peccadilloes on the irresistible tomato.

Garlic - said in Aphrodite to be sacred, erotic, medicinal and restorative. The one condition is using it is that both lovers must eat it, because you can smell it even on the skin.

Corn - symbolizes fertility and abundance.

Chicken, while the main dish, is not an aphrodisiac, nor is bacon... But both are delicious!

I hope you enjoy this delicious dish!