Garden Fresh Spaghetti Salad

A flavorful spaghetti style pasta salad packed with fresh garden vegetables and tossed in a Zesty Italian dressing.  

Today, I have a delicious spaghetti salad recipe to share with you. Whenever I attend a potluck or cookout, I always seem to gravitate towards the salads and desserts. I love loading up and tasting all the different salads that everyone brings to share. This simple  Spaghetti Salad is full of  delicious flavor and loaded with fresh veggies from your summer garden. Cucumbers, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, peppers, olives, artichokes and spaghetti noodles tossed in a seasoned zesty Italian dressing.  

A couple months back, I brought this salad to my  son and daughter-in-laws gender reveal party and it was a hit with everyone. I had so many people that asked me for the recipe so this is definitely a crowd-pleaser. This simple salad makes a pretty good size bowl and pairs perfectly with grilled chicken, beef or burgers. For the best flavor, prepare this pasta salad the day before you plan to serve it. The longer this salad sits in the refrigerator the better it tastes. Let's get started on the recipe.  

First cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until the pasta is al dente. Drain pasta and rinse under cold water. Set aside; 

While the pasta cooks chop all of the vegetables. 

In a large bowl add the cooled spaghetti, cucumbers, bell peppers, zucchini, onions. cherry tomatoes, olives, salami (if using) and artichoke hearts.  

In a medium size bowl, whisk the dressing, artichoke juice, Parmesan - Regiono cheese, garlic powder, onion powder and salt and pepper together. Pour over the pasta and vegetables and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for several hours (or overnight) before serving. 

Garnish with additional Parmesan - Regiono cheese and toss just before serving.  

Garden Fresh Spaghetti Salad 

1 - 16 ounce package thin spaghetti noodles, broke in half 
1 - cucumber, peeled and diced 
1 - green bell pepper, diced
1 - orange or red bell peppers, diced 
2 - zucchini squash or yellow squash, diced 
1 - small - medium purple onion, diced
1 - pint cherry tomatoes
1 - 4 ounce can sliced black olives
1 - 4 ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, cut into pieces (reserve juice)
1 - cup salami, cut into small pieces (optional) 

Dressing: 
1 - 16 ounce bottled Zesty Italian Dressing or Robusto Italian Dressing
reserved artichoke juice
garlic powder, to taste
onion powder, to taste 
1/4 - cup Parmesan - Regiono cheese 
salt and pepper, to taste 


Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water and set aside. 

While the pasta cooks chop all of the vegetables. 

In a large bowl add the cooled pasta, cucumbers, bell peppers, zucchini, onion. cherry tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts and salami (if using).  

In a medium size bowl, whisk the Italian dressing, artichoke juice, garlic powder, onion powder, Parmesan - Regiono cheese, salt and pepper together. 

Pour over the pasta and vegetables and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for several hours (or overnight) before serving.

Garnish with additional Parmesan - Regiono cheese and toss before serving. 

servings: 6-8  

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Fresh Spinach Pasta � Easy to Do, Occasionally

It�s very easy, and inexpensive to buy pasta at the store, which is why people do it so often, maybe too often, but every once in a while, when you want something specific, making a batch of your own can be fun, and rewarding. Besides, it�s kind of nice to get compliments for the sauce and noodles for a change.

By the way, don�t let the lack of a stand mixer with pasta attachments stop you from making this. For decades, I used a cheap, hand-cracked machine, which worked just fine. You can also go completely manual, and roll the dough into thin sheets, which after a little bit of drying, can be rolled up, and sliced into whatever size noodle you want.

Just be sure to use plenty of semolina, but that does work, and may produce the most satisfying results, imperfections and all. For the best texture, be sure to only cook your fresh pasta for just about a minute, before tossing it in your hot sauce.

If you dry your pasta, like I did with my twistaroni, you�ll need to give it a few extra minutes, or until it�s just tender, depending on the exact shape. Either way, fresh or dried, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes 2 large or 4 small portions Fresh Spinach Pasta:

8 ounces fresh spinach (about 4 handfuls)

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

about 3 cups all-purpose flour

semolina flour, as needed for rolling and cutting

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Creamy Ricotta Pasta Sauce � Now 100% Cream-Free!

I enjoy the taste and texture of a classic cream sauce, but what I don�t enjoy is that they tend to be very rich, and filling. I mean, come on, I�m trying to save room for the tiramisu. 

However, by using ricotta cheese, and egg, and some boiling pasta water, we can make a sauce that seems every bit as creamy, and delicious, but will still allow us to walk away from the table under our own power.

I added some pesto to mine this time, but that could have been some sun-dried tomato paste, or roasted chilies, or caramelized mushroom, or diced-up, leftover grilled veggies, or�you get the idea. The technique is really the thing to focus on here, and once perfected, you�ll simply be left trying to figure out what else to add in, or on this lovely sauce.

As I mentioned in the video, I love to top this pasta with ricotta salata. If you�ve never had it before, it�s worth a try, and not just for this dish. Ricotta salata is a great summer cheese, since it�s perfect with things like tomato salads, and grilled peaches, just to name a few. So, keep that in mind, but in the meantime, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 large or 4 small portions:

For the sauce base:

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1 large egg

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

zest from 1 lemon

cayenne to taste

about 2/3 cup hot pasta water, plus more if needed

For the pasta:

8 ounces dry pasta, cooked 1 minute under

1/4 cup pesto, or to taste

lots of grated ricotta salata to finish

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Sweet Potato Pan-Dumplings with Bacon Butter � Good Save

What started out as a tragic, waterlogged disaster of a sweet potato dumpling attempt, turned into a triumph we�re calling  �pan-dumplings.� As usual, I did little to no research, so someone may have already invented pan-dumplings, but until I hear from you, I�ll be taking the credit.

I really liked being able to spoon the dough/batter directly into the pan, and cutting out the boiling step made these faster, and we have one less pot to wash. The bacon butter was very nice, but I can think of a dozen sauces that would work with these. If you�re doing it as a main course, anything goes, but as a side dish, I�d keep it simple, as we did here.

Since this was sort of an experiment, I wasn�t paying too close to the exact amounts, but the list below must be pretty close. You can play around with more or less flour, and/or cheese, and cook test dumplings until you lock it in. I wanted something with the taste of roasted sweet potatoes, but with more of a gnocchi-like texture, and I think this was pretty close, which is why I hope you give these pan-dumplings a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 large or 4 smaller portions:

12 ounces cooked sweet potato

1 large egg

1/4 cup goat cheese or cream cheese, plus more to garnish

1/2 cup *self -rising flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste

sliced green onions to top

* To make your own SRF, for every cup of all-purpose flour combine 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon fine table salt.

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Chicken Spaghetti � Because Cows and Pigs Can�t Fly Either

A big bowl of spaghetti and meat sauce is one of my all-time favorite meals, and like most cooks, I make it a little different every time. The veggies change seasonally, and as far as the meat goes, sometimes it�s beef, or pork, or a combination, but for whatever reason, chicken is rarely considered. It�s usually only when I�m using up leftovers that I think to toss it with noodles. So, I almost forget how great this is when you dedicate a whole bird, and a few hours to the effort.

Other than requiring a little time, this recipe is dead simple, with the only major decision being how thick to make your sauce. I like something fairly light, I guess because it�s chicken, but if you do want something thicker, simply change the ratio of sauce to water when you start the recipe. You can also reduce it longer, but you knew that.

Just be sure to undercook your pasta by at least a minute here, since as you saw we�re going to finish it in hot sauce for a couple minutes at the end. This is a critical step, and allows all those flavors to get sucked up by the still hydrating spaghetti. This is also a great make-ahead meal, as you can prep your sauce one day, and then assemble the finished dish at a later date. Either way, I really do hope you give this chicken spaghetti a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for enough Chicken Spaghetti Sauce for between 1 and 1.5 pounds of pasta, depending on how �saucy� you want it:

1 large whole chicken (4 1/2 to 5 pounds), with bag inside cavity removed

1 jar (24-oz) marinara sauce (about 3 cups)

6 cups water or chicken broth

2 anchovy fillets

2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

red chili flakes to taste

To finish the dish, for each person:

4 ounces spaghetti, cooked, drained (not rinsed!)

enough chicken spaghetti sauce and to please you

more grated cheese

1 tablespoon cold butter

1/4 cup thinly sliced basil leaves

salt and hot pepper to taste

at least 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino cheese

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Creole Crab Noodles � Mardi Gras Fusion

I�m calling this Creole crab noodles recipe an �experiment,� but it didn�t really feel like one, since I was sure it was going to come out really well, which it did. Crab, and its old friends, the Holy Trinity, are a classic combo, and so it was no surprise they worked so well in an Asian-style, rice noodle dish.

If you can get fresh crab meat, by all means use that, but if not, pretty much every large grocery chain carries pasteurized crab in 8-ounce plastic tubs, which works perfectly fine for this. And if shellfish isn�t your thing, I�ve got some great news. This exact same dish can be made with literally any other other meat and/or vegetable.

You can also do this with your favorite pasta, but like I said in the video, there are few foods as addictive, and fun to eat as rice noodles, so I�d advise against it. Besides, you can finally have that gluten-free friend of yours over to make up for all those pizza-night invites. So, whether you make this for Mardi Gras or not, I really do hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 large portions:

8 ounces crab meat

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/3 cup finely diced green onions, plus more for garnish

1/3 cup finely diced celery

1/3 cup finely diced hot and/or sweet peppers

8 ounces rice noodles, soaked, drained

For the sauce:

3 cloves crushed garlic

3 tablespoons ketchup

1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

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How to Make Sp�tzle (aka Spaetzle) � Little Sparrows for Big Meat

Apparently �Sp�tzle� translates to �little sparrows� in German, which makes a lot of sense when you consider their shape. What doesn�t make sense is why these micro-dumplings are also called �spaetzle.� Is it an alternate spelling? A different recipe? I�m hoping maybe some of our German foodwishers can clear this up.

Since my favorite German restaurant calls this stuff sp�tzle, that�s what I went with, and they are as easy to make, as they are hard to correctly pronounce. You only need a few ingredients, all of which you generally have on hand at all times, and they take just minutes to cook.

Once boiled, you can toss in butter like I did, or sauce them any way you�d sauce similarly shaped pasta. While wonderful served as-is, they make the perfect side dish to any large hunk of slowly braised meat. I paired mine with a pork shoulder stewed in hard cider, and it was amazing.

I thought I�d posted a video for that, but it was actually a cider-braised pork cheeks recipe I was thinking of, which would work perfectly here. So, I may have to do a braised pork shoulder after all. In the meantime, I�m sure you�ll have little trouble figuring out what to serve yours with, and I really do hope you give this Sp�tzle recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes 2 portions:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more to adjust

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

pinch of cayenne

1 tablespoon cream fraiche, sour cream, or yogurt

3 tablespoons milk

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