Food And Family

Hello everyone.

Thanks for checking out my blog once again. Yesterday I had the opportunity to cook for some of my extended family. My cousin Erin is in CT for the month, and asked if I would cook with her sometime this week. Not surprisingly I jumped at this opportunity, and went to bed dreaming of possible menu ideas. We settled on a salad, pasta, dessert menu that we thought everyone would enjoy. It was a neat experience to be able to cook for some family that I don't normally cook for. The kitchen was pretty toasty since my Uncle's AC wasn't working. Some would be thrown off by this, but it made me feel more like I was working in a real kitchen. In the end, the we were able to make a salad and pasta dish that received very good reviews. After making the first two dishes, we were hot, sweaty, and hungry. Because of this, we decided to make the dessert another day. Here's the menu we had came up with.

Salad: Romaine Lettuce with Goat Cheese, Crispy Bacon, and Balsamic Vinaigrette
   *Note: Recipe can be found in previous blog post

Pasta: Spaghetti with Fresh Herbs.

Dessert: Cinnamon Chips with Fruit Salsa
   *Note: Recipe can be found in previous blog post

As you can see the only new recipe was the spaghetti with fresh herbs.  You can find the recipe at
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=539133 . Here's how I made it.

Spaghetti with Fresh Herbs
16 Oz pkg spaghetti
1/4 C olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 tsp chopped fresh sage leaves
1 tsp chopped fresh basil leaves
2 C cherry tomatoes, chopped into quarters

*Cook spaghetti as directions state. Drain
*While spaghetti cooks, mix all the remaining ingredients.
*Toss spaghetti with the olive oil, herb, tomato mixture.
*Enjoy

                                                    Spaghetti

                                                    Chicken on the side to toss with
                                                    spaghetti.

                                                    Romaine,dressing,goat cheese. The
                                                    bacon is probably in the cup that's
                                                    knocked down.

Thoughts on the recipe: I originally made this dish in my food & nutrition class in high school. For not having a traditional tomato sauce or being doused in cheese, the pasta dish has a lot of flavor. This comes from the use of fresh herbs. This is a very healthy recipe that is simple to make any night of the week. Always remember that fresh herbs are your friend, and you'll be able to make a variety of flavorful dishes.

Thanks for reading! Special shout out to Erin, Mark, Kelly, Bill, Tom, and Baby Sarah who all tried my food.