Flourless Chocolate Cake with Whipped Cream and RaspberriesDiet, Schmiet. Some foods are worth breaking New Year's Resolutions - and this cake definitely fits the bill. Delicious, decadent, and drop-dead gorgeous, this cake is one of my favorite go-to recipes whenever I need the perfect finale for a celebratory meal.
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Pesto Pasta Salad
This recipe is part of Linda Larsen's Summer Salad Buffet article.
I adapted this recipe from Ina Garten's wonderful book "The Barefoot Contessa Parties".
1 16-ounce package farfalle pasta (I really prefer Barilla brand)
1 16-ounce package rotelle pasta
1 16-ounce container prepared pesto
1-1/2 cups frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1/2 cup milk
1 cup cashew halves, rinsed if salted
1 16-ounce package frozen tiny baby peas, unthawed
1 pound cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces, or shrimp
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, combine pesto, thawed spinach and lemon juice in food processor or blender. Process until thoroughly mixed. Stir together mayonnaise and milk with wire whisk. Add pesto mixture and mix well. Add cashews, frozen peas and cooked chicken and mix well. Drain pasta, rinse briefly with cold water, drain again and add to salad. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Serves 12
Linda Larsen is a freelance Home Economist with a degree in Food Science from the University of Minnesota and a degree from St. Olaf College. She has been on the Pillsbury Bake-Off staff since 1987, and was in charge of Internet Recipe Search in 2000. Linda has developed recipes for Pillsbury and Malt-O-Meal, presented food to taste panels, held cooking seminars, and owned her own catering business "The Perfect Occasion". She loves to cook and entertain, write about food, talk about it, plan parties, read cookbooks and develop recipes. She has a cookbook collection of at least 1000 books and reads them as though they were novels.
Linda's first meal was a Mother's Day dinner from the Betty Crocker Children's cookbook, prepared when she was 11. Since then she has hosted wedding and baby showers, birthday parties, business dinners and cocktail parties, and wonderful simple meals for friends. Join her and learn simple and elegant ways to entertain your family and friends during the week.
Linda can be reached at dlarsen@rconnect.com.
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