On May 13, 6:58*am, "Bob Terwilliger" >
wrote:
> Kris wrote:
> > I have to bring a pasta salad to a group picnic, and am feeling a bit
> > tired of my standby, pesto tortellini salad with chicken and grape
> > tomatoes. *(Hopefully this feeling will pass, as I love this salad).
> > It made me wonder what other cooks make regularly...
>
> > I'm a viniagrette dressing person, as opposed to mayo-based. I may
> > make a lemon orzo salad, come to think of it. Or a peasant-style Greek
> > salad with cucumber, tomato and red onion with feta.
>
> > What do you guys like?
>
> The excellent book _CookSmart_ has an entire chapter devoted to pasta
> salads. This time of year I'd go for the "Pasta Salad with Asparagus,
> Mushrooms, Artichoke Hearts, and Parmesan." You can view the recipe at
> amazon.com by clicking "look inside" on the Amazon page for that book; the
> recipe is on page 201 of the book. The recipe calls for a creamy vinaigrette
> which *cannot* be viewed; that recipe would be:
>
> 1/4 cup lemon juice
> 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
> 1 large garlic clove, minced
> Salt and freshly ground black pepper
> 2/3 cup olive oil
>
> If you have an immersion blender, just put all the ingredients into a tall
> narrow container and blend. If you have a mini-chopper, you can blend
> everything together with that instead. If you're working by hand, whisk the
> lemon juice and mayo together, add the garlic (which should be minced
> *extremely* fine), salt, and pepper; whisk to combine, then whisk
> continuously while adding the olive oil: Add just a few drops of olive oil
> at a time to start, then add oil in a slow steady drizzle while whisking
> furiously to keep it all emulsified.
>
> Vinaigrette will be best if used within one day.
>
> Bob

That sounds like an excellent vinaigrette. Could be used with many
pasta salad ingredients, I bet. I'll have to keep this one handy.

Thank for posting it,
Kris