Chicken Tortellini Salad

 

Guide (not recipe), I cooked with abandon:

1 package mini cheese tortellini

1 package Mozzarella pearls

Cherry tomatoes, slices

1 green pepper, chopped

Pesto, to taste

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Prosciutto, Melon and Mozzarella Salad

I'm spending too much time on Pinterest again (sigh) . . . This delightful salad caught my eye and I knew I'd be making it this summer . . .  Click here to see the original pin on Pinterest.

But the culinary gods were with me today.  I've just found a great source of local, sustainable, indoor farming and they had wonderful baby arugula for sale!  Yes, I do get excited about fresh baby arugula!  So, why wait! 

I picked up the rest of the ingredients at Caputo's, my favorite grocery store.  Their deli was redolent with the aromas of aged cheeses and excellent hams.  A trip to Caputo's always makes me feel like I'm back in Italy.  I've written about Caputo's here, here and here.  Anyway, here's my interpretation of the salad:

The secret to this salad is using absolutely the best ingredients that can be found:  Imported Prosciutto di Parma (pricey but so worth it!), baby arugula, ripe cantaloupe wedges (I peeled mine), fresh mozzarella marinated in extra virgin olive oil, chopped fresh basil, salt and pepper.  One more drizzle of olive oil and a few dots of a balsamic vinegar reduction (click here for instructions on how to reduce balsamic vinegar) . . .  This was food poetry, if I do say so myself . . .

Ahh . . . !  Welcome spring!

Linking to Sunny Simple Sunday Link Party!

How to Manage An Inferiority Complex

What do you serve your friends, all members of the high school Cuban Club, 1973 through 1977?  Hint:  NOT CUBAN FOOD!  They are all either better cooks than you, or their mothers can run circles around you with their perfect black bean soup and pumpkin flan.  And besides, where's the surprise?  No, no, no dear friends, you need to go in an altogether different direction.  Enter:  The Italian Antipasto Tray . . .

Start out with a large platter to hold it all.  I picked this one up at HomeGoods for about $10!

Then, go nuts!  I included cantaloupe, prosciutto, sopressata, black olives cured in olive oil, jumbo green olives stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, provolone cheese, green grapes, roasted red peppers, and Formaggio Ciliegine (fresh mozzarella balls, marinated in olive oil, red pepper flakes, basil and black pepper), all prettily showcased against a backdrop of radicchio . . .

Is your mouth watering yet . . . ?

And this is an old, old photo of the Cuban Club, from the year I was president.  Where's Maria?



A Tablescape With A Tuscan Vibe coming tomorrow . . .