Dinner Party: Potato, Green Bean and Pesto Pasta Salad

My college friend Laura was in town last week and came over for dinner with her two boys. I served a summer dinner, taking advantage of much of my CSA produce (potatoes, basil, peppers, romaine lettuce, zucchini, and carrots). We started with an appetizer of peppers, sautéed quickly in olive oil, until blistery and sprinkled with sea salt, along with a chunk of Asiago Fresco and a light rose wine. The rest of the menu included:

• Grilled rosemary-marinated chicken
• Potato, green bean and pesto pasta salad
• Grilled zucchini
• Romaine salad with lemony vinaigrette (didn’t that appear on another menu recently?)
• Carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Three of these recipes, the Rosemary Chicken, the Pasta Salad and the Carrot Cupcakes, came out of Everyday Food Great Food Fast, a cookbook I highly recommend. It has recipes organized by season, which is more in-line with the way I cook these days. The pictures are inspirational (and mouth-watering!), and ingredients are kept to a minimum. I am still getting comments about the Skirt Steak with Spicy Green Salsa I made a while ago.

Spicy Green Salsa

• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon minced pickled jalapeno chili
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• salt to taste

Combine all ingredients with 1 tablespoon water. Can be made 3-4 days in advance. The tart spicy flavors of this salsa go well with most grilled meats, especially nicely marbled skirt steaks.