Bow Tie Pasta with Rosemary Grilled Chicken and Spinach

Bow-tie pasta with rosemary grilled chicken and feta cheese and spinach

8 oz bow-tie (or other kind--I used whole wheat spirals) pasta, cooked al dente
4 oz crumbled feta cheese (optional)
1 bunch green onion, minced
fresh baby spinach
tomato wedges for garnish

For chicken:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cleaned and pounded thin
1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp chopped fresh garlic
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
Combine ingredients and marinate for at least 30 minutes. Grill or broil until just done.

Dressing: Lemon vinaigrette

1 shallot, minced
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup good quality fruity olive oil
1 tsp sugar
Combine shallot, mustard and lemon juice, slowly whisk in oil. Add sugar.

To serve:
Toss pasta with feta cheese, green onions, baby spinach and dressing. Slice the chicken and place on top.

enjoy!

the "perfect hotdog"

Happy Memorial Day all you finemealwoman readers! Summer is here and that means BBQs. I recently heard a piece on NPR about the "perfect hotdog." We decided to give it a go!

Apparently, the "perfect hotdog" has a natural casing, is grilled (never boiled), has a buttered and grilled bun, and is topped with onions and mustard (never ketchup). We did our best and to be honest, I think it was the best hot dog I've ever had. The grilled buns really added to the overall flavor, plus our natural dogs were really tasty!

We bought Nature's Promise brand hotdogs. They are all natural uncured beef, no preservatives, no nitrates or nitrates added, the beef is raised with no antibiotics, no growth stimulants or added hormones, and are vegetarian fed. Best of all, they were really, really tasty!

So buy your hotdogs, fire up the grill, and enjoy the "perfect hotdog" this weekend!

grilled asparagus

I've never been a big fan of asparagus until I discovered how good it is grilled. Try this!

Ingredients

• 1 bushel of asparagus
• 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Ground pepper

Directions

1. Cut asparagus into 1-2 inch pieces
2. Add olive oil to pan
3. Place asparagus in pan and mix around in the oil
4. Add ground pepper
5. Grill on medium heat and mix until they start to blacken

grilled portobella mushrooms

I made some marinated and cheese filled portobella mushrooms. Unfortunately, I used too much cheese, but I somewhat knew this when I was making it. However, they turned out pretty good, and it is a good summer grilling treat!

Marinade:
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2-3 tbsp onion, finely chopped
1 tsp marjoram
1 tsp thyme
freshly ground pepper
freshly ground sea salt
1/4 c. olive oil

I used a plastic zipper bag and mixed it up. Then I placed my mushrooms in the bag and turned the bag to coat the mushrooms. I then let it sit for about an hour, turning it about 4 times. I probably had enough marinade for about 4 mushrooms, but I was just testing it.

I then grilled the mushrooms on our little propane camping grill. Since I was filling the underside with cheese, I grilled that side first. In order to keep the onion and garlic in the mushroom's cap, I used some aluminum foil to contain it. When I flipped them over I put the cheese into them.

One of them I filled with some type of romano cheese (I'm not sure of the type exactly because I got if from a friend before he moved). The other cheese uses the same mold as Roquefort, but instead of being made of sheep's milk, it is made from cow's milk. Two different cheeses, but both very tasty.

The mushroom with the blue cheese I made into a grilled portobella burger and the other I ate as-is. If I were to do this again, I would limit the amount of cheese I put on it, I was just trying to get rid of the cheese since it was getting a bit old.

Bon appetit,

Chef Jeff
(^8=3