Cavatelli - Step by Step

I made some homemade Cavatelli this week while my brother was here visiting. They are so easy to do and I’m sharing a link from my Facebook page so you can make them yourself.  The recipe and Step by Step directions are very easy to follow

https://www.facebook.com/groups/49147372011/permalink/10156156880347012/

Greek Pasta Salad

This morning when I arrived back home from the dentist, I found two recipes on my kitchen table. One was for pizza dough and the other one was for a Greek Pasta Salad. I knew that I didn't clip them, so I wondered where they came from.  My housekeeper, Carol, said she brought them in for me.  She had gotten them from a friend of hers, Bob Fisher, that she used to work with years ago at BOCES.  She had run into him at Walmart a few days ago, and he told her to try this recipe.

I had been running around all day and was looking for a fast side dish to make with some barbecue chicken for tonights dinner, and thought this looked easy and sounded delicious.  Since everyone in my house is suddenly on a diet (the wedding is coming quickly), I thought this was great.  Not too much pasta, some olive oil, lots of veggies, okay, so the cheese and salami is not quite diet like, but not as bad as my usual fettuccine alfredo!

I'm sorry I didn't have time to do a step by step on this recipe, but I was trying to get it done quickly, and it's pretty basic to do, so I am just giving you the recipe on this one.  Try it, I sampled a little to check the seasonings and it was delicious!

Here is the recipe:

Greek Pasta Salad

1 box of spiral pasta (Rotelli) cooked according to the package directions

For the dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar (I used red wine with garlic)

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (I had garlic salt)

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I used a little less)

3/4 teaspoon sugar

1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin slices and then finely diced

2 bunches of scallions, finely chopped

1 can medium sized black olives, pitted, drained and cut in half

10 - 12 Kalamata Olives, pitted, and cut in half

3/4 cup Genoa Salami (I bought a little under 1/2 pound and had them slice it about 1/4 - inch thick) cut into cubes

3/4 cup crumbled Feta Cheese (I bought about a 6 ounce piece, and crumbled it myself so it would be fresh)

In a large bowl, mix the olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder, basil, oregano, pepper, and sugar with a whisk.

Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water according to the directions.  Drain and rinse with cold water.

While the pasta is cooking, cut the tomatoes, red bell pepper, scallions, olives, and salami.

Add the cooled pasta to the dressing mix and toss.  Add in all the vegetable and 3/4 of the feta cheese.

Add the remaining feta cheese on the top.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

I like to serve it in a glass bowl so you can see all the colors.  This is a nice summer salad that goes together quick quickly. Enjoy!

Greek Pasta Salad

Chicken Riggies

Good morning everyone. I hope that you are all having a very wonderful time preparing for both Easter and continuing the celebration of Passover. This will be a very short post for me, because I to have to get ready for the holidays.

Like all areas of the country, our upstate New York area is known for a few culinary specialties, tomato pie, greens, and chicken riggies are a few. We finally had the headlines with the chicken riggies and a contest was held to find the best chicken riggies. Read the story in our local paper The Observer Dispatch.

Riggies are a nice dinner meal, once you eat a bowl of them, you don't need too much else to eat, add a salad and some garlic bread and you're done. Traditionally, they are served with hot peppers, some combine hot and sweet peppers, or you can make them with just sweet peppers.

If you'd like to try to make some, here is one of my favorite recipes. It comes from my dear friend Brenda Johnson. I'm sorry there are no pictures this time, but time is of the essence this week, so forgive me and have a very happy holiday!

CHICKEN RIGGIES PLESCIA-JOHNSON
Brenda Johnson


3 teaspoons minced garlic
Olive oil
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
8 medium boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1½ bottles of hot or mild cherry peppers (cut up in quarters with seeds)
Dash of red wine (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon oregano
½ pint heavy cream
1 red and 1 green bell pepper (quartered)
1½ pounds Rigatoni macaroni
Grated cheese (Optional)


Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add garlic and cook for one minute until golden, add the chicken pieces and cook until browned. Add the cherry peppers and the cherry pepper juice. Add red wine to taste. Add the bell peppers. Break up the 1 can whole peeled tomatoes, and add to the pan. Add the 2 cans of crushed tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add in basil and oregano. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about an hour. Cook the rigatoni according to package directions. Just before serving, add the heavy cream to the sauce. Mix the sauce with the rigatoni and serve. You can top with grated cheese if you’d like.