Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Waking up Max....

Tonight's dinner was technically a side dish, but there are lots of times that we just increase the servings a bit and turn it into a main meal instead. We usually do this when the recipe makes a fair amount, so by doing this we can still try the recipe instead of having a ton of leftovers.

Macaroni Salad with Gorgonzola caught my attention as I would have never thought to include some of the ingredients together. The pasta I used was Barilla Plus and found the texture to be very palatable. I was surprised how much I liked the crisp and tart granny smith apples in the salad. Lots of different textures from the smooth dressing, crunchy walnuts and al dente pasta. Chopped arugula lends a peppery bite against the tang from the dressing. Crumbly rich gorgonzola is sprinkled on top and brings sharp bites of flavor throughout. To bulk the dish up a bit, I served it over a bed of tender baby greens.

We had to snap a picture this morning when Max was just waking up and sitting infront of the blinds. He just looked so calm and ready to go back to bed! Somedays I only wish he was this mellow all the time!

Does anyone plan on watching Top Chef tonight on Bravo? I have TiVO set up to record since it doesn't show until 12am here - hopefully it is a bit better than the other reality cooking shows.

9 comments:

  1. Okay, this looks soooo good. Apples, gorgonzola, stop there and I'm in. Add bell peppers and walnuts and it's even better. (We had gorgonzola tonight--a simple salad of sliced tomatoes topped with gorgonzola and balsamic vinegar to go with our steaks.)

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  2. This looks very interesting! I bet the apples and gorgonzola was a great combination.
    A great photo of Max, he is a gorgeous dog!

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  3. The salad sounds really quite vivacious! Love the shot of sleepy Max!

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  4. My Max needs to be woken up too, but he doesn't look quite like that! teehee

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  5. Hi Joe, I am a Barilla fan for sure. This seems like a great recipe. Your dog is so beautiful!

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  6. Thanks for the tip on Top Chef. I am going to tivo that too.
    Max is a doll.

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  7. What a great picture of Max! He's a beautiful dog. Almost as pretty as my Sophie (Biscuit Pup). hehe

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  8. I'd been thinking of trying Barilla plus, since it's better for my diet. Glad to hear you thought it was ok. the salad sounds great.

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  9. Cyndi - It really was a tasty combo!

    Patti - Thanks!

    s'kat - It worked well for lunch today too!

    cameradawktor - hee hee!

    Gemma - Thanks!

    Jennifer N - It is on several times this week!

    biscuit - Thanks!

    Kalyn - the stats on Barilla plus are pretty good considering how well the texture turns out!

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