Teriyaki Pasta Salad

Thanks to Stefan for taking these nice photos. I didn't even have to fold laundry this time-- what what!!

I saw a similar looking salad on Creme de la Crumb and couldn't get it out of my mind. I really wanted to make it for this potluck street party at Stefan's parents' street we were going to on Saturday evening. Sometimes, I get these ideas in my head and it's hard to change my mind. We had 4 bunches of asparagus and had talked about making some grilled asparagus..but then, despite having none of the ingredients for this salad, I decided to go out and buy them and make it. Stefan ended up doing most of it, as I was out at the rehearsal dinner for Kristin and Shawn's wedding. Stay tuned for an update and some photos on that. It was so much fun. What a busy weekend!!

How do you get a chef to follow a recipe? It ain't easy. Stefan was pretty good though, and mostly followed the instructions. I took the opportunity to show him how useful the ipad is for cooking and recipes. Stefan thinks my ipad is useless, as I have been rarely using it since I got my new laptop. He keeps threatening to get rid of it. Nooooo!!!!!

Our key takeaways- use good quality extra virgin olive oil. Not canola oil. It won't be the same.
Also don't mix everything together and then add dressing before serving. Instead put the dressing on the pasta right away so the flavour can develop and the pasta stays MOIST. When you are ready to serve, add spinach and the rest of the ingredients so the leaves don't get soggy.  Finally, always use fresh garlic if you have some instead of garlic powder. That's just a personal preference.

We brought it to the street party and it was a lot of fun. What a neat idea and nice way to get to know your neighbors and enjoy a nice spring evening outdoors.  There were so many delicious salads.

Our table was so beautiful! Notice the lemon and flowers in the water? What a nice touch from Stefan's mom.




Ingredients
bowtie pasta noodles
spinach leaves and other lettuce
½ cup dried cranberries
⅓ cup pine nuts
 2 cans mandarin oranges, drained
¼ cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

Dressing
⅓ cup teriyaki sauce ( thicker ones are better)
⅓ cup rice wine vinegar (may sub apple cider vinegar)
1 garlic clove
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions
Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
While pasta is boiling, prepare the dressing. In a jar combine all dressing ingredients. Cover and shake to combine. In a large bowl toss together pasta and dressing.Chill until ready to use.


When ready to serve, add spinach, cranberries, nuts, mandarin oranges, and cilantro. toss, serve and enjoy!