Our hosts served up a feast of marinated grilled shrimp, chicken and corn on the cob preceded by number of appetizers including fresh made guacamole. 
I missed the main courses on the grill but here we have the corn!
I prepared an Italian Pasta Salad which proves a simple and satisfying summertime side dish. 
The authentic antipasti ingredients purchased at Salumeria Italiana made all the difference!! Living in the tourist infused mecca that is Boston's Little Italy does have its perks.
Ingredients
-1 box of rotini pasta
-2 green peppers, chopped
-1 package cherry tomato, halved
-1 cup black olives, pitted and halved
-1 can of cannelini beans
-1/2 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, chopped
-1/4 lb salami slices quartered
-olive oil, to taste-balsamic vinegar, to taste
-salt & pepper, to taste
Pitting olives is quite a project!
The cured salami from Salumeria Italian is some of the best I've ever tasted.
I bought extra of certain ingredients which made some excellent salami & mozzarella sandwiches for our road trip to NH - not to mention I have been eating them by the slice regularly.
Back to the directions - which are pretty self explanatory but here they are none the less.
1. Cook the pasta until just done to al dente tenderness - about 8 minutes. Drain well and cool completely.2. Toss with peppers, olives, beans, tomato, mozzarella and salami.
3. Stir in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper as desired.
4. Chill for approximately one hour before serving.
Antipasto Salad is an excellent compliment to grilled foods, or even a quick and easy weeknight meal on its own, not to mention an ideal way to feed a crowd!
Antipasto Salad is an excellent compliment to grilled foods, or even a quick and easy weeknight meal on its own, not to mention an ideal way to feed a crowd!
I'll leave you with a few shots of some of the gang.....
...there's plenty more where those came from. I have soooo many wedding pictures to sort through and a family dinner in the North End still to recap! It has all been such a whirlwind, a non stop party, and truly a blessing to spend time with family I see once or twice a year if that.
It's back to the grind today, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm looking forward to some relaxing weeknights at home at least in the beginning of the week. Summer lunch series has been a miss but it's not gone forever! Between the July 4th holiday week (Monday off, not Friday) and traveling out of town for the wedding, it has been on a two week hiatus but will return this Friday for sure!
...there's plenty more where those came from. I have soooo many wedding pictures to sort through and a family dinner in the North End still to recap! It has all been such a whirlwind, a non stop party, and truly a blessing to spend time with family I see once or twice a year if that.It's back to the grind today, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm looking forward to some relaxing weeknights at home at least in the beginning of the week. Summer lunch series has been a miss but it's not gone forever! Between the July 4th holiday week (Monday off, not Friday) and traveling out of town for the wedding, it has been on a two week hiatus but will return this Friday for sure!
Gretchen
There was a large turnout at the party, despite my lack of people pictures. I was actually meeting a lot of the families and friends in attendance for the first time. I was happy to put some of the names behind the long running Reality Pool emails turned blog to faces! Side Note: 
