Chef Amanda made a beautiful cake from a watermelon and fruit. It is beautiful, thanks Chef Amanda!
Dessert was fruit, topped with whipped cream, optional.
Candied almonds and candy, we were treated, with the best treats.
We had two types of bread and cut up veggies we could dip in humus,
also pickled beets and not pickled beets, pickles, olives, and you name it
we had it.
Thanks Marilyn for the wonderful luncheon and thanks for having your friend
and wonderful helper Amanda for COOK-IN IN THE KIT-CHIN
Chef Amanda’s Famous Tortellini Salad
To make the pasta salad: Cook a full package of the tortellini. Then slice a couple pints of cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise so they look prettier, are easier to spear with a fork, and to allow their juices to mingle a bit more with the salad. Then drain the artichoke hearts over a bowl (save the oily marinade!) and cut them up, slicing them in half lengthwise so they are bite-sized. Toss all this in a big bowl and add enough of the artichokes’ marinade to coat and flavor the salad. That’s it!
(Note)
I used the 5 cheese tortellini, and a big jar of artichoke hearts and mozzarella balls from Costco.
This pasta salad could be improved further by a few little things, if you have the time: You could add a squeeze or two of lemon juice to the dressing. You could make it more visually appealing by adding some shredded fresh basil or shards of Parmesan. I have also considered adding mozzarella balls.
This makes a huge quantity — enough for a dozen people at least — and it holds very nicely in the refrigerator for several days; the flavors just mingle and improve. I’ve made it for an easy weeknight dinner and leftovers became a lunch-box basic.
Chef Amanda's beautiful Watermelon Cake
