Asparagus Pasta, Grilled Chicken, Salad with Lemon Citrus dressing, and Green Fluff

Asparagus ready for the boiling water.












Emily mixing the green fluff.

Dinner Guests: Cheryl and Nick Powers, Tracy Harrison, and Jimmy Wathey.

Asparagus Tagliatelle (from Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine)

2 heads garlic
6 tbsp EVOO
1 3/4 lbs asparagus, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 lb tagliatell pasta (never heard of it... we used fettucini noodles, next time we'll use ziti or something easier to eat!)
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp sugar
1 large red onion, chopped
salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Place the garlic cloves on a piece of foil and drizzle with 1 tbsp. EVOO. Enclose the garlic in the foil and roast until soft and just golden, about 25 minutes. (NOTE: We didn't use this method ... too much work! Just cut the top off the entire head, drizzle the olive oil over and bake until you see golden brown tops. The roasted cloves are then easily pulled or popped out of the paper. I do this a lot on the outside grill. Any extra heads freeze well too.)

2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the asparagus until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Remove with a strainer and refresh in cold water; drain. Add the pasta to the pot and cook until al dente; drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Reserve the pot.

3. Using a blender, puree the roasted garlic, the vinegar, lemon juice and sugar. With the machine on, slowly add 1/4 cup EVOO.

4. In the reserved pot, heat the remaining 1 tbsp. EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the pasta, asparagus, roasted garlic vinaigrette and the reserved pasta cooking water; toss to combine and season with salt and pepper.

Green Fluff

1 large can crushed pineapple
1 box instant Pistachio pudding
Cool Whip (2 small or 1 large)
Mini Marshmallows (as many as you want! we used almost a whole bag)

Mix pudding and pineapple till powder is dissolved. Add Cool Whip and Marshmallows. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Lemon Citrus Salad Dressing
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp thyme leaves (I used dried)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 EVOO

Whisk together first 7 ingredients until well blended. Gradually whisk in the oil.

NOTE: We doubled this recipe and I'm not much of a measurer... so... if this one sounds good, try it and play around. We loved it!