it's Emeril LaGothy!!!
Yes, it's officially Autumn, so that means that every Sunday, Mrs. SOG is driven from the scullery and I take over... bwahahahaha.....!!!

Nothing too out of hand today, my own take on a Greek pasta salad...

(click to embiggen...)

here's what you need to whip it up:

a six pack of Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale;
a 16.oz box of ziti;
a teaspoon each of: minced mint; minced rosemary; minced basil; minced oregano (all fresh from the herb garden, of course...)
about 12.oz of crumbled Feta cheese;
a dozen or so Kalamata olives, halved lengthwise, with pits removed;
a dozen or so grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise;
a dozen or so seedless purple grapes;
about two cups of fresh spinach, coarse chopped.
a little bit of extra virgin olive oil;
some coarse sea salt;

Ok, start by pouring two bottles of pumpkin ale into a frosted 1 liter mug... sip at regular intervals during the process... repeat as necessary...

then, boil that ziti, al dente, you know how to do that, right..?

while that's going on, cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil, spread the olive halves, tomato halves and grapes on the baking sheet, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with some sea salt; roast for about 12 minutes in a 450 oven until everything is just starting to sizzle and the grapes are just starting to collapse and caramelize.

drain the pasta and rinse with cold water, let it drain until almost dry, then transfer to a large bowl. mix in the all the rest of the ingredients, toss and throw it in the fridge until chilled.

serve chilled with your favorite lamb dish, with a little dollop of plain Greek yogurt on the side...

Enjoy!

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