I love cooking in other peoples kitchens! There is some sense of adventure that comes with having free range to search through other peoples cupboards and drawers. Don't worry I limit myself to the kitchen...don't think that by inviting me over to cook I will search the bedroom drawers, closets and the bathroom medicine cabinet.  Plus there is also a level of intimacy in that friendship when you are able to take over their kitchen...yeah I don't know if I could just cook in someones kitchen that I didn't know well. But if you are interested, try me....I might give it a shot.

I recently got the opportunity to take over my BFF's new kitchen. This was extra special as she has recently moved in and so I got a great deal of pleasure in getting it dirty for her. It was pretty cool showing up with a bag of ingredients, putting her in charge of opening the wine (which was a pretty challenging task since it was screw top) and starting to figure it all out. We become complacent in our own kitchens as we know what staples we have...I had to text her through out the day...do you have garlic? What about olive oil? Ya know all thing things you take for granted. When I got there I had to find those staples I requested along with the pots/pans/measuring cups that you are so familiar with in your own home. Plus it was a lot of fun bonding over cooking a meal together, laughing over random things and enjoying the camaraderie of the kitchen.



I decided to try and make a Cooking Light recipe for Rotini with Chicken, Asparagus and Tomatoes. I love Cooking Light, but my biggest complaint is that they just don't use enough salt for my taste. This recipe was no different...we definitely had to add some salt at the end. This recipe also calls for 1/2 lb of pasta but we cooked the entire pound and there was plenty of sauce and topping to spread over all of the pasta. If you want additional sauce just add extra olive oil and vinegar. BTW, she had amazing balsamic vinegar from Sunstone winery....now I am dying for a field trip to buy some and well of course to try their wine. This recipe is perfect for a summer evening...its light, fresh and tasty. The fresh basil and garlic smell amazing while they are cooking. And pair this with a crisp white wine and it made for a perfect night.



Of course the night had to have at least 1 cooking mishap. She has these salt and pepper grinders that have rubber caps on the bottom of them. So I have the salt grinder in my hand and I am grinding over the pan and I don't see any salt...so I continue to grind, shake it and grind some more. Only to realize hmmm I didn't take the rubber cap off...once that task was completed voila plenty of salt. The funny thing is I had used these before and I had made this same error before, however I just remind myself that it takes 40 times to make it a habit...so they better buy a hell of a lot more salt before I remember to take the cap off.

• 8 ounces uncooked rotini (corkscrew pasta)
• Cooking spray
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/4-inch strips ** I love that at Fresh and Easy you can buy extra trimmed chicken breast. I am way neurotic about any nastiness on my chicken and so for someone else to trim it for me is a slice of heaven. **
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup (1-inch) slices asparagus 
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 garlic cloves, minced 
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil 
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled goat cheese 

Preparation

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken and asparagus to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and garlic to pan; sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in pasta, basil, vinegar, and oil. Arrange 2 cups pasta mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese.