White Beans with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

A Party? I love parties! My friend Marty, is calling for a girl's night tonight. Facials, manicures, pedicures, the works. A local spa comes to the house  and treats us to a night of pampering, and fun.
It's pot luck, I am in charge of a side dish. This side can be a side salad or a main dish salad. It is a Mediterranean bean dish. to make it a s a main dish salad , add shrimp or sliced beef and toss together . The salad is equally brilliant cold or at room temperature.
White Beans with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette :   Vinaigrette: 1/4 c extra- virgin olive oil, 2tbsp sun- dried tomato- infused oil ( from jar of sun- dried tomatoes), 1 tbsp wine vinegar , 1/4 c chopped sun dried- tomatoes, 1/4 tsp kosher(coarse) salt , coarsely ground black pepper.  Beans: 2 (16oz) cans cannellini beans , rinsed and drained, 1/3 c diced red onion , 2 cloves of garlic minced, 1/4c cherry tomatoes cut in half, 6 fresh basil leaves, chopped , 1 oz of Romano cheese. To prepare vinaigrette, whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. To prepare beans , place beans in a large bowl. Pour vinaigrette over beans. Let stand for an hour. Add onion ,garlic, tomatoes, basil and cheese just before serving. Mix gently to combine.
A night of pampering is wonderful, the thing I like best is I get to catch up  with friends and we laugh ourselves silly. Be well. :)

Linguine with Clams and Chiles

The temperature is a record 70' degrees. The sun is shimmering on the pond in my back yard. A family of ducks has taken up residence in the water. Feeding and swimming. What an amazing afternoon. Time to start thinking about dinner.Hmm, The warm weather makes me think of seafood. Tonight it will be Linguine with Clams and Chile's . Light yet robust in flavor.  Linguine with Clams and Chile's.  Kosher salt , to taste,  1 lb linguine pasta, 1/3 c extra- virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling, 4 oz pancetta minced (Can use bacon in a pinch), 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced, 2 Fresno chile's stemmed and thinly sliced , 30 littleneck clams (about 2 1/4 lbs) scrubbed clean , 1/3c dry white wine, 3 tbsp  roughly chopped fresh parsley.   Bring a large pot of salted water to boil , add pasta cook until al dente. Drain, reserve 1/2c pasta cooking water and set aside,  meanwhile heat oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat . Add pancetta cook until crisp, drain on paper towel and set aside Return skillet to medium heat, add garlic and the chile's stirring until golden about 3 mins. Add clams and wine, increase heat to high, and cook covered until clams open and release their juices. 5-10 mins.  Using tongs transfer clams to a plate , place chile's along side. Bring sauce to a boil , add pancetta and pasta along with a  1/4c of the pasta cooking liquid. Cook tossing pasta to coat with sauce 2 mins. Sprinkle in more pasta water if pasta seems dry. add 2 tbsp parsley, season with salt and toss to combine. Transfer pasta to a serving bowl arrange clams over pasta and pour any clam juice from the plate over pasta. Drizzle pasta with a little olive oil and garnish with remaining chile's and parsley. Bon Appetito!
The ducks are still in the pond swimming- good thing I  dreamed up  the Linguine with Clams, my boyfriend is a big fan of Duck!  I will protect my new tenants. Be well  :)