Missy’s Family Favorite Two-Tomato Pasta Salad

There is this wonderful chain of grocery store’s on the East Coast called Wegmans.  There is nothing like Wegmans in San Diego or even all of Southern California, to my knowledge.  Not even in LA or Orange County.  Maybe the closest thing would be LA’s Farmer’s Market, but that really isn’t the same by any stretch of the imagination, although it is a wonderful “destination”, too.

Every time I go back East to visit my family in New York, I ask to make a trip to their local Wegmans.  I really don’t know why I put myself through that torture though, because then I come home to San Diego, a major metropolitan city, and feel deprived. Why can’t we have a grocery store like Wegmans?

What makes Wegmans so special?  Not only are they a fully-stocked grocery store, but they have “stores within stores”.   Their Market Cafe offers both take-out or in-store dining.  Yes, I said dining.  With seating for at least 100 (some stores it is upwards of 500), you can sit and eat a delicious fresh meal prepared on the premises!

An Asian Wokery that serves Chinese, Thai and Indian food, a Homestyle Bar that offers comfort-type food and Italian fare, a Bakery, a Sub Shop, a Pizza Shop, a Veggie Bar, a Sushi Bar – all these places (stand-alone “restaurants” within themselves) are located in an area of the store that encourages you to linger, to sit and eat.  With WiFi internet access, they are a destination for busy people who need a change of scenery from their job or home.

Their European open-air style Marketplace includes a Patisserie, deli, cheese shop, fish market, food from around the world, Nature’s Marketplace (natural foods and supplements) and a housewares section that’s like its own separate retail housewares store!  And, of course, they have a pharmacy and floral shop.

And as if these services aren’t enough, they cater, they teach cooking classes and they produce a beautiful magazine that they mail to their customers!  With 84 stores (more than half in New York) across New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts, they employ 44,000 people!

While some San Diego County stores have some of these specialties and special departments, they don’t have ALL these departments that make Wegmans the Disneyland of supermarkets!  It almost makes me want to move somewhere back East so that I can have access to this wonderful store (well, maybe not; there is that “weather” thing back there called “snow” {grin}).

Why am I waxing poetic about Wegmans?  Because my sister-in-law, Missy, said her Two Tomato Pasta Salad is a recipe that she got from Wegmans and I want to give credit, where credit it due!  However, I looked on Wegmans’ site, which is full of recipes, and couldn’t find it.

So, just in case this is the exact recipe from Wegmans, I’m crediting them as the source!

By the way, this is Missy…

My brother, Glenn, and Missy have been married for 22 years.  When they became engaged, my brother brought her back home (California) from New York to meet all of us.  I remember, just like it was yesterday, the first time I met her.  This beautiful, petite young woman steps off the plane with my brother and the moment I could reach her, I grabbed her and enveloped her in a big bear hug.  I’m sure I really startled her because we were complete strangers.

But I couldn’t help myself.  I was bursting with joy that my brother (then 30 years old) had finally met someone he wanted to spend his life with.  To have a family with. You see, that’s all my brother ever wanted was to have a wife and kids.  And, at 30-years-old, he was more than ready to settle down.

And, here was this beautiful woman who loved my brother.  I was overwhelmed with happiness for them.  For their future.

So, back to Missy’s Two Tomato Pasta Salad…

The last night of my visit, they had a family gathering to celebrate Ryan’s 19th birthday. In addition, one of Missy’s cousins and her family were visiting from England.  And, of course, there was me!  So, the night before, Missy set about making a couple of large salads to feed the crowd along with beef sandwiches on buns and, of course, dessert.

So, these photos of Missy’s Two Tomato Pasta Salad were taken in her kitchen at night!  I did my best with the artificial lighting and the settings on my fancy dancy camera.  But, here’s the thing:  I still don’t really know how to use this fancy dancy camera even though I took a six-week digital photography camera class over the summer!

My apologies to Missy for not doing her Two Tomato Pasta Salad justice!  But, in spite of the lighting, I think it still looks amazingly delicious and it is!

With the fresh, juicy “pop” of cherry tomatoes and the intense, concentrated richness of sun-dried tomatoes (the “two tomato”), Missy’s Two Tomato Pasta Salad includes fresh asparagus cooked to perfection plus the toothsome bite of bowtie pasta.  With Feta cheese and a Caesar dressing, this salad is a family favorite that feeds a crowd.  Don’t have a crowd coming over?  Cut the recipe in half.  It’s easy to prepare and gets even better if left overnight in the refrigerator for the flavors to meld.

Here’s the recipe:

 

Print

Tootles,

Related Posts:

(other salad recipes for a crowd)

• Confetti Pasta Salad
• Creamy Petite Pea Salad with Bacon and Cashews in Tomato Cups
• Fiesta Coleslaw
• Lite Oriental Chicken Salad
• Mexican Corn Salad
• Purple Potato Salad
• Summer Berry Chicken Salad
• Summertime Layered Salad
• Tri-colored Roasted Potato Salad