recipe 67: Amalfi pasta salad (and it's time to introduce Byron)

So much is happening at once. First of all, I have a migraine. Second of all, summer is ending and I still have so many summer recipes to post! Third of all, Tristany is/are heading to an interesting sequence of events in this order within the span of 72 hours: 1) Newark to pick up a delivery (more about this in a minute) 2) a wedding at The Plaza 3) Bozeman and 4) Glacier National Park! And fourth of all, I keep meaning to post this cute little simple fresh delicious summer recipe I made the other night because it's related to the Amalfi references in my last post. The Hoboken Homestead is currently filled wall-to-wall with things for the fancy wedding at The Plaza and things for the western wilderness. It is "the spectrum." I have always been a huge fan of "the spectrum" in its myriad forms so I am delighting in this array of scattered mismatched items. Well, I would be delighting in the array if I didn't have a migraine. And also, for the record, I love National Parks. Love them. I think Arches in Utah is probably my favorite. This was not a love I discovered until maybe about five years ago but it was a love that grew quickly, and my love for National Parks ranks right up there with my love for flip-flops, my love for seltzer, my love for being a bon vivant (bonne vivante?), my love for blasting "Hot 97 FM Where Hip Hop Lives" during my daily commute, and my love for wearing my hair in a big ole sloppy bun from May until September.

The Newark Delivery (a brief back story): So Tristan and I have this friend named Byron. We met him at the Montego Bay airport when he picked us up to drive us to the resort. The walls came down quickly because I had forgotten something really embarrassing and Byron had to find a place where we could buy this on his lovely island. Byron announced, pretty much right away, that he was the mayor of Montego Bay and kept reminding us of this status. Indeed he was! He took us to the best places and he knew the coolest people. And then the darndest thing happened. We went to Pork Pit http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147311-d1232835-Reviews-Pork_Pit-Montego_Bay_Jamaica.html for lunch on our way to the airport. We saw a dapper looking gentleman with people surrounding him. This dialogue ensued:
T/T: Byron, who's that? Is he someone famous?
Byron (inching away/smile fading to frown fading to look of fear): Nobody, mon. Nobody.
T/T: What's the matter, Byron?
Byron: Shh, mon, shh. Just order your food. We need to get to the airport.
T/T: He looks fancy! Look at all of those people surrounding him.
Byron: Order your food, mon. Let's go.
Me: Nope, I'm going to see who that is. Excuse me, sir, could I have your autograph?
Sir's bodyguard: You looking for the autograph of the Mayor of Montego Bay, mon? Stand in line please!
Me: Tristan, Tristan! HE'S the Mayor of Montego Bay!
Tristan: Byron! I thought YOU were the Mayor of Montego Bay!
Byron: Shh, mon! Both of you, shh! It's time to leave!

Anyway, this sealed the deal on Byron becoming our BFF. He sends us funny emails with funny pictures that he takes of tourists who are not nearly as cool as we are. Recently, he told us that he was sending us some presents from Jamaica and that we could pick them up from his relative in Newark. Byron always plans the neatest adventures so off we go!

Byron in Ocho Rios

Now, as a comparison, I wanted to post a link to the actual Mayor of Montego Bay, but then I googled that and was startled to see that the actual Mayor appears to have fallen upon some difficult times. Hence, I will not post any links. PS- Is it me or is this blog getting funnier? Byron- you will always be our Mayor of Montego Bay and this post is dedicated to you. We're looking forward to seeing what's in store in Newark!

The Amalfi pasta salad recipe, which is totally unrelated to Montego Bay which totally exhibits to my three readers what a cross-section of my mind looks like, comes from here with a few tweaks: http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/david-rocco/cold-pasta-salad-recipe/index.html. It is simple, fresh, and delicious!

AMALFI PASTA SALAD
Ingredients:
-half a pound of pasta
-half a pound of green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces, cooked al dente and cooled
-1/4 c olive oil
-a splash of good balsamic vinaigrette
-fresh mozzarella, cubed, to taste
-salt and pepper
-zest of one lemon and lemon juice from maybe half of the lemon (Amalfi is big on lemons and so is this blogger, that's for sure!)

Instructions:
1) make pasta according to package instructions and cool
2) mix with all other ingredients
3) chill and serve with a side of limoncello

Note: I didn't take any pictures. It was a late dinner. We were hungry.