Eatzi's Gemelli, Chicken and Cranberry Salad

JanuaryBride's Note:

A real recipe from EatZi's a wonderful carry out gourmet market. I found the recipe online eat eveningedge.com (was actually searching for a recipe for their Carrot Dressing without success). Per the website, "Executive chef Ford Fry, who came to EatZi's via the Ritz-Carlton in Aspen, Colo., says this is one of the most popular dishes at EatZi's, which specializes in salads, pastries and breads, all prepared on site. "The secret to its success is in the citrus dressing, " Fry said. "It's really light and doesn't absorb a lot of oil like other pasta salads."

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 1/4 lbs gemelli pasta (I only used 12 oz which worked great)
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup frozen corn (I used fresh corn, cut off the cobb)
• 10 ounces chicken (I used precooked chicken instead of poaching it)
• 1/4 lb asparagus
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary (I only used 1 T and it was very strong in this recipe)
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper
• 6 tablespoons honey (I only used 3 T and it was VERY SWEET, I caution you if you choose to use more)
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 orange, Juice and zest of (I used the juice of half the orange)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions.
3. Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in a single layer in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
4. Remove corn from freezer and set aside to thaw.
5. Poach chicken in a small amount of water until no longer pink. Remove from water and drain. When cool enough to handle, cut chicken into 1/2-inch cubes.
6. Blanch asparagus until of desired doneness. Drain and cool. When cool enough to handle, slice into 1-inch pieces.
7. In a large bowl, mix rosemary, vinegar, salt, pepper, honey, mustard, orange juice and olive oil.
8. In another bowl, combine pasta, pine nuts, thawed uncooked corn, chicken, asparagus, orange zest and dried cranberries. When well-mixed, add to bowl with dressing and toss to combine.
9. NOTE: I enjoyed the salad best when just slightly warm to room temp about 15 minutes after I made it. I didn't care for it cold and I don't think it was near as good on day two as it was on day one. Just personal preferences :).