Pittsburgh Pasta Salad Recipes

PITTSBURGH SALAD

Steps:

• Cook the french fries according to package directions, making sure to double, triple, quadruple the amount for the number of desired salads.
• Place the desired amount of lettuce into a large, shallow bowl or onto a large plate. Add a handful of tomatoes. Place your grilled chicken, or steak, on top in the center.
• After cooking, let the fries cool so that they're warm but no longer actually hot. Spread the fries out over the assembled salad.
• Sprinkle with the desired amount of cheese, we usually use 1/4 cup per salad. Drizzle with ranch dressing.
• Repeat as many times as necessary for the number of salads required.

PITTSBURGH FOOTBALL SUNDAY PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the penne, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
• Combine the mayonnaise, salad dressing, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper in a blender; blend until completely mixed.
• Place the coleslaw mix, tomatoes, cucumber, tuna, Cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, green onions, and the cooked pasta in a large bowl; pour mayonnaise mixture into the bowl; toss to coat. Serve cold.

PITTSBURGH PASTA SALAD

Steps:

• Step 1 - Measure out the water. The perfect water to pasta ratio is 1 gallon (16 cups) of water for every 1 pound of pasta. Too much water will take too long to boil and too little water will cause the pasta to clump.
• Step 2 - Add COLD water to the pot. Hot sink water will contain more impurities than cold sink water. Use a big enough pot that will hold the water and pasta. Make sure it has a large base so that the water will boil faster. This is a pretty easy step.
• Step 3 - Bring the water to a fast, raging boil. Also, add a little bit of salt to the water (about 1-2 tablespoons) but don't add any olive oil! This will season the pasta as well as quicken the time for the water to boil.
• Step 4 - Add the pasta to the water and do NOT cover with a lid. Also, do not add the pasta until Step 3 is reached and make sure the water is back to boiling after the pasta is added. Start your timer after the water reaches a boil again.
• Step 5 - After 1 minute, give the pasta a stir. After that leave it alone!
• Step 6 - Test your pasta after 4 minutes. The proper amount of time it takes to cook pasta "al dente," or tender but firm, varies for all the different types of pastas. So keep testing your pasta every minute from here on out. The entire time to cook should probably it between 8 to 12 minutes.
• Step 7 - Once the pasta is "al dente," remove it from the heat and drain it immediately into a colander to stop the cooking process. If you wait too long, your pasta will over cook and become too mushy. If for some strange, unforeseen reason, you can't immediately do this, add about 1/2 to 1 cup of cold water to the pot. This will lower the temperature enough to stop the cooking.
• Step 8 - Don't over drain the pasta, it should still remain moist. Also, NEVER RINSE OFF THE PASTA! Unless the recipe calls for it. After you have drained the pasta, return it to the pot or a pan and add whatever sauce you made to it. This will keep the pasta from sticking together.
• 2.) Once pasta is cooked, drain and place in fridge to cool for about an hour.
• 3.) Remove from fridge and mix together the chopped red and green peppers, chopped onion, Italian dressing and Parmesan cheese into the bowl.
• 4.) Place this in the fridge for another 30 minutes.

CONNIE'S TORTELLINI SALAD

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain; transfer to a large bowl. Immediately add zucchini and dressing; toss to coat. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold.

PITTSBURGH STEAK SALAD

Steps:

• Bake the fries in the oven according to the bag instructions.
• Season the steaks with a little garlic salt and pepper.
• Cook the steaks to your desired likeness, then slice them into strips, and set aside.
• Divide the salad between two plates.
• All some the tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions to the salad on each plate.
• Top it off with the french fries.
• Place each steak onto the salads.
• Sprinkle on some the Parmesan cheese.
• Add a few croutons for garnish.
• Drizzle on the Ranch dressing and ENJOY!