Dinner party, Friendsgiving: Sundried tomato pesto pasta tossed in arugula

At this point in life, I feel like pot lucks are becoming more and more of a thing. It's an effort free, budget conscious way to get all your friends together, and it's the perfect excuse to get everyone indoors for a winter season gathering. Given that, you need to keep a few things in mind to be the perfect pot luck guest. 

1. Come prepared. Try to bring as much as you can to serve your dish. Not every host will have an endless supply of serving dishes and large bowls. 

2. Let the host know ahead of time if you will need to use any kitchen appliances. That way you will know if it makes sense to make yet another oven-dependent dish or if you could just go stove top. 

3. There are many more things to contribute to a potluck than just a cooked dish. Offer to bring dining utensils or wine and beer. ...assuming not everyone volunteers to bring wine. 

Having that said, when I attended Yuri's Friendsgiving last weekend before the holiday, I made a fruit salad with persimmon and pomegranate seeds, and Michael decided to bring a pesto pasta salad (because he couldn't find tomatoes or mozzarella in Harvard Square). And yup, neither of our recipes had to be heated up. 

Can you spot my winter fruit salad?

Sundried tomato pesto pasta tossed in arugula  

1 box pasta (we used fusilli)

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, sliced

8-10 garlic cloves, chopped

3-5 tbs olive oil 

4-5 tbs pesto, to taste
1/4 tsp garlic powder

salt, to taste

1. Boil the pasta in a pot of water seasoned with salt and garlic powder. 

2. In a pan, stir fry sundried tomatoes and chopped garlic until slightly brown. 

3. Take off heat and mix in the pesto. 

4. Place in the pasta and mix until even. Add more olive oil if desired.

5. Right before serving, mix in the fresh arugula! 

✓ vegetables

✓ fiber

✓ monounsaturated fats

Notes:
- Next time I will mix half of the pasta with whole wheat pasta to get some whole grains in the mix.
- Feel free to use a mesclun mix if arugula is too strong for you. 
- I didn't have any at the time, but I would recommend adding some cherry tomatoes for color and flavor as well!