The Best Antipasto Salad Ever (Worthy of a Dude's Love aka My Dad and Husband's Fave)

Courtesy: Food Network

I have a recipe in my recipe binder with a notation on it in pen: "Evan and dad's favorite!"

Yes I like to keep notes on the stuff my dudes like. Plus it helps my case when I need them to do stuff for me. Just kidding. Not really.

This recipe for antipasto salad is adapted from my favorite Food Network lady Giada, it has salami and turkey and cheese and noodles, it is to die for. It is perfect for parties because it can sit at room temperature for a while and it's also a great dish to bring to someone if they've just had a baby or has something going on in their life where you just want to bring them a dish. I always double it and bring it to the NICU showers we throw every year.

Here is the original Antipasto recipe, I make some changes in parenthesis.
Ingredients:

Red Wine Vinaigrette:
1 bunch fresh basil, stemmed and leaves chopped (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (However, I've used balsamic and cider vinegars when I was out of red wine)
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Antipasto Salad:
1 pound fusilli pasta (I never use fusilli, I always use multi-colored rotini or spirals)
1/2 cup hard salami, cut into strips (I consider this a "recommended amount" LOL, I add lotsa meat.)
1/2 cup smoked turkey, cut into strips (again, "recommended" about 3 ounces -same as above, lotsa meat.)
1/4 cup provolone cheese, cut into strips
1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese (I use shaved parmesan.)
2 tablespoons green olives, halved and pitted
2 tablespoons roasted red peppers, cut into strips
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Vinaigrette: In a blender, add the basil, vinegar, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper. Blend until the herbs are finely chopped. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil until the dressing is smooth.

Cook pasta. In a large bowl, toss together the cooked pasta with the remaining salad ingredients. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Serve. Don't be shy, double it if you want!

Amazing!

Now I want it.