Spinach & Orzo Salad

Many of my runner/triathlete friends want pasta when we travel out of town for races, and sometimes they choose Macaroni Grill. I guess it's a fairly safe choice for a chain restaurant, and I am very much a "go with the flow" person. I always order the Chicken Florentine Salad, and a little searching around on the internet got me pretty close to replicating it. I can't say I measured accurately and you could certainly leave something out, say if you don't like olives or capers or whatever. It's an excellent summer dinner salad. Wish I'd taken a photo; it's beautiful. Here's a guideline:

Roasted Garlic & Lemon Vinaigrette
2 T. red wine vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 1/2 T. honey
1/2 tsp salt
a couple cloves of roasted garlic
3 oz. mild olive oil


Spinach & Orzo Salad
Several big handfuls of baby spinach, cut into chiffonade
small handful of radicchio, cut into chiffonade
a spoonful or two of toasted pine nuts
a couple of sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
a spoonful of capers, drained
small handful of kalamata olives, sliced
orzo pasta, cooked and chilled

Toss all that into a bowl. Decide how much you will eat today and how much you will save for tomorrow's lunch. Decide before you put on the dressing, so that you can store the leftovers separately.

Top with shaved Parmesan and a grilled chicken breast, sliced at an angle.