Pasta Salad with a Chocolate Vinaigrette Dressing

This past weekend, I took a break and did one of my favorite things to do on weekends... Take a short nap. I close the blinds, turn on the television and relax until right about to fall asleep...and I turn off the television and head off to the Land of Nod. Yesterday was no different, and it was the Food Network's Sandra Lee. I don't like her very much. I find her shows to be "over the top", and she talks to camera audience like we're all a bunch of 2nd Graders. (Don't get me started on those "tablescapes" of hers.) But I tuned into the third segment of her show -- She was making a Beef Stew with Chocolate, and she was adding shaved chocolate to beef broth and a package of meatloaf seasoning and I was intrigued.

"Chocolate? ...In a beef stew?!?!"

So, I started it and that's what's in the crockpot on my kitchen counter now. But her recipe called for two tablespoons of finely shaved chocolate! If I'm going to use one of my good 1 oz Bakers chocolate squares, what am I going to do with the rest of it?!

I had plans to make a pasta salad to marinate over night and serve with tomorrow's dinner. I love a hearty pasta salad and I typically make enough to feed everybody living in Wisconsin right now. But by the time I got to making my dressing, the idea hit me: "I wonder what chocolate vinaigrette dressing would taste like?" And, it's fantastic...!

Here's my idea of a Pasta Salad with a Chocolate Vinaigrette Dressing.

1 small package grape tomatoes (halved)
5 slices Provolone cheese (cubed)
1 green bell pepper (chopped)
1 C cheddar cheese (cubed)
4 oz shredded Parmesan cheese
1 leek (sliced and rinsed)
1/2 C fire roasted red pepper (roughly chopped)
1 1/2 C ham steak (cubed)
1 C pepperoni slices
13 1/4 oz Fusilli (corkscrew) 7 grain pasta

Chocolate Vinaigrette Dressing

1/2 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 Italian red wine vinegar
1 generous pinch of thyme (dried)
2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
4 Tblsp bittersweet chocolate (finely shredded)

In a large dutch oven filled with water and heavily salted, bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, get busy chopping, cubing, rinsing and slicing everything else.

Once the pasta is al dente, drain off the hot water and give a quick rinse in cold water. (I like the pasta to be warm when I mix them in because the cheese will cling to them). Pour the dressing over everything and let the salad marinate in your refrigerator over night.

Enjoy