I joined the University Chapter of the WVU Alumni Association for a Virtual Cooking Hour on May 20. I demoed my recipe for summer scampi pasta salad and gave lots of cooking tips and tricks along the way!

This event was my first Zoom cooking experience and we had viewers tuning in from all over the country, some as far away as California.

It went pretty smooth up until the moment I set off my smoke detector – which refused to go off for about 5 minutes, naturally. I am no stranger to mishaps on camera though, so we powered through.

During the virtual cooking hour, our attendees had some great questions like “how can this be made keto friendly?” I suggested making this recipe keto friendly by substituting the pasta for a gluten free veggie pasta, and swapping the corn for bell peppers. You could also use zoodles!

A few people made the recipe in real time with me and their dishes turned out great! I loved to see their interpretations and modifications they made to the recipe. One person subbed shrimp for tofu, and I thought that was ingenious!

Below are two photos that were submitted after the event. Don’t they look tasty?

My version included both chicken breast and shrimp. I really enjoyed the combo, as it made the dish more hearty, and plan to use it again in the future!

If you’d like to make this dish at home, visit the recipe page for my Summer Scampi Pasta Salad. Be sure to share your pictures with me on Facebook or Instagram!

I hope to host additional cooking events with the WVU Alumni association in the future. Be sure to follow the University Chapter on social media for updates!