The excitement around any horse race or two, but the pageantry and tailgating table, when done right, is truly elegant – replete with fresh linens, silver service, candelabras and fresh spring flowers. These rail side soirees are the place to be on a gorgeous spring race day.

I really relish the bounty that people put out too. Fried chicken, honey baked ham, tenderloin of beef, crisp crudite and there's always a dish or two of a specialty - homemade macaroni and cheese or someone's famous deviled eggs. I like it all.

The only commonality I've found is the inevitable plastic container of large grocery chain pasta salad. I always concoct a good cold pasta salad for my race day fare. They're simple to make and everybody, including kids, usually likes them. Most importantly, it's miles away from those store bought salads whose main ingredients are 5 gallons of commercial mayonnaise with some emulsified, celery and carrots, and mixed together with overcooked rubbery pasta. Why bother? I mean yes, it's 3 bucks for 5 pounds of the slop but do we realize what we're putting into our bodies? (Along with six mint juleps!)

We are what we eat. My goal was to find and make a few pasta salads that are low in fat, high in nutrition and rich in flavor. They're served cold so they're great for race day tailgating and appetizing enough that you will run out of it before it's time to pack up.

The main idea is to use as much fresh stuff as you can find and to cook the pasta properly, al dente.

As always most of the fresh ingredients are available at our local farmer's markets and local vendors.