Aside from being an important time to remember those who have served our country, the long Memorial Day weekend is an excellent excuse to get together with friends and family. We usually try to spend Memorial Day with my parents, which got a lot easier when they moved to Northville from upstate New York a few years ago.

My mom and I were planning this year's gathering over the phone this week. Somehow, she got the words out before I could. "I'll bring the fusilli salad," she offered.

Nooooo! If she brings the fusilli salad, what will I make? Fusilli salad has long been the most popular food at summer gatherings with my family. Everything else is kind of a let-down compared to this tasty combination of pasta, feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion and spinach.

The recipe came to my family via long-time family friend and Busch's wine expert Rebecca Bawkon, who originally found it in the "Creme de Colorado Cookbook" which was published by the Junior League of Denver. They call it "Greek Pasta Salad" but in my family it will be forever known as Fusilli Salad.

Ingredients 3/4 pound feta cheese (Bulgarian if available as it tends to be less salty) 1 pound fusilli (whole wheat or spinach fusilli works well in this recipe) cooked al dente 1/4 cup red onion - chopped 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes - drained and chopped 1 cup Kalamata olives - pitted 3 cups spinach - thinly sliced Dressing 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 clove garlic - crushed 1/2 teaspoon salt freshly ground black pepper - to taste

Directions 1. Crumble feta cheese over pasta. 2. Add red onion, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and spinach; toss. 3. Combine dressing ingredients and mix well. 4. Pour dressing over pasta, toss well and serve.

This salad may be made the day ahead, but it is at its best before refrigeration. Do not substitute for any of the ingredients. The unique combination of flavors is worth the extra effort required to locate these items in a deli or specialty market.

Jessica Webster leads the Food & Drink section for AnnArbor.com and will probably be making boring old cole slaw for her Memorial Day family barbecue. You can reach her at JessicaWebster@AnnArbor.com.