Chicken Salad Bacon Sandwich

The Ratty does a pretty special chicken salad with grapes called "Rhode Island Chicken Salad." To honor the spirit of local eating, we sandwiched it between Seven Stars wheat bread and added lettuce and bacon. The sweetness of the grapes, creaminess of the mayonnaise-rich chicken salad, fresh crispness of the lettuce, salty bacon-y-ness of the bacon, and earthy soft wheaty bread really bring this sandwich together.

Chicken Salad Bacon Sandwich

2 slices Seven Stars Bakery wheat bread

Rhode Island Chicken Salad

lettuce

bacon

1. Spread chicken salad on bread.

2. Top with lettuce and bacon.

3. Cut in half and enjoy!

Almost Vegan Burrito

I almost called this "Vegan Burrito" but realized that it has sour cream! Oops. But you can still make it vegan - just omit the sour cream and replace it with something else that is creamy, like hummus!

Almost Vegan Burrito

1 whole wheat tortilla

1 serving of vegan roasted veggies (peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, onions)

lettuce

sour cream

refried beans

salsa

1. Pile everything onto a wrap.

2. Wrap it up.

3. Cut in half.

Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Arugula

The gnocchi at the Ratty makes me happy. Did you know that it's pronounced "neeYAW-kee"? If you are curious how to pronounce all the other Italian dishes, feel free to take the trolley down to Federal Hill's Mediterraneo, a cute little restaurant where they post their menu on the window, with pronunciations for everything!

Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Arugula

1 bed of arugula

1 serving of gnocchi alla sorrentina

1/3 cup sliced mushrooms

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1. Microwave mushrooms and olive oil in a bowl until mushrooms are just cooked through, about 1 minute.

2. Plate the arugula, gnocchi, and mushrooms, and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Tortellini Soup with Cheese Crisp and Greens

When something is good, there no need to fuss around with it too much. Tortellini soup is an excellent example. The cheese crisp was invented on accident when we noticed that shredded cheese melted in the microwave tends to dry out and form a thin crispy cracker that sticks to the side of the bowl. The key is to use a very tiny amount of cheese and melt it in a clean bowl, and monitor it in the microwave so it doesn't burn. You want it just golden around the edges and still creamy white in the center! Cheese crisps make great garnishes for soups and salads.

Tortellini Soup with Cheese Crisp and Greens

1 bowl of Ratty tortellini soup

7 shreds of shredded cheese

mixed greens

1. Sprinkle the cheese in a soup bowl. Microwave until the cheese is browned on the edges.

2. Remove from the microwave, wait 1 minute, and peel off the cheese crisp.

3. Garnish the bowl of soup with greens and cheese crisp.

Sunny Arugula

I love Sunday brunches, especially when it's 65 degrees and sunny outside and the Ratty surprises you with arugula at the salad bar.

Sunny Arugula

1 egg, over light, with cheese

arugula

olive oil

Arrange arugula in center of plate; drizzle with olive oil. Place the egg on top, pierce the yolk, and get a bite of egg, cheese, and greens on a fork. Repeat.

Raspberry Jelly Roll and Cream

A delightful dessert using ingredients from the V-dub!

Raspberry Jelly Roll and Cream

1 slice raspberry jelly roll cake

chocolate sauce

sweetened strawberries

sweetened blueberries

whipped cream

1. Get a slice of cake.

2. Top with fruit and drizzle with chocolate.

3. Garnish the plate with whipped cream.

Vdub Hummus Wrap

The hummus at the Vdub is really good; 'specially in a wrap.

Vdub Hummus Wrap

1 whole wheat tortilla

1 spoonful of Vdub hummus (the kind with the green bits in it)

2 Tbsp tabouli

2 Tbsp feta

2 Tbsp diced onion

2 leaves lettuce

1. Spread hummus on wrap (I like to do a horizontal streak of it on the bottom third).

2. Add tabouli, onions, lettuce, and feta.

3. Roll up wrap carefully. Slice in half and enjoy.

Vegan Fagioli Soup with Spinach and Cheese

cold weather + people coughing around you + rain + tingly sensation at the back of your throat = hot soup season

This one is wonderful on a cold, drizzly day. Not that the Vegan Fagioli Soup isn't delicious on its own, but there's something about melted cheese that just gets me every time. A word of warning, though: please don't try to gobble this down in the 2 minutes before Chem conference. I tried; the soup was very hot.

Vegan Fagioli Soup with Spinach and Cheese

1 spoonful savory spinach (1/2 cup)

2 ladelfuls Vegan Fagioli Soup (3/4 cup)

1 slice provolone

1. Get the spinach in a bowl.

2. Get the soup.

3. Place a slice of Provolone on top.

4. Microwave for 40 seconds or until cheese is melted. Enjoy slowly on a cold autumn day.

Cobb Salad

Whoever came up with the bacon, lettuce, tomato combo was a genius. According to Wikipedia,

"The Cobb salad is a main-dish garden salad made from chopped salad greens (head lettuce, watercress, chicory, and romaine), tomato, crisp bacon, boiled or roasted chicken breast, hard-boiled egg, avocado, chives, red-wine vinaigrette and Roquefort cheese. The salad was invented in the 1930s at the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant, where it became a signature dish. It is named for the restaurant's owner, Robert Howard Cobb, first cousin of baseball legend Ty Cobb. Stories vary as to whether the salad was invented by Cobb or by his chef."

Interesting, no? This version sadly does not include chicken breast, avocado, chives, red-wine vinegrette, and Roquefort cheese, but it is still pretty delicious.

Cobb Salad
1 bed of romaine lettuce
chopped hard boiled egg
chopped tomatoes
torn up bacon
corn, zucchini, red onion medley
black beans
oil and vinegar (optional; we didn't use it because bacon provides enough salt, flavor, and fat)

1. Plate the lettuce.
2. Top with the other ingredients.