Vishesh's Mediterranean Veggie Wrap

As delicious as soul food, fried meat, and melted cheese can be, some ripe fruits and vegetables can be a refreshing delight. Inspired by East Side Pockets, this veggie wrap pulls on some bright flavors from the Mediterranean repertoire for a light meal to go. Crunchy lettuce and juicy tomato plus tangy capers and strong olives make my mouth water!

Vishesh's Mediterranean Veggie Wrap 
plain or herb wrap
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
diced onion
diced or sliced tomato
crisp lettuce
chopped olives
capers
crumbled feta cheese
salt and pepper

Layer a small plate with diced onion, and mix with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to lightly coat them. Microwave for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. To the wrap, layer in order the onion, lettuce, and tomato, and then sprinkle with feta, olives, and capers. Finish with just a dash of salt and pepper, and wrap it up!

Nadya's Soft Serve Affogato

If you've never had an affogato, take your right hand and grab your left shoulder and your left hand and grab your right shoulder and squeeze. Our condolences. You've been missing out on an Italian dessert of luscious vanilla gelato doused in smooth espresso. But fear not! Nadya came up with a way to almost recreate the dessert in the Ratty - now how do you say Ratty in Italian?

Nadya's Soft Serve Affogato
soft-serve vanilla ice cream
hot coffee
chocolate sprinkles (or whatever toppings you desire)

Put ice cream in a mug. Pour coffee inside. Immediately after, add chocolate sprinkles or other topping(s) on top.

Nadya's Breakfast Panino

We love panini. And we love breakfast. So I think you know what's coming...yes, why not a breakfast panino?? I know what you're thinking - that's a genius idea! And you're absolutely correct. We want to thank Nadya Kim for her gorgeous photo and creative recipe giving new life to the fried eggs we all know and love from the omelette station. You can customize it anyway you like, jazz it up with cheese and other panino fixin's, and grill it to perfection.

Nadya's Breakfast Panino 
1 fried egg from the egg station at the Ratty with mushrooms, onions, peppers, and tomatoes
Two slices of bread
One slice of cheese
Ham or other sandwich meat
Ketchup

Go to the egg station at the Ratty and order one fried egg with the desired condiments (I usually ask for all the veggies). Once you pick up you fried egg, get two slices of bread. Spread ketchup on the slices of bread Add the egg, slice(s) of cheese, and ham (or other sandwich meat), between the bread slices Put it in the panini press for approximately 2 minutes or until golden brown.

Jennifer's Wafflewich Panini

What do you get when you cross a waffle with a panini? A wafflewich panini! (or waffini...or paniffle...?)

Special thanks to Jennifer Pan for sending us this ingenious recipe. According to Jennifer, "you can do a lot more with waffle paninis" - we're thinking roast beef and swiss; grilled chicken and roasted red peppers; chicken fingers, lettuce, and honey mustard sauce...the wafflewich panini possibilities are endless.

Jennifer's Wafflewich Panini
1 waffle
1 slice ham
1 slice turkey
1-2 slices cheese
lettuce

Make a waffle, cut in half. The two halves are now your "bread." If you're really hungry you can just make 2 separate waffles.

Pile one of your waffle halves with everything you'd like in your panini. I usually go for ham, turkey, cheese and lettuce. Drizzle the other waffle half with maple syrup. (If you don't want syrup in your panini you can skip this step, it's still good.)

Put the 2 waffle halves together so that the syrup side is on the inside of the sandwich. Panini press it.

Vishesh's Bread Stuffing 'Meatballs' on Pink Vodka Penne Pasta, with Portobello and Parmesan

The Ratty is famous for a number of finely crafted, salivation-inducing entrees: Cajun Chicken Pasta, Castle Hill Inn Pork Spare Ribs, Polynesian Chicken Wings, Spicy Herb Baked Chicken, and Salmon with Minted Pea Puree, to name a few.

Vegetarian entrees, however, often don't get their share in the limelight. Cue the boundless creativity of our fellow vegetarian Ratty-going Brunonians!

A big thanks to Vishesh Jain, chef and mastermind of the following recipe featuring "meatballs" with pink vodka penne pasta. Utilizing hearty bread stuffing in the shape of meatballs and topped with savory mushrooms and Parmesan cheese, it is sure to satisfy even the stubbornest of meaty cravings.

In the chef's words: "First, I did not plan the alliteration--it just happened. Yesterday they had meatballs in the Ratty, and I was craving some warm, condensed deliciousness. I'm vegetarian though, so I decided to make my own with bread stuffing, plus some portobello for marinated meatiness."

Vishesh's Bread Stuffing 'Meatballs' on Pink Vodka Penne Pasta, with Portobello and Parmesan
1 cup cooked penne pasta
2 tsp Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pink vodka sauce
6-8 slices of portobello mushrooms
1/2 cup of bread stuffing
Oregano, basil, salt, and pepper to taste

Mix 1 tsp Parmesan cheese and the bread stuffing well, and mold into balls by hand or with a spoon. On a plate, microwave for 50s, flipping them over and compressing them at 25s. Microwave the portobello lined on the side of a bowl for 30s, and press them to drain the excess liquid.

Add the sauce and stir in the seasonings to taste, and microwave for 30s more, or until the sauce has reduced to desired consistency. (The Ratty's pink vodka sauce is often a little thin and watery for my taste; if you like it that way, use less sauce and reduce it less.)

On a plate, add in order the penne, meatballs, portobello, excess sauce, and Parmesan. Microwave for 30s, and enjoy it hot!