Nadya's Omelette Burrito

Can't decide between getting an omelette or making a burrito?? Why choose! Here's a delicious recipe for an omelette burrito, courtesy of Nadya Kim '17. Just look at the luscious cheese melting into the fluffy egg and creamy guac...

Nadya's Omelette Burrito
1 omelette (I asked for everything on it)
1 wrap from the grill section
Whatever toppings are available at the burrito bar (I put salsa, guacamole, corn, and some black beans)

Go to the egg station at the Ratty and order an omelette with the desired condiments Once you pick up the omelette, put it on one half of the wrap Add whatever toppings are available at the burrito bar Wrap it burrito style (fold it halfway with all the stuffing tucked in, then fold the sides, and wrap it up)

Vishesh's Polenta with Mushrooms in Butter Soy Sauce

Sure, I only had regular white mushrooms without any fine porcini, and the baked polenta wasn't exactly the luscious cloud shown in the original NYT recipe. But soy sauce and butter was such a mysterious and tempting combination of east and west that I could not resist trying, and the duo compensated for the other ingredients with salty, umami goodness.

Polenta with Mushrooms in Butter Soy Sauce 
1/3 cup polenta
2/3 cup mushrooms
3 pats of butter
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove roasted garlic
parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Mince and crush the garlic as finely as possible, and then add to a bowl along with the butter. Microwave for 20 seconds, and then add the mushrooms, soy sauce, and olive oil. Microwave for 20 seconds, stir, and microwave for another 60 seconds to reduce the sauce. Add salt to taste, and then pour the mushrooms over the polenta while hot, distributing the sauce evenly around. Top with parmesan cheese and pepper, and enjoy!

Stephanie's Falaco (Falafel Taco)

Falafels – deep-fried, crispy balls of yumminess that still have all the health benefits of chickpeas. Can they possibly get any better? Why yes, indeed they can! Pair them with your choice of ingredients from the Ratty’s beloved vegetarian burrito bar, and lo and behold: a nutritious AND delicious combo of South meets Middle East. Velvety guac and rich sour cream serve as textural contrast to crunchy falafel balls while tangy salsa and chunky veggies brighten up the plate. Thank you to Stephanie Chung for sharing this creation!

Stephanie’s Falaco

1 flour tortilla 

3 falafels 

shredded lettuce 

diced tomatoes 

shredded cheese 

salsa 

guacamole 

sour cream 

black beans 

corn, squash, and tomato mix 

Assemble burrito bar toppings on a flour tortilla to form a scrumptious bed for your falafels. Fold and enjoy!

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!

Paul's Buffalo Chicken Salad

Friday lunch isn't Friday lunch if it's not at the V-dub. We're pretty sure by now that the location of the V-dub is no longer a secret and neither are its gorgeous deep fried strips of tender poultry goodness. What might not be so obvious, however, are the creative applications in which one can enjoy this beloved Friday lunchtime staple.

Voila, Paul's Buffalo Chicken Salad! Special thanks to Paul Martino for sharing his go-to recipe for jazzing up what might be Brown Dining's most heavily sought after menu item. It is an exquisite interplay of tangy/creamy crunchy/savory goodness, all on a top of a leafy bed of romaine and veggies for added vitamins; a meal that will surely satisfy your taste buds, your muscles, your brain, and your soul.

Paul's Buffalo Chicken Salad
romaine lettuce
3 chicken fingers (sliced, diced, or whole, I usually just chop them up as I eat the salad)
shredded carrots
chopped egg (from the salad bar)
2 ladles of buffalo sauce
2 tablespoons of bleu cheese cressing
cucumber slices

Place the chicken fingers, egg, and carrots over a bed of the romaine lettuce. Add the cucumber slices, pour on the dressing and drizzle with buffalo sauce. Try it, it's great! 

Jonathan's Chicago Dog

To put it in the wise words of Wikipedia itself: "A Chicago-style hot dog, Chicago Dog, or Chicago Red Hot is an all-beef frankfurter on a poppy seed bun, originating from the city of Chicago, Illinois. The hot dog is topped with yellow mustard; chopped white onions; bright green sweet pickle relish; a dill pickle spear; tomato slices or wedges; pickled sport peppers; and a dash of celery salt. The complete assembly of a Chicago hot dog is said to be 'dragged through the garden' due to the many toppings."

Jonathan Sit emailed us with a fantastic recipe for a unique version of Chicago Dog "dragged through the Ratty Grill Line." Feel free to get creative with your toppings - but whatever you do, don't make the preposterous error of squirting ketchup on your Chicago Dog.

Jonathan's Chicago Dog

hotdog and bun

tomato slice

pickle spear (end of sandwich line)

onions

relish

banana peppers

yellow mustard

celery salt

Put the hotdog in the bun. Add relish, onions, banana peppers, and mustard. Cut tomato slice in half, add halves to bun. Add pickle spear. Add dash of celery salt. Done! 

Cajun Chicken Broccoli Pasta

Mmmm the creamy goodness of Cajun Chicken Pasta. We love how the fusilli catches all the luscious spicy sauce in its gorgeous corkscrew curls. We thought, what else has little nooks and crannies for sopping up sauce? It's green and starts with a b and ends with a roccoli. To extend the sauce a little further, you can spice up your pasta with  fresh chopped tomatoes from the salad bar and a dash of black pepper. 

Cajun Chicken Broccoli Pasta

1 dish of Cajun Chicken Pasta

fresh chopped tomatoes

broccoli

basil infused olive oil

paprika

garlic powder

salt

pepper

Steam the broccoli by placing them in a single layer on a dish and drizzling on some basil infused olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, and a sprinkling of salt. Cover with an inverted plate and microwave 100-120 seconds, until broccoli is just cooked through. Top the pasta with tomatoes and microwave 30 seconds to warm everything through. Toss the broccoli over the pasta and sprinkle everything with salt and pepper to taste. 

Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese

Spinach artichoke dip is delicious. It's probably not the spinach and artichoke's responsibility. That's right ooey gooey melty Cheese, we're looking at you. But we have to admit that Cheese's intrinsic deliciousness is buoyed by the humble presence of Spinach and Artichoke. Bet you didn't know that spinach artichoke grilled cheese could reveal such deep insights into life, did you?

Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese
2 slices rustic bread
artichoke hearts
baby spinach
1 slice swiss cheese
1 slice mozzarella cheese
nonstick vegetable oil spray

Sandwich the artichoke hearts, baby spinach, and two cheeses between the bread. Spray the panini press with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Place the sandwich on the grill and grill for 2-5 minutes, until golden brown and crispy and the cheese is just melted.

Sam's Chicken Finger Friday Chicken and Waffles

Happy Chicken Finger Friday, everyone! We received this recipe from Sam Heft-Luthy. Yes, it's V-dub not Ratty Gourmet, and you should give it a try! In Sam's own words, it's a "simple yet elegant twist on a Southern staple." We couldn't have said it better ourselves.

Sam's Chicken Finger Friday Chicken and Waffles

4-5 V-Dub chicken fingers

1 V-Dub waffle
1-2 Tbsp Tobasco sauce
liberal drizzle of pancake syrup

This is pretty self-explanatory, but put the chicken strips on the waffle, then drizzle the tobasco and syrup over them. Add a cup of coffee and a copy of the New York Times for a Sunday brunch experience on a Friday afternoon.

Charlesfield Wannabe Sandwich

The Ivy Room is such a classy place to eat lunch. Everyone has his or her favorite sandwich. For us, the clear winner is the Charlesfield. Don't let those Waterman lovers tell you otherwise. The combination of mushrooms, melted muenster cheese, tangy horseradish mayo, and a generous pile of Boar's Head roast beef make this sandwich perfectly saliva-inducing. We wouldn't change a thing about it...except maybe try to recreate it at the Ratty!

Charlesfield Wannabe Sandwich

created by Yanqiang Tan

2 slices pumpernickle bread

2 Tbsp mayo (can substitute horseradish sauce, or thousand island dressing)

2 slices meunster cheese

1/4 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup sliced roast beef

1 lettuce leaf

3 tomato slices

1. Put beef, mushrooms, and cheese in a neat stack on a small plate, and nuke it in the microwave for 30 seconds or until cheese is just melted.

2. Spread mayo on both slices of bread.

3. Layer the bread with the beef, lettuce, and tomato.

4. Cut in half and devour.

Vegetarian Chili

Ah, Superbowl Sunday. Even for those of us non-vegetarians, a meatless meal can provide a much appreciated break from those saturated-fat-laden-protein-fests that celebratory sports-watching often dissolves into. Chock full of mushrooms, cheese, herb-y tomato sauce, and two types of beans, this hearty chili is healthy yet deliciously filling. Your arteries will thank you.

Vegetarian Chili

1/4 cup vegan Italian white beans

2 tablespoons garbanzo beans

2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper

2 tablespoons sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup meatless tomato sauce

shredded cheese

cheese crisp and salad green leaf, for garnish

Mix the beans, bell pepper, mushrooms, and tomato sauce in a bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes, until mushrooms are tender. Top with shredded cheese. Garnish with a cheese crisp and salad leaf.

Cheese Crisp

2 tablespoons shredded cheese

Create a small mound of cheese on a plate. Melt in the microwave for 1.5 min, or until cheese is golden and bubbly. Let sit for 1-2 minutes, until crisp. Using a fork, peel the cheese crisp off of the plate for garnishing or snacking.

Fruity Chicken Caesar Salad

With finals approaching, it may be tempting to skip lunch for that review session, but listen to your stomach and brain when they cry out for nourishment. Try whipping up something quick such as this Fruity Chicken Caesar Salad, inspired by the talented chef Yanqiang Tan. Crispy bites of chicken pack the protein and energy while raisins and fresh cherry tomatoes give a vitamin-rich boost. Your brain (and maybe even your GPA) will thank you.

Fruity Chicken Caesar Salad

1 plateful of shredded romaine lettuce
5-8 cherry tomatoes
6-7 croutons
2 tablespoons raisins
2-3 pieces chicken fingers
2 tablespoons Caesar salad dressing

With a butter knife, dice the chicken fingers into 1/2 inch cubes. Toss the lettuce, tomatoes, and raisins with Caesar salad dressing and top with croutons and diced chicken.

Muenster Muffin Melt

When Providence weather gives you the chills, make yourself a Muenster Muffin Melt. Thanks to our friend Yanqiang for yet another oozingly scrumptious creation!

(I confess that I personally did not taste the finished product but who really would doubt hot melted cheese on toasted English muffins?)



Yanqiang's Muenster Muffin Melt
slice of muenster
sliced mushrooms
sliced zucchini
roast beef
1 English muffin, sliced and toasted

Toast the English muffin. Place bottom of muffin on a plate, and top with veggies, beef, and cheese. Top with other half of muffin. Microwave for 40 seconds or until cheese is melted and oozing onto the plate. Eat on a chilly autumn day.

Green, Purple, and Orange Salad

Ah, the start of another year.
Gotta take advantage of those stone fruits while they're in season.

Green, Purple, and Orange Salad

mixed greens
sliced green bell pepper
sliced cucumber
feta cheese
plums
apple cider vinegar
olive oil

Mix up the veggies, fruit, and cheese and drizzle with olive oil and apple cider vinegar.

Josh's Italian Pita Pizza

Ever the artist, our friend Josh made a gorgeous red, white, and green-topped pizza using pita bread. Just as that melted cheese oozes among the spinach and tomatoes, the Italian flavor oozes from this dish.

Josh's Italian Pita Pizza

1 piece of pita bread

baby spinach

sliced mushrooms

cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

shredded cheese

Arrange spinach, mushrooms, cheese, and tomatoes on pita bread. Microwave for 1-2 minutes or until cheese melts. Slice it up and enjoy!

Fruity Easter Salad

A fresh fruity salad hits the spot for brunch on a sunny Easter Sunday.

Fruity Easter Salad

baby spinach

romaine lettuce

green beans with sesame

cantaloupe, pineapple, honey dew melon chunks

cucumbers, sliced

golden raisins

feta cheese

balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Toss everything together and enjoy!

Squash Bisque with Cheesy Bacon Collard Greens

The Ratty's squash bisque is delicious on its own - a delicious balance of sweet and savory blended into a velvety smooth creamy soup. You can customize it by adding a personal spin, such as what we did here with bacon collard greens, cheese, scallions, and a slice of whole grain Seven Stars Bread.

Squash Bisque with Cheesy Bacon Collard Greens

1 bowl of squash bisque

bacon collard greens

1 slice of cheddar cheese

scallions

1 slice of Seven Stars Whole Grain Bread

1. Put cheese and half of collard greens on top and microwave until cheese melts - about 20 seconds.

2. Top with the rest of the collard greens and scallions.

3. Enjoy with the bread!

Golden Raisin Spring Salad

What is the difference between a golden raisin and a purple raisin? Maybe the golden ones have a little more tang, or have a brighter, crisper flavor. Whatever the difference, these little jewels of sunshine are just bursting with spring!

Golden Raisin Spring Salad

1 plate of mixed greens

grape tomatoes

golden raisins

white beans

balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil

1. Top the greens with the tomatoes, raisins, and white beans.

2. Drizzle balsamic vinegar and olive oil on top.

Easy Peasy Beans

When you are in a rush and want to eat something nutritious yet simple, go for an assortment of beans, peas, veggies, and tuna. This combination almost has all the colors of the rainbow! Now if only there were some purple eggplant and blue...uh blue...raspberries?

Easy Peasy Beans

shredded zucchini

sauteed green beans

steamed green peas

pinto beans

black beans

garbanzo beans

halved cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup serving of tuna

1 tsp ranch dressing (or your favorite dressing)

1 tsp sour cream

1 tsp mayonnaise

1. Arrange zucchini, beans, peas, tomatoes, and tuna on a plate.

2. Drizzle tomato with dressing.

3. Top the tuna with sour cream and mayo.

"Andreas-style" Spinach Mushroom Pita Sandwich

As I was savoring a particularly juicy, cheese-smothered mushroom in my Greek veggie sandwich the other day at Andreas, it suddenly occurred to me: I had, at the Ratty, pretty much all the ingredients conveniently at my disposal to recreate that very same sandwich.

Mushrooms, spinach, tomato, onion, swiss and American cheese are ordinary on their own but absolutely wonderful in a warm pita nuked in the microwave for a minute or so. Served with a romaine lettuce salad, you could seriously imagine that you are dining at a particular Greek restaurant on Thayer street.

"Andreas-style" Spinach Mushroom Pita Sandwich

1 pita

plateful of spinach

1 slice of American cheese

2 slices of swiss cheese

sliced mushrooms

2-3 slices of tomato

2-3 onion rings

golden raisins (optional but very yummy)

1 large piece of wax paper

1. Microwave spinach and mushrooms on a plate for 2 minutes, or until spinach is cooked.

2. Place tomatoes and onions in a pita. Layer spinach-mushroom mixture on top and sprinkle with golden raisins, if using.

3. Place cheese on top and roll the pita up on both sides. Wrap a wax paper "diaper" on one end.

4. Nuke in the microwave for about 1 minute to melt the cheese.

5. Serve warm with a salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumbers (olives and feta too if available).