Pasta Salad

I've noticed a theme to my lunches the past couple of days; they were last night's dinner at one point and after sitting in their own sauces overnight they become even more delicious. I wasn't planning on posting this recipe, but it turned out way better than what I was expecting. Also, the lovely Katy Weaver took flawless pictures of  this dish.

The recipe for the initial dinner dish is a bit loose in structure. I'm not one for exact measurements especially in a dish like this, but I'll write out what I put into it and how to make it.

Spaghetti with Vegetables Cooked in White Wine 

Servings: 2 plus leftovers to make 2 servings of pasta salad

Things you'll need:

• a quarter sized fist full of whole grain spaghetti
• half of 1 large yellow onion chopped into medium sized pieces
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• olive oil
• about 6 small whole mushrooms sliced
• 1 handfull of frozen spinach (or about half a block)
• Half of 1 large zucchini sliced and then cut into fourths
• 1 handfull of grape tomatoes halfed
• 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 bottle of dry white wine (only 1/2 cup is needed for this recipe, so you can just drink whatever is left)

1. Pour about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil  into a skillet and then add the onion and garlic. Let the onions and garlic caramelize. Once the onions are golden brown and garlic is brown, but not burnt add the mushrooms. After the mushrooms have soaked up most of the oil add half of the stock and 1/4 cup of the wine. 
2. This would be a good time to start cooking the spaghetti. You know how to make spaghetti, right? Boil water. Put the pasta into the boiling water. Taste a piece to make sure it's done. Drain the pasta. Set aside until the vegetables are finished.
3. Once the mushrooms have soaked up all the liquid remove the onion and mushroom mix and place it into a bowl and set aside. Then place the zucchini into the skillet. Add the frozen spinach.  Stir and cook until the spinach is fully defrosted and isn't in a giant block any more. Then add the tomatoes and the mushroom and onion mix. Stir until everything looks mixed together. 
4. Add the cooked pasta to the vegetable mixture as well as the rest of the wine (should be about 1/3 cup) and the rest of the stock. Mix everything. Let the sauce cook down. You can serve it up hot and top it off with some parmasen or feta if you like or you can take all of it and put it into an air tight container and let it sit in the fridge until it's cooled down enough to make some pasta salad.

The good news is that you're done with the hard part. The bad news is that if you want to make the pasta salad you're going to have to wait until it cools down in the fridge. 

The Best Pasta Salad You've Ever Had*

You've already done the hard part. Things you'll need:

• Leftover cold pasta from the recipe above
• Kalamata Olives sliced (about 3 olives per serving)
• Feta crumbled over the top (about 2 tablespoons per serving)
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Arugula (about 1/2 per serving)

1. Add the sliced olives into the cold pasta.
2. Place the arugula into the bowls you're serving the salad in.
3. Scoop the pasta on top of the bed of arugula.
4. Top with feta Cheese and drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the salad.
5. Enjoy!

You could easily add the arugula and feta into the pasta salad itself if you're making this for a large group of people for a picnic or a party. 

*probably. Who knows? This might be the third best pasta salad you've ever had.

Port and Fig Chicken Salad Sandwich

This delicious leftover sandwich was made from last night's chicken from this recipe. The chicken in this salad was extra flavorful, because it was soaked overnight in the fig sauce. I pulled appart the chicken and added:

• 2 tablespoons of finely chopped red onion
• 1 carrot peeled
• 1/4 toasted walnuts (finely chopped)
• the leftover figs from the port and fig chicken recipe (about 6 figs cut into 4ths)
• the leftover sauce from last night's chicken
• 2 heaping table spoons of light mayo

Then just mix until everything is covered in the mayo and scoop onto some toast, bread or a plate.

Then toasted some sourdough bread and topped one slice with some medium sharp Tillamook cheddar cheese and some arugula. The end result is a high class sandwich made from leftovers.