Butch's Strawberry Spinach Salad

When you marry into a family as large as the Ray clan, it can be a little overwhelming. A simple gathering of the immediate family outnumbers even the largest event my Midwestern relatives can muster. My first meeting with the Rays occurred at Thanksgiving 2004, and when we arrived at Butch and Linda's, there were more Rays present than I could count.

On this particular Thanksgiving, the Ray family had planned a family photo with Grandma Ray and her children, many grandchildren, and even the great-grandchildren. As the only Ewing present, I sat this one out. Unfortunately, I sat it out on the trampoline and accidentally ended up in the background of the photograph.

It's a great picture of a big, happy family, and if a picture's worth a thousand words, it pretty clearly sums up my transition in to such a large family. I'm there, but kind of in the background. Not because I didn't want to love my in-laws, but because there were just so darn many of them that I wasn't sure where to begin.

So I started with Butch. I'd heard stories of this hardworking dairy farmer with a passion for pulling tractors and a fierce love for his family. Not to mention that a name like Butch is effortlessly intimidating; coupled with Mike's stories, I'll admit I was a little scared of Butch before I even met him.

In an effort to bring in an interesting dish and make a favorable impression, I showed up with my strawberry spinach salad. Turns out Mike forgot to mentioned that he got his sweet-tooth from his dad. Once I had this figured out, I quickly discovered the way to your father-in-law's heart is through his stomach.

Six years later, my recipe remains the same but it seems Butch deserves some credit as well. A little bit for making this my most requested recipe, but mostly for helping me step out of the background and truly become one of the Rays.

Always start with the candied walnuts, since they take the longest. Pre-heat your oven 200 degrees and gather:
1 cup walnuts (pecans will do in a pinch)
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp water

Beat the egg white until very frothy, but not stiff. Mix in the vanilla, sugar, and water, then stir in walnuts to coat. Spread walnuts into a single layer onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes, turning every 15 minutes. Once you remove the walnuts from the oven, let them cool for 5-10 minutes, but don't wait too long or they will be a beast to separate. Remove the walnuts from the baking sheet, and let them finish cooling in another dish while you prep the dressing and the salad.

For the vinaigrette:
1 cup olive oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tsp salt
2 tbsps Karo syrup

Pour all ingredients into a lidded dish, and shake until blended.

For the salad:
6 cups fresh spinach, washed and dried
2 cups strawberries, sliced

Add the candied walnuts to the spinach and strawberries, then toss with the vinaigrette and serve.

Cinque Terra Pesto

When I was 19, I did a study abroad program in Paris. The schedule was arranged so that we attended class Monday through Thursday, which left us free to explore other places from Friday through Sunday. One weekend I went to Germany, another to Switzerland, and once, on something of a last minute lark, I headed to Italy with some girlfriends.

Back in 2001, Cinque Terra had yet to receive the coveted rating as one of the world's top five best vacation spots. So while the Europeans were familiar with its rocky cliffs, pebble beaches, and sea green Mediterranean waters, this American had to check a map. I can't believe I actually debated whether or not to spend the extra $200 to go to Italy that weekend...

Cinque Terra is a series of five coastal towns, and the primary industry appears to be hospitality. Lots of hotels, cafes, restaurants, and little shops, all owned and operated by some of the kindest, friendliest people I met in all of Europe. It was at one of these little restaurants where I first tasted pesto with gnocchi. I'd seen spinach noodles before, which are green, but I'd never seen pasta served with a green sauce, so I was definitely intrigued. Needless to say, it was my favorite dish of the entire summer. I continued to order it at Parisian cafes and London bistros until I returned home.

Back in Arizona, I was surprised when I started to look for pesto with gnocchi on menus, and came up short. Feeling like I had to have that delicious dish again, I learned to make pesto. Gnocchi, little potato pasta dumplings, are another story. Given the amount of labor these little guys require, I go with store-bought.

To make this pesto, you will need:

2 oz block parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsps toasted pine nuts*

2 cups packed fresh basil

olive oil to taste

Cut the parmesan into smaller chunks, drop it into the food processor, and pulse until you have little bits of parmesan. This is much more cost effective than buying the pre-grated stuff, especially because the food processor necessary for this dish. Reserve in another dish for use in bit. Next, peel your garlic, and drop it whole into the food processor. Pulse a few more time, and you should have a nice smattering of little garlics. Take a moment to scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the basil and pulse to combine. You should have a green paste now. With the machine running, drop in your toasted pine nuts, parmesan, and begin to add your olive oil in a steady stream. How much depends on the texture you crave. I like my pesto on the thicker side, so I go for a little less. If you like yours thinner, just add a bit more oil.

You'll get about a cup of pesto, which doesn't sound like a lot, but in the world of pesto, it's actually quite a bit. Save any unused in a glass jar in the fridge for up to a week. You can do a variety of things with pesto, but of course, my favorite way to enjoy it is over gnocchi.

*If you've seen that a pound of pine nuts costs $15-20, rest assured that I do not spend that kind of money to make this recipe, and neither should you. Next time you're at Sprouts, you can buy just what you need in the bulk nut section. Two tablespoons of pine nuts costs about 50 cents. To toast the nuts, simply pre-heat your oven to 300, spread the nuts on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake for about 5 minutes, or until you can smell the nuts.

Roasted Red Pepper Spread

In college, I lived with another Katie. You can imagine the confusion two girls living in the same house with the same name caused, especially at a time when landlines were still a primary means of communication. Friends and salesmen alike would call and ask for Katie, and our purposely impish response, “Which one?” was generally answered with a long, contemplative pause. Most friends could tell the difference, but both of us learned to pass the phone quickly when a friend TMI-ed the wrong Katie!

I owe my undying love of all things Mediterranean to Katie's influence. She introduced me to Pita Jungle in Tempe, and I couldn't believe I had lived 19 years of my life without experiencing red pepper hummus. Completely enamored with their menu of previously untasted flavors, I would sneak off for hummus, shawarma, or a gyro under the guise of needing a quiet place to study between my afternoon and evening classes.

Six years after graduation, and several failed attempts at making my own red pepper hummus later, I finally put down the chick peas and crafted this tasty spread which works well on a pita sandwich or as a dip for veggies and pita chips. While I still get Pita Jungle cravings, this takes the edge of on the days I can't make it to Tempe for lunch.

Get out your food processor and gather these ingredients:

1 8 oz package cream cheese (get it to room temperature, it will be much easier to work with)

1/3 lb feta cheese (if possible, buy a block and crumble it yourself)

2 garlic cloves

Juice from 1 lemon

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp cayenne pepper

A few twists of freshly ground black pepper

6-8 slices jarred roasted red peppers

Less than ¼ cup Olive Oil

Start with just the peeled garlic cloves in the food processor, and hit pulse a few times to mince it up. Next add the cream cheese. Don't just drop the whole block it; pinch off pieces of cream cheese and drop them into the processor bowl. Crumble the feta into smallish pieces, then run the processor for about 60 seconds to blend the cream cheese and feta. Scrape down the sides, then add the lemon juice, oregano, thyme, cayenne, and black pepper. Run the processor again for another 60 seconds. Scrape down the sides again, then add your roasted red pepper slices. The more slices you add, the more heat your spread will have (personally I err on the side of a little extra heat). Blend one last time for about 60 seconds, drizzling olive oil down the hatch to give it a more spreadable texture. After the final blend, give it a stir to ensure you've achieved the desired texture.

While it makes a great dip, my favorite way to enjoy this spread is on a pita sammie. To make this sammie, just layer a generous amount of Roasted Red Pepper Spread onto two pitas. Top with spinach or another leafy green and sliced deli-style gyro meat.

Little Mama's “Just Like Sunday” Roast Chicken

This has got to be one of the easiest roasted chicken recipes out there, but seriously, you look like a superstar when you serve this dish! Once you have a 4-5 pound whole chicken (don't even think about taking that delicious skin off!), you only need a few more ingredients:

2 tbsps butter (use the real stuff if you've got it)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp Lawrys Seasoning Salt

1 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp pepper

Take care of gathering and mixing your seasonings and slicing your butter before you even touch the chicken -- it will save washing your hands 7 extra times. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees, then slice up the butter. In a little bowl, mix salt, Lawrys seasoning salt, garlic salt, onion powder, and pepper. Set this aside for the moment.

Prep your chicken by relieving him of his innards -- the little packet system seems to have gone by the wayside, so just reach in there and pull out what you can. Or pick him up and shake gently -- your choice. Once you've accomplished that bit of nastiness, place your chicken (legs up) in a roasting pan. Separate the skin from the breast just enough to slide a few pats of butter between the meat and the skin. Drop a few more pats into the the now empty inside of the chicken. Any remaining pats can be wedged between each wing and the body, and between each leg and the body.

Sprinkle a bit of the seasoning mix into the chicken, then rub rest all over your bird. The majority of the mix should be outside, not in. Once he's all seasoned up, cover him with foil. I usually forget this step and have to take my chicken back out of the oven once I remember (and I usually remember when the skin starts to cook too quickly!), so maybe try setting the foil out before you get started...

Once he's covered, place your roasting pan in the 400 degree oven, and leave him alone for one hour. Once an hour has passed, uncover, and bake another 30-60 minutes. This is a pretty wide range in time, so keep an eye on him. When he's ready, the skin should be nice and brown and crispy, and you should be able to wiggle the leg easily.

This dish tastes most like dinner at my mom's house when I serve it with some kind of fancy rice. You can pre-make the rice and stuff the bird, but be warned -- that can add another 15-45 minutes in the oven. Before doing this, you must ask yourself “how hungry am I?” If you don't want to add the extra time, just make some fancy rice on the stovetop and serve on the side -- it will still taste like dinner at my mom's house!

Great-Grandma Nora's Boarding House Potato Salad

No picnic, no barbeque, no Super Bowl party would be complete without big bowl of potato salad. It's such a tradition in my family, that we actually have a potato salad bowl. It's circa 1970, green with white flowers, and although it occasionally serves other purposes, it is officially the potato salad bowl.

So a family that takes a bowl this seriously certainly would not take the contents of the bowl lightly. While lots of folks claim to have a good recipe for this classic dish, many more just stop by the supermarket and pick up a pound or two when attending an event that requires potato salad. And I'll admit, the stuff at the supermarket isn't bad, but you haven't really lived until you've tasted the real deal.

My family recipe reaches back generations, to my Great-Grandma Nora, who was something of a rarity in her day. During the Great Depression, this divorced mother ran a boarding house in Champaign, Illinois. In the mid 30s, a young woman named Jean Taylor came to work for her. Jean helped clean and prepare meals for the many railroad men who stayed at Nora's. It was here that Jean met, fell in love with, and ultimately married, Nora's son Jay Ewing.

We've all heard that the way to a man's heart is through is stomach, and no man can resist a woman who learned to cook from his very own mother. Not only did Jay love Jean, he also loved all the good food she cooked for him. My grandmother fortunately taught my father everything she could about cooking, who in turn passed those recipes on to his own daughter.

Great-Grandma Nora created this recipe for her boarding house, so even pared down, it still makes enough to serve a large family or a small party. In other words, it yields the perfect amount to fill the potato salad bowl.

You'll need:

10 russet potatoes (aim for about 5 lbs.) -- Boil the potatoes whole with their skin on for about 45 minutes. Let them cool, then peel and cut down to bite-sized bits. Do not undercook them -- potatoes should not crunch like celery. Do not overcook them, or you might end up with something that resembles mashed potato salad.
6 hard-boiled eggs, diced (more, if your husband loves hard-boiled eggs as much as mine does)
2 stalks of celery, diced
1/2 of a medium green pepper, diced
1/2 of a medium white or yellow onion, diced
6 sweet pickles, diced

Don't be rigid about measurements with these ingredients, as they tend to vary a bit from batch to batch:
1 cup Miracle Whip
3 generous tbsps mustard (the classic yellow kind)
1/2 cup pickle juice
Salt and pepper (be a bit heavy handed with the pepper, in honor of Grandpa Ewing)

Mix all of the ingredients together in your potato salad bowl (or any extra large bowl). Taste the potato salad at this point to see if you need to make any adjustments. Usually pickle juice is the culprit, since it provides the tanginess that makes this potato salad deliciously Midwestern.

Refrigerate before serving. In fact, this is a great dish to make the day before you intend to serve it. Before serving, make sure to take another taste. If you're not quite happy with it at this point, another squirt of mustard or another pinch of salt will usually solve any troubles.