Chicken Parm Salad Subs and Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks

Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks by Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman)

• 12 ounces, weight Pasta, Cooked Al Dente
• Reserved Pasta Water, If Needed
• 3 ounces, weight Chopped Pancetta
• 3 whole Leeks, Sliced Thin
• ½ cups Dry White Wine
• ½ cups Heavy Cream
• Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper, To Taste
• Parmesan Cheese, Shaved

Cook pasta and set aside. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water. (no picture for this step)

Saute chopped pancetta until fat is rendered and it starts to brown. Add sliced leeks and cook for 8 minutes. Pour in wine, then cook an additional 1-2 minutes, until reduced.  By the way folks, this is my favorite part, if you could only smell the combination of the pancetta and the leeks.....it's so amazing!!!

Reduce heat to low, then pour in cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in Parmesan shavings. Toss in pasta, adding a little pasta water to thin as needed. 

Serve with Parmesan shavings over the top—delicious!

Chicken Parm Salad Subs by Rachel Ray

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup vegetable stock
• 1 cup packed basil leaves
• A handful fresh flat-leaf parsley
• A handful fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large clove garlic, peeled
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 4 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and sliced lengthwise into thin strips
• 1 small red onion or 1/2 medium onion, very thinly sliced or chopped
• 1 rotisserie chicken
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 sesame sub rolls, split
• Olive oil and herb potato chips, for serving

Directions

I had to roast my own chicken because we were at the grocery store early in the morning and they hadn't put them out yet so I just went ahead and bought an uncooked roaster and roasted it myself.

Combine vegetable stock with herbs in food processor. Turn processor on and stream in the extra-virgin olive oil. Finely chop the garlic then mash into a paste with some salt using the flat side of your knife. Transfer basil dressing to a salad bowl and stir in the garlic paste along with the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Add the tomatoes, and onions.   Remove the skin from the chicken and chop or shred into bite-size pieces to yield about 4 cups. Add the chicken to the salad bowl and season with black pepper. Toss the salad and adjust seasonings. Fill sub rolls with the chicken salad and serve with a few olive oil chips alongside.  I didn't take a lot of pictures during this segment just because I get going, my hands get soiled and next thing you know, I'm onto the next step.

The pasta dish ended up being my favorite.  I'm not crazy about pesto and I wasn't thinking when I had read the title of the chicken parm salad recipe but "pesto" just didn't seem to jump out at me until I started to gather the ingredients.  Don liked the subs and that's all that matters.  Though I am proud to say that the three herbs in the recipe, were  pulled from my very own garden! :)  I'm so glad I'm not spending money on herbs anymore, at least for the most part.  As I stated earlier, I had to end up roasting my own chicken, otherwise making these two recipes should not have taken me as long as it did.  I didn't mind though, it's always therapeutic for me to spend time in the kitchen.  ~isavortheweekend