Sandwich a la WWMD: Guest lovin’ by Ella Hartley

Today’s guest post is by a very dear friend of mine. She was the first person that I collaborated with on cooking (back in the days when we were fresh out of dorm life and experiencing having our own place to cook for the first time). I would even go so far as to say she’s the one that inspired me to get out of my cooking “comfort zone”; I mean it’s not really her fault…when I think of childhood memories I envision pigs-in-a-blanket and vanilla ice cream while she dreams of Belgium chocolate and french dishes I can’t pronounce.

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Wednesday night dinners are often a challenge when I’m not in the mood for box mac and cheese or another quesadilla. At this point in the week, the leftovers from weekend culinary adventures are gone and, aside from various staple ingredients, I’m left with ends and scraps of some very odd ingredients. This is when I ask myself WWMD? What Would Mom Do? My mother can’t follow a recipe to save her life but hand her four seemlying random ingredients, half a tuperware container of leftover whatever, and a glass or two of red wine and it’s magic! So, with a glass of wine (or in this case a beer: Dirty Helen Brown Ale from the Barley Island Brewing Company), I did my best to channel my mother and this is what I came up with:

Magic! Actually, just a really yummy, veggie-full sandwich. But to a hungry girl that can sometimes seem like magic. Especially when you get a big bite of sweet sautéed onions and mushrooms combined with the savory, sharp kick of blue cheese, and a nip of wine and black pepper. Yum!

Sandwich a la WWMD

• 4 T. olive oil
• 1 small onion
• 4 or 5 baby bella mushrooms (or whatever the heck you’ve got. These were the last of one of my stranger impulse-buys.)
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary (Why are fresh herbs sold in the most frustrating quantities!)
• ½ cup of frozen spinach
• a sploosh of dry white wine (I know. This isn’t a real unit of measure. Just say to yourself “Sploosh!” while you’re pouring the wine and that’ll be enough)
• 3 T. crumbled blue cheese
• 1 pita pocket, halved
• salt and black pepper to taste

Throw the olive oil and the roughly diced onions and mushrooms into a saucepan and sauté at medium hear for about 5 minutes. Then add the fresh rosemary. Keep cooking at medium heat, stirring occasionally, until things start to get brown and soft. Add the frozen spinach; no need to thaw it or microwave it, just toss it in! When the spinach has defrosted, add the salt and pepper to the degrees that you enjoy and sploosh the white wine. Cook until the wine is absorbed or evaporated. (Say no to soggy sandwiches!) While this is happening toast the pita pocket. Once the veggies are ready and the pita pockets have popped, (ha! Alliteration is awesome.) you’re good to go. Throw those veggies into the pocket with the crumbled blue cheese and enjoy!