Alright friends, let's get down to it. Everyone has that one restaurant dish that simply thinking or driving by the neon sign makes your mouth water. And although if you had the recipe you would either mess it up or you'd cook it so often it would no longer be a tasty treasure - you still secretly wish you could decode the recipe and have it anytime you want it, RIGHT (or is that just me)??
Well, I'm not ashamed to admit I have SEVERAL of these items. And I am by no means above throwing the waiter a few extra bones if he could let me in on some of the secrets. That being said, the recipe I'm after today was first discovered about two years ago. Ruby Tuesday is one of those restaurants that I have always seen, but never actually frequented. And truthfully for no reason other than we chose O'Charley's or something over Ruby's when we were looking for that kind of place, because we knew the menu better, maybe? I don't know ... it just wasn't a place we frequently dined.
However, a couple of years ago when I started working at my new marketing job, I was located directly across the street from a Ruby Tuesday's. Since then there have been several additional restaurants that have been put in on this exit (Qdoba, Zaxby's, Logan's Roadhouse - to name a few) that have really upped the ante around lunch hour - which was much needed. But prior to this, any quick lunch meetings that needed to be held at an off-site location, and needed to be at a classier establishment than say a McDonald's or Arby's ... Ruby Tuesday's became a great meeting hub.
What I quickly learned is Ruby Tuesday was harboring one of the greatest items on their menu known to man ... plus they offer free garlic cheddar biscuits (SCORE!). What I'm trying to say is: I'm glad I gave it a chance. You see Ruby Tuesday has an unlimited Garden Bar for about $8.00 and the ingredients are pretty fresh for a salad bar. So it's a super simple pick up if you're needing a healthy "at your desk" lunch as well. But the hidden little gem that is also located on said Garden Bar is their Ham and Pea Pasta Salad. OHH-EM-GEEE is this stuff good. Now, if you don't like peas or ham - don't stop reading yet. Because, ironically I'm not a huge fan of either item either - but in this salad - they WORK IT.
So, I set out on a mission to find a copy cat recipe for the mouthwatering, delicious concoction you see pictured above. And here is what I've uncovered:
- This pasta salad has a bazillion raving fans other than myself (who knew?)
- There are many copy-cat recipes
- Lots of the copy-cat recipes call for ingredients that are CLEARLY NOT in the Ruby Tuesday pasta salad, so why do these at-home chefs think they can just add them in on their own accord?? - WHY
Alright, so I have narrowed the copy-cat recipes down to the three that sound the closest to what I taste. I'm going to share all 3 with you, and over some time I will make all 3 and announce the winner. But for now, I just have to hold onto hope that one of these babies will be my saving grace and present us with the best pasta salad dish there ever was. My current (pre-tested) vote goes to Recipe #3 -- I'd put all my money there just reading ingredients and what not.
.......................................................................................
Recipe #1
Ingredients:
- 1 lb box of rotini pasta
- 1 cup ranch dressing
- 1 cup mayo
- 1 package of diced ham
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozenpeas, cooked and drained
- 1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese (note: there is no evidence of cheese in RT's recipe)
- 2 TBS of Paula Deen'sseasoning salt (P.D.'s seasoning mix - 1 cup salt, 1/4 cup pepper,1/4 cup garlic salt -Put it in a small bowl and mix it well. Put mixinto empty salt shaker.)
Directions:
- Cook pasta, drain and rinse
- Mix all ingredients
- Serve cold
Thoughts:
- We could be onto something with the seasoning salt, sometimes I can tell a more garlic-y or more pepper-y flavor and if they add too much or too little of one, I could see where this would effect it
- As mentioned above - NO USE OF CHEESE in the RECIPE!
.......................................................................................
Recipe #2
Ingredients: Directions: Thoughts:
.......................................................................................
Recipe #3 - MY VOTE FOR FRONT RUNNER
Ingredients:
- 1 pound rotini pasta
- 3/4 cup reduced-fat ranch dressing
- 3/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
- 8 ounces diced ham
- 1 cup frozen green peas, defrosted
- 4 ounces (1 cup) shredded cheddarcheese, optional and not in the original recipe
- 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
Directions:
- Cook the pasta according to packagedirections.
- Drain well and place in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk the ranch dressing, mayonnaiseand seasoning salt.
- Toss the dressing with the pasta and then gently stir inthe ham, peas, cheese and bell pepper.
- Taste and add more seasoning salt, ifneeded.
- Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
- Makes 8-10 side dish servings.
Thoughts:
- This recipe gets my vote and I will be trying it soon. I'll keep you updated on how it goes :)
.......................................................................................
So that's all folks, Ruby Tuesday Copy Cat Pasta Salad -- Easy Peasy (no pun intended)! Have a great week.
