Dragon Noodles

We like spicy dishes and generally add more spice than called for just to get that lovely heat. But in this case, we've hardly changed the amount of spice because it's really tasty as is. We're still playing around with the butter combo. As originally written, this recipe calls only for butter but I thought that was too buttery for the dish (coming from a butter slicker like me, that's saying something). So we've subbed in a tablespoon of canola oil for one tablespoon of butter.

This dish also makes a great lunch; as written we get about six generous servings.

Ingredients

• Two 12 ounce packages Udon noodles
• 7 T butter
• 1 T canola oil
• 1 t crushed red pepper 
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 3 T brown sugar
• 3 T soy sauce
• 3 T  sriracha (rooster sauce)
• Diced fresh cilantro for topping

Directions

1. Cook the noodles according to package directions.
2. While the noodles cook, melt the butter and add the oil to the butter when it’s melted.
3. Add in the pepper flakes and cook briefly.
4. Whisk the beaten eggs into the butter/oil mixture on the stove and basically scramble them until firm and in small pieces. If the eggs are done before the noodles have finished cooking, remove the skillet from the heat.
5. Once the noodles are done, drain and add to the skillet with the eggs.
6. Add the siracha sauce and stir until the noodles are fully coated. If there’s a lot of moisture, cook briefly until the extra moisture evaporates.
7. Place in bowls and sprinkle with the diced cilantro.
8. Enjoy!

A Nameless Appetizer

"What can I bring?" I asked.
"Bring a healthy appetizer to go with the Pinot Noir we'll be sipping as I fix dinner," she said.
"Uh sure thing!"

But I was using up all the food in the fridge because we were leaving on vacation soon and then I had another trip to see family the following week. So I had to make something out of what I had on hand, and what I had on hand wasn't much. Plus she requested that the dish be healthy and also go with red wine. So with those restrictions in mind, this is what I made.

Ingredients:

1/4 C feta cheese crumbles
1/4 C balsamic vinaigrette (I used Paul Newman's Own Lighten Up version)
about 1/2 C each diced cherry tomatoes and sliced mushrooms
Finely sliced red onion, about two or three slices; then cut the slices into smaller pieces
1/3 to 1/2 C cooked pasta (I used my favorite Gemelli)

Directions:

• Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain and allow to cool.
• While the pasta is cooking, prep the vegetables.
• Assemble the vegetables, feta crumbles and dressing in a bowl large enough to hold everything. Toss well.
• Once the pasta is cool, add to the bowl and toss again.

Note: Obviously you could use Parmesan cheese but again, I had to go with what was on hand. This is a basic pasta salad and can be gussied up with whatever you like. If I'd had any, I'd have put artichoke hearts in there too, and also roasted red peppers. But I didn't have any.

Amazing Tomato Soup

I love soup for lunch when the weather gets cooler. When we lived in Boston, I improvised a tomato soup very loosely based on a recipe from Food & Wine. This is a quick soup and is ready in less than an hour from start to finish. It makes four to five servings as written.

Here’s a tip—you don’t need to peel your garlic cloves before you put them through your press. In fact if you don’t peel them, your press will be a lot easier to clean up.

Finally, I almost never add salt and pepper while cooking something. I prefer to add them at the table.

Ingredients:

1 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 small or ½ medium white onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, put through a press
2 t smoked paprika (it makes a difference to the taste so get smoked paprika)
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes (I prefer fire roasted tomatoes)
3 T tomato paste
1 ½ C water
1/3 C light cream
1 sprig of thyme or about ½ t dried thyme
1 bay leaf

Directions:

• Melt the butter and oil together in a pan large enough to hold all the ingredients.
• Add the finely diced onion and garlic to the pan and sauté until tender and translucent, about five minutes.
• Add the paprika and stir well.
• Add the tomatoes with their juice, the tomato paste, the water, the thyme and bay leaf.
• Stir well and simmer for about 15 to 30 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in the cream.

Oven Roasted Potatoes

These potatoes cook up easily, require little in the way of prep or attention and you can add carrots, onions, garlic or even nasty turnips or parsnips to them. As pictured, I used just potatoes because I served them with the Sunday Dinner Pot Roast which already had carrots and onions.

Ingredients:

1 pound red potatoes, washed and cut into large chunks
About 2 t olive oil

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Line a jelly roll pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
• Toss the potato chunks with the olive oil until they are lightly coated.
• Place the potato chunks on the pan and bake for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
• Add salt and pepper at the table.