Garlic Noodles – Roasted Garlic Crab Sold Separately

These deceptively simple, yet devastatingly delicious garlic noodles were invented in San Francisco, at a restaurant called, Thanh Long, back in the 70’s. Usually served with roasted Dungeness crab, the actual recipe is a very closely guarded family secret, but after lots of investigation, and even more experimentation, I think this is very close, at least for a non-MSG laced version.

Apparently, one of their “secret” ingredients is something called, Maggi Seasoning Sauce, which I decided not to use, since I’m not sure how easy it is for the average person to find. Besides, I think my assortment of savory, umami-rich substitutes did the job quite nicely, and everything in the ingredient list can be found at any large grocery store.

The most exotic thing here would be the oyster sauce, which is sort of a very savory, slightly sweet, thick, soy sauce-like condiment. And yes, it does have oyster extracts in it, in case that matters. If you can’t find it, just add a touch more fish sauce, soy, and Worcestershire, as well as little brown sugar.

Most garlic noodles actually call for sugar in the recipe, but I think that makes it too sweet for my taste, since the oyster sauce is fairly sweet, as is all that sautéed garlic. Regardless, whether you enjoy this with some roasted garlic crab, or as is, I really do hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 small portions Garlic Noodles:
PLEASE NOTE: The saltiness of the following ingredients can vary, as can how sensitive people are to the taste of salt, so you may need to increase or decrease the amounts below. 

For the secret sauce:

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

pinch of cayenne pepper

For the rest:

6 ounces dry egg noodles

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

8 cloves finely minced garlic

1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

thinly sliced green onion to garnish

red chili flakes to taste

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Fresh Spinach Pasta – Easy to Do, Occasionally

It’s very easy, and inexpensive to buy pasta at the store, which is why people do it so often, maybe too often, but every once in a while, when you want something specific, making a batch of your own can be fun, and rewarding. Besides, it’s kind of nice to get compliments for the sauce and noodles for a change.

By the way, don’t let the lack of a stand mixer with pasta attachments stop you from making this. For decades, I used a cheap, hand-cracked machine, which worked just fine. You can also go completely manual, and roll the dough into thin sheets, which after a little bit of drying, can be rolled up, and sliced into whatever size noodle you want.

Just be sure to use plenty of semolina, but that does work, and may produce the most satisfying results, imperfections and all. For the best texture, be sure to only cook your fresh pasta for just about a minute, before tossing it in your hot sauce.

If you dry your pasta, like I did with my twistaroni, you’ll need to give it a few extra minutes, or until it’s just tender, depending on the exact shape. Either way, fresh or dried, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes 2 large or 4 small portions Fresh Spinach Pasta:

8 ounces fresh spinach (about 4 handfuls)

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

about 3 cups all-purpose flour

semolina flour, as needed for rolling and cutting

Creamy Ricotta Pasta Sauce – Now 100% Cream-Free!

I enjoy the taste and texture of a classic cream sauce, but what I don’t enjoy is that they tend to be very rich, and filling. I mean, come on, I’m trying to save room for the tiramisu. 

However, by using ricotta cheese, and egg, and some boiling pasta water, we can make a sauce that seems every bit as creamy, and delicious, but will still allow us to walk away from the table under our own power.

I added some pesto to mine this time, but that could have been some sun-dried tomato paste, or roasted chilies, or caramelized mushroom, or diced-up, leftover grilled veggies, or…you get the idea. The technique is really the thing to focus on here, and once perfected, you’ll simply be left trying to figure out what else to add in, or on this lovely sauce.

As I mentioned in the video, I love to top this pasta with ricotta salata. If you’ve never had it before, it’s worth a try, and not just for this dish. Ricotta salata is a great summer cheese, since it’s perfect with things like tomato salads, and grilled peaches, just to name a few. So, keep that in mind, but in the meantime, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 large or 4 small portions:

For the sauce base:

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1 large egg

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

zest from 1 lemon

cayenne to taste

about 2/3 cup hot pasta water, plus more if needed

For the pasta:

8 ounces dry pasta, cooked 1 minute under

1/4 cup pesto, or to taste

lots of grated ricotta salata to finish

Sweet Potato Pan-Dumplings with Bacon Butter – Good Save

What started out as a tragic, waterlogged disaster of a sweet potato dumpling attempt, turned into a triumph we’re calling  “pan-dumplings.” As usual, I did little to no research, so someone may have already invented pan-dumplings, but until I hear from you, I’ll be taking the credit.

I really liked being able to spoon the dough/batter directly into the pan, and cutting out the boiling step made these faster, and we have one less pot to wash. The bacon butter was very nice, but I can think of a dozen sauces that would work with these. If you’re doing it as a main course, anything goes, but as a side dish, I’d keep it simple, as we did here.

Since this was sort of an experiment, I wasn’t paying too close to the exact amounts, but the list below must be pretty close. You can play around with more or less flour, and/or cheese, and cook test dumplings until you lock it in. I wanted something with the taste of roasted sweet potatoes, but with more of a gnocchi-like texture, and I think this was pretty close, which is why I hope you give these pan-dumplings a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 large or 4 smaller portions:

12 ounces cooked sweet potato

1 large egg

1/4 cup goat cheese or cream cheese, plus more to garnish

1/2 cup *self -rising flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste

freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste

sliced green onions to top

* To make your own SRF, for every cup of all-purpose flour combine 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon fine table salt.

Chicken Spaghetti – Because Cows and Pigs Can’t Fly Either

A big bowl of spaghetti and meat sauce is one of my all-time favorite meals, and like most cooks, I make it a little different every time. The veggies change seasonally, and as far as the meat goes, sometimes it’s beef, or pork, or a combination, but for whatever reason, chicken is rarely considered. It’s usually only when I’m using up leftovers that I think to toss it with noodles. So, I almost forget how great this is when you dedicate a whole bird, and a few hours to the effort.

Other than requiring a little time, this recipe is dead simple, with the only major decision being how thick to make your sauce. I like something fairly light, I guess because it’s chicken, but if you do want something thicker, simply change the ratio of sauce to water when you start the recipe. You can also reduce it longer, but you knew that.

Just be sure to undercook your pasta by at least a minute here, since as you saw we’re going to finish it in hot sauce for a couple minutes at the end. This is a critical step, and allows all those flavors to get sucked up by the still hydrating spaghetti. This is also a great make-ahead meal, as you can prep your sauce one day, and then assemble the finished dish at a later date. Either way, I really do hope you give this chicken spaghetti a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for enough Chicken Spaghetti Sauce for between 1 and 1.5 pounds of pasta, depending on how “saucy” you want it:

1 large whole chicken (4 1/2 to 5 pounds), with bag inside cavity removed

1 jar (24-oz) marinara sauce (about 3 cups)

6 cups water or chicken broth

2 anchovy fillets

2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

red chili flakes to taste

To finish the dish, for each person:

4 ounces spaghetti, cooked, drained (not rinsed!)

enough chicken spaghetti sauce and to please you

more grated cheese

1 tablespoon cold butter

1/4 cup thinly sliced basil leaves

salt and hot pepper to taste

at least 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino cheese

Creole Crab Noodles – Mardi Gras Fusion

I’m calling this Creole crab noodles recipe an “experiment,” but it didn’t really feel like one, since I was sure it was going to come out really well, which it did. Crab, and its old friends, the Holy Trinity, are a classic combo, and so it was no surprise they worked so well in an Asian-style, rice noodle dish.

If you can get fresh crab meat, by all means use that, but if not, pretty much every large grocery chain carries pasteurized crab in 8-ounce plastic tubs, which works perfectly fine for this. And if shellfish isn’t your thing, I’ve got some great news. This exact same dish can be made with literally any other other meat and/or vegetable.

You can also do this with your favorite pasta, but like I said in the video, there are few foods as addictive, and fun to eat as rice noodles, so I’d advise against it. Besides, you can finally have that gluten-free friend of yours over to make up for all those pizza-night invites. So, whether you make this for Mardi Gras or not, I really do hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 large portions:

8 ounces crab meat

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/3 cup finely diced green onions, plus more for garnish

1/3 cup finely diced celery

1/3 cup finely diced hot and/or sweet peppers

8 ounces rice noodles, soaked, drained

For the sauce:

3 cloves crushed garlic

3 tablespoons ketchup

1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

How to Make Spätzle (aka Spaetzle) – Little Sparrows for Big Meat

Apparently “Spätzle” translates to “little sparrows” in German, which makes a lot of sense when you consider their shape. What doesn’t make sense is why these micro-dumplings are also called “spaetzle.” Is it an alternate spelling? A different recipe? I’m hoping maybe some of our German foodwishers can clear this up.

Since my favorite German restaurant calls this stuff spätzle, that’s what I went with, and they are as easy to make, as they are hard to correctly pronounce. You only need a few ingredients, all of which you generally have on hand at all times, and they take just minutes to cook.

Once boiled, you can toss in butter like I did, or sauce them any way you’d sauce similarly shaped pasta. While wonderful served as-is, they make the perfect side dish to any large hunk of slowly braised meat. I paired mine with a pork shoulder stewed in hard cider, and it was amazing.

I thought I’d posted a video for that, but it was actually a cider-braised pork cheeks recipe I was thinking of, which would work perfectly here. So, I may have to do a braised pork shoulder after all. In the meantime, I’m sure you’ll have little trouble figuring out what to serve yours with, and I really do hope you give this Spätzle recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes 2 portions:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more to adjust

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

pinch of cayenne

1 tablespoon cream fraiche, sour cream, or yogurt

3 tablespoons milk