Green noodles

Sounds a bit like Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham, doesn’t it? Don’t be misled. When Jordan was recovering from Covid this week, the first meal she wanted was green noodles, a favorite of both my girls since their schooldays. I don’t remember the boys liked it as much. But it’s such an old recipe that I’m sure I’ve presented it here before, and I make it from scratch, so amounts will be approximate. Adjust to the number you’re serving.

There is a story behind this: Chefs don’t just follow recipes from Julia Child and James Beard and others—they develop their own recipes. Me? I follow other people’s ideas, which is why I’m a cook and not a chef. But green noodles is one recipe I can claim to have developed. The story begins when I was in graduate school and living with my brother and his then-wife in a small, Missouri town.

She told the story of one evening, before they married, when John was coming for supper, and she had no grocery money. She cooked with what was in the fridge and pantry, and the result was spaghetti in lemon butter—she called it meatless spaghetti. John and her children liked it well enough that she fixed it often, and when I left, I took the idea (it wasn’t really a recipe) with me in my head. Gradually over the years, I added things. First, was to substitute spinach fettucine for spaghetti; then I added sliced mushrooms (they soak up the lemon and are delicious); because we love them, I chopped and drained a can of artichoke hearts and added that; next came chopped green onions and a fat garlic clove sliced; then I added an ice-cub size hunk of pesto (I sometimes freeze it in an ice cube tray). Somewhere along the way I began to  sprinkle fresh grated parmesan on the dish just before serving (these days I prefer pecorino). And that’s it—my signature dish!

Ingredients

16 oz. Spinach fettucine (will serve four generously)

1 stick real butter, salted

1 fat garlic clove

4 green onions, chopped

1 can quartered artichoke hearts (not marinated)

½ lb. baby Bella mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced, stems discarded (you can choose to include the stems if you trim off the end)

1 Tbsp. pesto (optional)

Juice of one lemon (you might start with less and taste—a whole lemon gets it very lemony)

Fresh grated parmesan or pecorino

Cook, drain, and rinse noodles. Melt butter in a skillet. (Megan, weight-conscious in high school, used to insist that was too much butter, and it may be, but it’s so good.) Sauté the mushrooms, artichoke hearts, scallions and garlic in the butter. Add lemon juice and pesto. Finally add noodles and toss to coat. Reheat just until noodles are warm again. Top with Parmesan. I serve it in soup plates and often offer crusty baguette slices.

A meatless, one-dish meal.

 

Chicken tetrazzini, chicken spaghetti—or whatever your mom called it

 

 

Image for the algorithms

We didn’t eat much pasta in our house when I was growing up. Dad was a roast beef man, and Mom brought her German heritage to the kitchen. The closest I came to pasta was Franco-American spaghetti in a can. But as a young adult, I had a friend who was much my senior—probably close to fifty years. Freda Powell taught drama at the college level—with some famous students, notably among them Dan Blocker. And she entertained those drama majors in her home frequently. Her go-to dish was chicken tetrazzini which she would make in huge batches. We all loved it.

Recently I had some cooked chicken that I wanted to do something with, but what? It wasn’t enough for a full meal, so I was looking for something for one. And came across a recipe for tetrazzini that I could cut down to fit my need. Aha! Freda’s dish. Finding the recipe was like a reminder of meals from the past. When I made it, it turned out enough to feed me and Christian, who said he didn’t think his mom made tetrazzini. But when he tasted it, it was familiar.

Chicken tetrazzini or whatever you call it is easy, quick, and adaptable. You can make it for two or twenty. And you can make it ahead. Sometimes it just takes a little reminder to put a familiar dish in your dinner rotation. So consider this your reminder.

 

Chicken tetrazzini or chicken spaghetti (or whatever your mom called it)

Ingredients

16 oz linguini

½ cup butter, softened

4 half chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cups sour cream

1 tsp. garlic salt

½ tsp. dried parsley

½ tsp. pepper

1 cup chicken broth

2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated (fresh)

2 cups Mozarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

Cook noodles al dente, drain, and set aside

In a large bowl, combine chicken, soup, sour cream, butter, chicken broth, garlic salt, parsley, and pepper. Mix together thoroughly and then stir in the cooked, drained noodles.

Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish and spread evenly. Sprinkle both cheeses on top.

Bake, uncovered, in 350^o degree oven 35-40 minutes or until cheeses are melting and bubbly. Let it collect itself a bit before serving.

Serves 8. Leftovers will keep in the fridge, well covered, for three day. Frozen leftovers in air-tight contained may be kept for two months.

If freezing uncooked casserole, do not add cheese. Thaw in refrigerator, add cheese, and bake as above.

You may have garlic salt with parsley in your cupboard. That’s what the recipe specifies, but I don’t think it’s worth buying just for this recipe when you can combine dried—or fresh—parsley and garlic salt. That’s a bit of my mom’ d Depression-era frugality coming out in me.

A dish fit for a queen!

 

 

Coronation chicken Salad.

Coronation chicken salad was created for the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth. I thought King Charles was trying to economize a bit and did not serve it at his festivities, but I’m told that’s wrong. He did serve it, with all its traces of the long British occupation of India. According to The New York Times, the salad was wildly popular in this country in the Eighties.

Last week, as I blogged, an out-of-town author/friend was coming for lunch. Since I have some small reputation as the foodie on the listserv where we are both active, I felt under the gun to produce something special. In fact, even before the lunch, the list buzzed with questions about what I would serve. My guest told me she’s allergic to gluten, so that limited my menu somewhat. I decided on coronation chicken in lettuce cups and a small fruit salad. Another friend from the Texas writing community joined us, but there was plenty of chicken salad. This recipe serves at least eight.

Coronation Chicken

Ingredients:

6 cups cooked, diced chicken – you can boil your own or use a rotisserie chicken; I chose to brown and then simmer four half chicken breasts

½ cup mayonnaise (more if it seems dry at serving time)

½ cup sour cream or yogurt (I used sour cream, because I always have it on hand)

3 Tbsp. mango chutney (If there are large pieces of mango, chop them a bit)

1 Tbsp. curry powder

1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped, or golden raisins (I used raisins because chopping dried fruit is a pain, though I do love apricots)

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon or lime juice (I used lime, just for a different taste)

½ cup sliced almonds, toasted (no, I did not burn the first batch)

¼ cup cilantro, chopped (I forgot to add it at the last minute)

Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

Dice the chicken into a large bowl. Separately, mix other ingredients and taste—you may want to add more chutney, curry, or citrus juice (curries and chutneys vary wildly in taste). Pour dressing over chicken and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate at least half an hour before serving.

Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for about three days. After that, you want to be cautious about chicken.

We really didn’t need dessert, but I got a box of bonbons from Central Market—salted caramel ice cream encased in chocolate. One bite each!

Long live the King!

PS: I saw this dessert recipe this week and plan to try it. I thought maybe some of you might like to try it too. I’ve been debating flavors, but right now I think I’ll go with yellow cake and cherry pie filling. What sounds good to you?

Are You Kiddng Me Cake?

3 eggs

1 box cake mix

1 can pie filling

9x12 pan   350 for 35 minutes.

A different salad

I forgot to take a picture, 
so this is borrowed from kathleenashmore.com.
You'll note it shows chickpeas, which I omitted

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A high in the eighties is a cool snap if you’re in Texas, and we’re having said cool snap today after thunderstorms and brief but heavy rain last night. But I’m always on the lookout for new salads that will serve as the main dish for family meals. So when I came across this one, called LaScala Chopped Salad, I was intrigued by ingredients I don’t usually think of with salad.

The salad has nothing to do with the famous theater in Milan but everything to do with a Beverly Hills restaurant called, appropriately, La Scala and famed for its chopped salad. According to rumor, the Kardashians are extremely fond of this salad, but it is not the famous Kardashian salad which has chicken and carrots and who knows what. Frankly, I don’t care what the Kardashians eat. I am one of those who has never watched the show (it is a show, isn’t it?). But the salad, aside from the source of its fame, was surprisingly good—and popular with my family.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 head iceberg lettuce

¼ lb. salami

¼ lb. shredded mozzarella

1-1/2 can chickpeas, drained (I don’t happen to care much for chickpeas and didn’t have any on hand, so I omitted this)

3 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

½ tsp. each salt and pepper

Dressing:

½ cup olive oil

¼ cup red wine vinegar

2 tsp Dijon

½ tsp. each salt and pepper

¼ cup grated pecorino

Sound like the salad gets dressed twice, doesn’t it? Bear with me. Cut the salami into thin strips, not so long as to be difficult to eat. Chop the lettuce.

If you’re using chickpeas, whisk together the oil and vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper listed in ingredients and toss in the chickpeas. Trust me, it was good without them.

Mix together the dressing ingredients and shake or stir to emulsify.

Put the lettuce in a large bowl and toss with half the dressing. Add the salami and mozzarella and taste to adjust the seasoning. Add remaining dressing but be careful not to make your salad soupy.

Presentation is complicated if you use the chickpeas: drain and put in the bottom of a bowl. Pack your salad on top. Then, using a plate to keep everything in place, flip it so that the chickpeas are on top for serving. See? I told you it’s easier to leave out the chickpeas.

Not using the chickpeas? Serve in soup plates and top each serving with a bit more pecorino for appearance sake.