Frugal Foodie Friday - Garlic Noodles aka P.F. Chang.

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite... Happy New Year to all who are celebrating today. I thought this would be a perfect time to share one of my favorite Asian noodle recipes with you. I originally found the recipe on the Recipe Goldmine site and I've put it to good use ever since.  It is fast and simple and the noodles it makes are inexpensive and  downright delicious. The cost of the dish makes it a perfect candidate to share with you on Frugal Foodie Friday. While the noodles are almost effortless to make, there are a few cautions I want to share with you. The first is a reminder regarding the heat generated by dried red pepper flakes. The original recipe called for 1-1/2 teaspoons of flakes, and while that is perfect for fire breathing dragons and many of my visitors, it is sufficient to cause those with more timid palates to pale and gasp for air. To be on the safe side, I decided to list the quantity of pepper flakes as a range and let you pick your own comfort level. My main caution regards the use of fresh versus dried noodles. Equivalent weights will not produce the same amount of pasta and while my conversion is not exact, it's close enough to give you great results. As a general rule of thumb, when a recipe calls for fresh noodles and you can't get your hands on them, substitute half that weight with a dried product and you will be fine. Follow package instructions for cooking as well, because they will vary by type and brand. I think you'll really like the stir fry sauce that is used to flavor the noodles. It is simple to make and will keep for up to a month in the refrigerator. I like it well enough to keep a supply of it on hand for other quick stir fries. Do try this simple noodle dish. While this version of the recipe is scaled to feed two people, quantities can be doubled to feed  four or more. Here is how the garlic noodles are made.

Hot Milk Sponge Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is such a lovely cake that it is a shame it is not made more often. It is the easiest of all the sponge cakes to make and the addition of baking powder and milk guarantee a tightly crumbed cake that will also be light and moist. There are, however, a few tricks that will assure the cake is all it was meant to be. Success will be guaranteed if the eggs warm are warm and whipped to the proper consistency. They are properly whipped when they become a very pale yellow and thicken like a softly beaten cream. At that point, they should form a ribbon when the batter falls back on itself. The beaters and bowl in which the eggs are beaten should also be warm. Years ago, good cooks took it a step further and placed the primary mixing bowl inside another that was larger and filled with several inches of hot tap water. They would stir the eggs until they were warm to the touch before proceeding to beat them. While I have nothing but admiration for those women, I do not do that. I'm happy if my eggs are at room temperature and the bowl and beaters are warm. The cake is sweet and really does not need a frosting, but when the spirit moves me, I'll ice it with a milk chocolate butter cream. Actually, I think the cake is best when eaten out of hand or accompanied with a serving of macerated berries. If you have never made this cake I hope you will give this recipe a try. It makes a really nice cake. Here is how its made. 

Curried Apple and Parsnip Soup

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This simple soup makes a fabulous lunch or first course for a special dinner. I make it several times during the course of the winter because my family enjoys soups that are fortified with curry powder and I find they help ward off the damp chill that is so pervasive at this time of year. It is quick and nearly effortless to make, especially if you have a food processor and immersion blender. Don't be put off by the parsnips in the soup. They are a mildly flavored root vegetable and they blend beautifully with the companion apples and curry powder. So, the next time those North winds start to blow I hope you'll remember this lovely soup. Here is how it's made.

Cream Cheese, White Chocolate and Almond Coffee Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This coffee cake is a bit of a cheat. It gets a head start by using frozen bread dough which can be homemade or the kind you purchase at the supermarket. Once the dough has thawed, this ladder-style coffee cake can be table ready in about 90 minutes. The recipe is simple and straight forward, but there is one point at which you might get into trouble. The filling for the ladder should be spreadable but not runny. Sometimes a large egg will add too much liquid to the filling and cause it to spill out from the dough. You can avoid this by using a smaller egg, or adding the large egg by tablespoons until the filling can be spooned onto the bread dough and still hold its shape. While this coffeecake is over the top when made with Danish or puff pastry, it is still quite good when ordinary bread dough is used. If you like white chocolate and need a new recipe for coffeecake, why not give this one a try. Here is how this simple cake is made. 

A Super Simple Dip for Super Bowl Sunday - Jalapeno Popper Dip

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This dip really does taste like jalapeno poppers. I've seen the recipe for it for years, but today, for whatever reason, the spirit moved me and I decided to give it a test run. If you like a dip with some bite, I suspect you'll enjoy this, both for its flavor and its ease of preparation. It is effortless to make and my only complaint regarding the recipe is that it makes too darn much for a party of two. The Silver Fox and I are not great snackers, but we tried the dip on some crackers and then thinned it with some milk and used the remainder of it to make an other worldly mac n' cheese. Feel free to use cheddar or a blended Mexican cheese when you make this. Interestingly, the dip can be served hot or cold. If, however, you decide to serve it cold, cut back a bit on the crumb topping. The topping is lovely for the warm version of the dip because it adds some color to an otherwise pale dish, but its a bit much for the cold version. If you are looking for simple something something to serve while watching the Super Bowl and you enjoy heat, why not give this easy recipe a try. Here is how the dip is made.

Soft and Chewy Molasses Cookies

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've been busy baking cookies for a realtor open house we'll be having week after next. While I prefer freshly baked cookies, the cookie I'm featuring tonight is earmarked for the freezer. My left eye has stabilized, so we can finally proceed with the transplant for the right eye. I'll be out of commission for a while, so I'm trying to get my house in order, cookies and all, before the "thou shalt nots" kick in. Obviously, one limitation will be the amount of time I can devote to the blog. Using a combination of old and new, I hope to schedule posts for the days I can't access the computer. That, anyway, is the plan. Should I miss a day or two, I hope you'll understand. I want to share these delicious molasses cookies with you, as well as the realtors, because they are so simple to make. They require no special equipment, save for a bowl and wooden spoon, and while the cookies look crisp, they are actually soft, chewy and undeniably delicious. My only caution is a reminder not to over-bake them. I pulled the cookies in these photos after they had been in the oven for 8 minutes. I let them cool on the baking pans for about 10 minutes more before I transferred them to cooling racks. At that point,  you should be able to move and lift the cookies without them bending. The recipe for these gems comes from Bon Appetit magazine. If you are looking for an easy cookie recipe, I hope you'll give this one a try. Here is how the cookies are made.

Menu for the Week of January 26, 2014

Weekly Menu at One Perfect Bite... 

Frugal Foodie Friday - Slow Cooker Southwestern Chicken Spaghetti

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...While this inexpensive casserole was not developed for peckish eaters, if you are feeding a gang or have teenagers at your table, you might want to give this simple recipe a try. You will need a blender and slow cooker to prepare this nearly effortless casserole. The recipe comes from Good Housekeeping magazine, and while it calls for chicken breasts, I actually prefer to use boneless thighs to make this dish. The chipotle chiles give the casserole some heat, but much of it is absorbed by the spaghetti as it cooks, so all but the very young will enjoy it. It is important not to over cook the thin spaghetti. Buy the product actually labeled thin spaghetti to assure proper cooking of the pasta. Avoid capellini at all costs if you decide to make this casserole. It will turn to mush and you will not speak or think kindly of me. If you are looking for an effortless and inexpensive family meal,  this Frugal Foodie Friday recipe has you name on it. Here is how the casserole is made.