HALLIE EPHRON: Earlier this week I was seeing old friends for lunch and decided I'd much rather make something rather than go out. But what to make? Something healthy, could be mostly made ahead, and used mostly ingredients I already have.
I hauled out my folders of recipes that I've saved over the years, most of which I've ever actually made. And there it was, the recipe from The Boston Globe back in 2014, SESAME-NOODLE SALAD: spaghetti, raw veggies, peanut butter, tossed with a gingery peanut butter.
First I rounded up the ingredients and put them on the counter. I modified the recipe with vegetables I happened to have in the fridge and added some shrimp I had in the freezer.
Here's the ingredients for the DRESSING:
1 T soy sauce
2 T rice vinegar
1 tsp siracha
Juice of 1 lime
2 tsp honey
A two-inch piece of fresh ginger finely chopped or grated
3 T smooth peanut butter
2 T sesame oil
In a large bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together until blended. Set aside
TOASTED SESAME SEEDS
3 T sesame seeds
In a small skillet toast the sesame seeds for 5 minutes until golden.
Set aside.
SHRIMP
Boil a dozen thawed and deveined/shelled shrimp in water for 5-7 minutes.
Drain and set aside.
VEGGIES
1 sweet red pepper, cored and seeded and cut into thin strips
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed
1/2 cucumber, quartered lengthwise and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup sliced daikon radish
(Or whatever else you happen to have on hand)
Prep the veggies and set aside
Noodles
8 ounces of thin spaghetti
In a large pot of boiling water, cook the spaghetti for about 7-9 minutes.
Drain into colander.
COMBINE!
In a large bowl, whisk dressing
Stir in veggies and shrimp; blend
ADD DRAINED SPAGHETTI
Toss gently to coat with dressing.
Top with sesame seeds
VOILA! Serve and enjoy. (We had it warm but you could put it in the fridge and have it later, cold.)
Where do you go looking for something serve friends, or do you stick with your favorite stand-bys or order takeout?
Stir in veggies and shrimp; blend
ADD DRAINED SPAGHETTI
Toss gently to coat with dressing.
Top with sesame seeds
VOILA! Serve and enjoy. (We had it warm but you could put it in the fridge and have it later, cold.)
This sounds delicious, Hallie . . . thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteI usually stick to my old stand-bys, mostly because I know who likes what and I can count on everything coming out exactly as I expect it to . . . .
We have gotten lazy in France - all charcuterie boards, all the time. I admit, after a month of them in June, I was starting to get the teensiest bit tired of them.
ReplyDeleteThis recipe looks great and could be a great way of using up the veg I keep buying at the markets, then letting wilt in the fridge.
That sounds wonderful! These days I am happier with friends at home because my spouse has hearing loss and misses the punchlines in a restaurant setting ... so home it is and favorites that I could do in my sleep but impress others. Now it's winter so that's lasagna (takes remembering to make the sauce a day ahead) and chicken pot pie (takes remembering to cook the chicken a day ahead) which are easy.
ReplyDeleteI do love chicken pot pie, but I’m never together enough To pull it off.
DeleteI make a version of that dish, Hallie - so yummy. It's also good with soba noodles, or with shredded chicken instead of shrimp.
ReplyDeleteOr tofu… something on which I need cooking lessons. But it definitely needs protein.
DeleteThat sounds yummy, Hallie. I would have to substitute maple syrup for the honey because of my serious honey allergy. (It's incredible to realize how often it is used in all kinds of dishes. I always tell wait staff to alert the kitchen.)
ReplyDeleteIf I had people coming for lunch in the winter I'd make soup, home baked bread, green salad or sandwiches to go with it and dessert. I'd choose the soup by inquiring about preferences and allergies. If I had to shop for ingredients, no problem. There are 4 grocery stores near my home.
Regarding honey, that is especially true now, with so many dishes including hot honey.
DeleteMmm home baked bread - someday I’ll figure thatvour
DeleteI'm lazy, I get take-out.
ReplyDeleteLOL And refreshingly honest, Dru!
DeleteOhhhhh that sounds delicious—love the peanut butter. Ahhhhh I would get soup from
ReplyDeleteOoooops— As I was saying, I would get soup from our delicious soup placed on the block. In winter at least. In the summer, chicken salad with all the trimmings and sit out on the patio.
ReplyDeleteOr in the summer, lobster salad Yum
DeleteI'm a big fan of soups in the winter and entree salads in the summer. I was intrigued to hear that you ate this warm -- I have a very similar recipe that I've hesitated to try because of it calling for serving it cold, when it intuitively looked to me like it would be good warm. Was it really good warm? I might just try that sometime.
ReplyDeleteVery good warm -, that’s how I had the leftovers today for lunch, microwaved about 30 seconds to take the chill out
DeleteSounds delicious. Whether or not I serve something I never tried before depends on the level of palate adventure of my visitor.
ReplyDeleteI've made a pasta with a mildly spicy sauce from Lydia Bastianich. It is always delicious and simple to make, served with garlic bread and salad. We just had 15 people (mostly family) over recently and had lox and bagels with all the extras, someone brought a quiche, and my daughter made a lentil salad. But I like your idea Hallie because it is something a bit different and looks great!
ReplyDeleteMmmm Put lox in anything and I’m in. I have a recipe from the moosewood cookbook for a salmon and lox and potato casserole. That’s got cream cheese in it. It’s a great brunch dish.
DeletePreppy Kitchen
ReplyDeleteThese are one pot dishes.Preppy Kitchen's recipes always have turned out for me. Although I haven't tried these shown in the link, but I may try his meatloaf or curry.
Preppy Kitchen - going to look it up
DeleteHallie, this looks delicious and not hard at all. I would probably make it in the spring, right now I'm into soups and my crockpot!
ReplyDeleteSounds delicious! Anything with ginger and peanut butter!
ReplyDeleteMy go-to this time of year is Curry Butternut Squash soup in the slow cooker. I usually make it the day before on the stove (using my absolute favorite kitchen device - the immersion blender!), throw it in the slow cooker the morning of, and it is ready when we are.
Hi Robin, would you mind printing the recipe for Curry Butternut Squash? Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteYes, please. I might have to have friends over for lunch for this!
Deletewhen I was a Food & Drink writer, I used to call that process "making something out of nothing." I have to say, nothing I ever made looked as tasty or gourmet as that! My go to: chicken in mustard sauce served with brown rice, lasagna, beef stroganoff or one of my husband's slow cooker meals--Meals I can make ahead and heat up later.
ReplyDeleteOh, Gerri, I love that challenge: open the fridge and see what you can make from it.
DeleteSounds delicious, Hallie.
ReplyDeleteA couple weeks ago I hosted a ladies' brunch for my core group of girlfriends. My best friend of 50 years has had a rotten time of it lately, diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and her husband died suddenly in October, which meant spending--in quick succession--Thanksgiving, his 74th birthday, Christmas, and their 44th wedding anniversary, without him for the first time. We ALL needed cheering up.
I asked 7 friends and my oldest daughter (who has known her as long as I have) to bring the makings for mimosas, fruit salad, and croissants, and I made a crustless, creamy quiche in an 9x13 pan, plus baked sweet potato rounds with a creamy dressing. For dessert I made macaroons with and without a dark chocolate drizzle, and a go-to dark chocolate pomegranate tart from the Pom Wonderful website. I made up the recipe for the quiche, based on one I have been using for 50 years from the cookbook that came with my first microwave. (They watched me cooking it, and still didn't believe I made it in the microwave!) The sweet potato recipe came from online somewhere. I've made it before for book club, and it was a big hit.
I am 74, and my friends ranged from 68-81. More than half of them need hearing aids, some have serious mobility issues, and two now have dementia. It is so much nicer to enjoy one another's company in the quiet of a home, as opposed to a noisy restaurant with indifferent environments. I just hope I can continue to do this, since only a couple of the others are still able to host.
Karen, I'm going to look up that tart recipe, but I'd love your made-up quiche recipe. I used to have a Pom cookbook but not sure it's still around... I will confess that I'm addicted to POM--it's what I used in my gin cocktails.
DeleteRecipe please! Me too
DeleteDebs, I could not replicate that particular concoction, but I can give you the original. It's Quiche Lorraine, and has a crust. But I think you could easily make it crustless with no problem.
DeleteKaren, I so agree on how much nicer it is to eat at home these days. I'm sure hearing aids have settings for minimizing background noise but I haven't figured it out. So I leave with a headache from the more popular restaurants. Not to mention how expensive eating out has gotten.
DeleteNo kidding!
DeleteI will have to type out the microwave quiche recipe.
That looks SO good. I wasn't having lunch today, but now....
ReplyDeleteI know... writing this made me hungry, too.
DeleteI never have anyone over for lunch! If I get together with friends or my daughter for lunch, it's usually out. I get together with my two closest friends a couple of times a month, but we usually meet at our local bakery on Sunday morning and bring our treats and coffee back to my house, or we get together for wine and cheese. I'm inspired, though, by some of the suggestions today. And, Hallie, your peanut noodles sound delish. I may try those for dinner one night.
ReplyDeleteIt's healthy and delicious, even if there's some prep.
DeleteLate to comment. Hallie, this salad sounds delicious and I just might make it next time I host my Book Group.Although I will certainly try it before! When I meet my friend ds it’s usually for drinks and d’hoeurves, and that’s usually out. As is lunch.
ReplyDeleteThat looks absolutely fabulous, Hallie. Sorry to be so late to the party. It's been a day!
ReplyDeleteSesame noodles sounds yummy!
ReplyDelete