Oodles of Noodles

Every family has its own special "must-have" dishes to make the Christmas dinner just right. At our house, you can keep the dressing and pumpkin pie. It's all about the noodles.

When I was first learning to cook, I was so frustrated by the good cooks in my family who didn't have exact measurements for their recipes. My mother-in-law always said she'd just start at one end of the kitchen and keep going till she reached the other, dirtying up every pot and pan in the place. My mother claims she adds ingredients "until it feels right."

Grrr! How could I ever fix anything with advice like that?

So let me apologize in advance if my noodle recipe seems a bit loosey-goosey. Mom was right. Sometime, you do have to rely on feelings. And my M-I-L would be happy to know making my noodles spreads flour in all directions. But my family loves them, so here's what I do:

Ingredients:
All purpose flour (2-4 cups, depending on how many noodles you want)
salt 1/2 teaspoon
eggs 2-4 depending on how many noodles you want
milk 1/3 cup (add more if you want more noodles)
cream of tartar 1/4 teaspoon
baking powder 1/4 teaspoon

Directions:

1. Start the night before you mean to serve the noodles!
2. Whip the eggs and milk together in a large bowl.
3. Add the cream of tartar and salt, stirring vigorously (Get some kids involved at this point!)
4. Begin adding flour one cup at a time and mix it thoroughly with the wet ingredients. Eventually, you'll need to use your hands to work the flour in. But don't knead it too much or the noodles will be tough.
5. Spread some of the left over flour onto a pastry cloth, putting a pile of flour in the center. 
6. Form your noodle dough into a ball and place on the center of your cloth. Pour the last of the flour on top before you begin rolling the dough out with a rolling pin. 
7. Cover with a cloth and let dry overnight.
8. The next morning, cut the dough into noodles.
9. Heat a stock pot of broth to a rolling bowl and then add noodles a few at a time. Once they've boiled for 5 minutes under your watchful eye and stirring spoon, turn the heat down until the noodles are barely bubbling. Set a timer and stir every 5 minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. 
10. Do not stir in a circle or you'll end up with the world's largest dumpling! 
11. After the noodles have cooked for an hour, serve to your grateful family. They'll love them!

You can make them well in advance and freeze them. Once cooked, they are great left over and can be worked into casseroles and soups.

Here's wishing you and your family the merriest of Christmases! Enjoy!

And speaking of enjoying, be sure you check out the recipes from the Green Apple Grill, home to my hunky hero in The Coldwater Warm Hearts Club.