Pan-Fried Garlic Noodles

I had this noodles at a restaurant in Palo Alto and am impressed on this easy to prepare dish. The ingredient is garlic and butter and oodles of noodles. I loved how the butter and garlic compliment each other to create a simple and light meal. Needless to say, this dish will keep the vampires at bay!

Ingredients:
1 packet fresh Chinese egg noodles (15 oz)
1 whole garlic, peeled and minced finely
1 tsp. chicken bouillon
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Cook fresh noodles accordingly to the instructions on the packet.
2. In a frying pan, heat oil on high and toss in noodles. Toss and stir noodles in the hot oil for about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm.
3. In the same pan, heat butter on medium until butter has melted. Add in minced garlic and chicken bouillon. Fry for about 8-10 minutes until garlic has turned soft but not brown. Remove from heat and add noodles to mix completely with the garlic oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Serve immediately.
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Springerle

Springerle is a white anise-flavored German cookie with an embossed design made by pressing into a special mold onto rolled-out dough. The cookies are then left out to dry before baking. This is a hard cookie and stores well for weeks. You can easily find the rolling pin or molds in specialty baking stores. I found mine in an antique store.

Ingredients: (makes about 50 cookies)
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. anise extract or oil
4½ cups Pillsbury Softasilk cake flour
Greased baking sheets
Method:
1. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs until fluffy and light. Mix in the anise extract into the egg mixture. Add in sugar gradually and beat in to mix. Fold in the flour and extract. Mix until it forms into a dough.
2. Roll out dough onto a floured surface to about ½ inch thickness. Dust the Springerle rolling pin with some flour, remove excess flour and press the design frimly onto the dough.
3. Cut cookies apart with a pizza cutter between the guide lines and cut each piece out carefully. Place them on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover and leave out to sit in a cool place overnight to dry.
4. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place cookies in oven and quickly reduce to 300°F. Bake until cookies turn from pale to light yellow. This takes about 8-10 minutes. Do not let it turn brown.
5. Remove and let cool on wire rack. Store in airtight containers.
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Grilled Asparagus with Pancetta

This is a simple and light dish for a weekend brunch. I love the flavor of pancetta with the asparagus spears. It also taste great with Holandaise sauce.
Ingredients: (serves 2)
12 asparagus spears
2 ozs. thinly sliced pancetta
2 slices bread (whole wheat or rye)
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 egg yolk
sea salt and pepper
Method:
1. Preheat grill or broiler. Bring a pot of water to boil and prepare a bowl of ice water on the side.
2. Cook eggs for 8 minutes (longer if you don't want a soft center) in boiling water, remove and place in ice water to cool. When cool enough to handle, peel shells and cut into half or chop in small pieces.
3. Discard any tough ends of the asparagus spears, wrap a slice of pancetta around middle of a pair of spears. Grill wrapped asparagus until pancetta is crispy.
4. Cut two pieces of bread with a round biscuit cutter, remove the middle and discard edges. Brush both sides of bread with softened butter. Grill bread on each side and set aside.
5. Mix olive oil with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Place a slice of bread on serving plate, drizzle with lemon/olive oil dressing; top with grilled asparagus and cooked egg.
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