Friday, February 01, 2008

Tuna Noodle Redux


Sometimes you just need your comfort food. And sometimes, your cupboards are pitifully bare. I had a night like this recently, and somehow managed to whip up this tasty dish which reminded me quite a lot of that childhood favorite, tuna noodle casserole (well, it was a favorite of mine at least!).

In our kitchen, this dish consisted of egg noodles, canned cream of mushroom soup, milk, and tuna. Toss it all together and bake it, take it out of the oven, gorge yourself and wait for the stomachache to commence! Mmmm, don't I make it sound appetizing? Well not to worry, the version I made was a tad more elegant, and it hit the spot. And it was so easy! Alas, there were no mushrooms in this dish, but it was still tasty, and lighter than the original, thankfully!

I managed to scrounge up a wee bit of dried pappardelle, a can of tuna, and some herb butter from my sad little kitchen. All I did was cook the noodles, toss them in the herb butter, and mix in some of the tuna. Oh, I also had some shredded parmesan, so I tossed in a bit of that as well. I reserved a bit of the water that I used to cook the noodles, and sprinkled in a teeny bit to moisten, and within the time it took to boil the water and open a can, I had dinner. I like those kinds of nights. If you make this and are feeling extra fancy, some lightly sauteed shitake mushrooms would be a lovely addition, as would toasted breadcrumbs. Or, there's always my perennial favorite, frozen peas! Use it if you've got it, I say.

And on an unrelated note, it was a great experience to go without any form of alcohol for a month, but now, the month is new! And with that, I'm off to enjoy a cold, bitter, strong, delicious beer. Cheers!

No comments: