Cold Noodles with Peanut Sauce

There's a term for this type of recipe: assimilation foods. It's a recipe adapted to ingredients found in local grocery stores.

Recipe adapted from Luke Tsai, on Taste.

Ingredients
Noodles - whatever you have, from spaghetti to Chinese egg noodles

Toppings:
Cucumber, julienned or grated
Carrot, julienned or grated
Egg - quickly cooked into a crepe and julienned
Cooked ham, julienned
(Options: shredded cooked chicken or turkey, bell pepper, bean sprouts, water chestnut, jicama, snow peas, shredded cabbage, fresh parsley or cilantro, etc.)

Sauce (for 2-4 servings)
1/4 cup peanut butter (Luke says smooth only but I used chunky and it was fine. Tahini would be even more authentic to the original if you have it.)
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
pinch of sugar
hot water to thin

Homemade Irish Cream

I've resurrected Ye Olde Blogge to collect some recipes, so I have them all in one place. I've been cooking a lot since social distancing went into effect, like a lot of folks. Instead of the quick dinners, I've been going back and dusting off those time-consuming, special occasion recipes. Cooking is both therapeutic and indulgent for me, and I guess there's no time like now for a little extra of both.

 Here's one from the holidays, adapted from Smitten Kitchen. No cook, so much tastier than the commercial version.

Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
1 small can (300 ml) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup whiskey
1 tsp cocoa powder
a dash of vanilla
a dash of Kahlua

Directions
Put a spoonful of cream into the cocoa and make a paste (if you dump all the cocoa straight into the cream, it will clump up). Slowly add more cream until it's thick enough to whisk, then whisk in the rest of the cream. Then whisk in the condensed milk, whiskey and flavorings. (The vanilla and Kahlua add great complexity but can be omitted if you don't like them.)

Will last for over a month in the fridge.

Great as a holiday host/hostess gift. I like it in a post-dinner coffee, while my sister likes it on the rocks. Also makes a killer addition to French toast batter.

Ricotta

This is the recipe from Molly Wizenberg's book, Delancey.

Ricotta is pretty easy to make - the only equipment you really need is cheesecloth. (If you have a candy thermometer, that's also useful but not strictly necessary.)

Ingredients
6-1/2 cups whole milk
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp salt

Directions
Put the three dairy ingredients in a heavy pot (I use my trusty yellow dutch oven) over medium heat. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching. If you have a thermometer, stop stirring when it reaches 180°F. If you don't have a thermometer, I stop stirring when it starts to separate and form a floating layer of curds.

Continue to cook until the curds are clumpy and the whey is mostly clear. Take it off the heat and let set for 30 min at room temperature. Ladle curds over cheesecloth and leave it to drain until desired consistency: soft and creamy, versus a little thicker and stiffer - depends on what you want to use it for. (Don't press on it!)

Add salt. Will last for about a week, but tastes best the first three days.

Full recipe makes about a pound of cheese. Recipe can be halved successfully as well.

Uses: Excellent in lasagna, and in raspberry ricotta cake. Or spooned over toast with a grind of pepper.