Noodle Pillows

By Andrew Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

We’ve just returned from Japan full of noodles. The boys ate noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner and even took a ramen noodle cooking class.

And so I started getting sentimental about my noodle pillow past at The China Moon Café where I was the chef de cuisine … a very stylish Chinese restaurant before Chinese food was stylish, owned by Barbara Tropp, who was dubbed the Julia Child of the Chinese kitchen. BT, who has since passed away, was a dear friend and mentor. I still ask BT for advice on all flavors Asian.

The kitchen was in the basement at the bottom of a very steep and narrow staircase that BT painted bright red. One evening I was making noodle pillows downstairs while BT was having dinner with Jacques Pépin upstairs.

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Moroccan Meatballs

By Andrew Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

Meatballs are made for boys and maybe for girls, too, but in our house boys rule the roost, except for Marilyn, of course, who’s really in charge. In addition to being an accomplished maker of spaghetti and meatballs, she experiments with a variety of seasonings, sauces and meat blends.

It’s always fun to watch Ben and Nick when Marilyn announces that dinner is meatballs; their faces light up, they typically yelp with joy a few times and Nick often breaks into a dance, or lately, does a break dance. Meatballs are also a fun interactive family dinner because the boys roll the meat mixture into balls and other odd shapes.

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Dubliner Breakfast Toast

By Andrew Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

One of my favorite food memories as a kid was making cheese toast with my brother. We would toast regular white bread, layer on thick slices of yellow cheese, then add “too much pepper and garlic salt, ” which was just enough by our standards, and then broil them in the oven until mouth-burning hot. I’m sure the cheese dripped down onto the floor of the oven making a mess for mom to worry about.

But alas, our tastes have grown up and we now have our own ovens to clean. So I have refined this childhood favorite in the spirit of St. Patrick. Instead of white sandwich bread, I slice artisan sourdough, and instead of sliced yellow Cheddar I grate Dubliner cheese and sprinkle with minced fresh garlic. The sharp, nutty flavor of the Dubliner takes this dish to a whole new level. Dubliner Breakfast toast is quickly becoming one of Ben and Nick’s childhood favorites too!

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A Lenten Fish and Chips Dinner

By Andrew Hunter
For The Family Table, a blog for busy families

It’s great to be back! I just finished shooting the premiere season of a new reality show, Supermarket Superstar, airing soon on Lifetime Network. I’ll share more information as it gets closer to the launch date.

In the meantime, here’s a great family fish recipe just in time for Lent. As we approach the fourth Sunday of Lent and the Feast of Saint Patrick, we’ve been eating a lot of fish in our house, especially on Fridays. While I prefer a grilled salmon filet, there’s something to be said for Friday night fish and chips dinners.

Not surprisingly, if you asked our boys, they would tell you that fish and chips is their favorite seafood dish. There’s a great fish grill we can walk to from our house where the fish is fresh and the beer is cold.

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Scallion Pancakes for Chinese New Year

By Sandy Hu
A new video for Video Friday

Chinese New Year falls on Sunday, February 10, as we usher in the year of the snake. Despite our Chinese surname, our family doesn’t have a tradition of celebrating this important Chinese holiday. But we might cook up a few Chinese dishes, just to feel connected.

It you’re putting together a New Year menu in celebration, try this Scallion Pancake recipe from Andrew Hunter, for starters. He shows busy families how to shortcut the prep time by using flour tortillas instead of making the pancakes from scratch.

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