Category: Sides and Veggies

The first time I ever had brown butter noodles was at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Salt Lake City.  They were so yummy that I decided I needed to figure out how to make them.  It seemed like it would be simple.  And it was.  Here is my recipe for Brown Butter Noodles.  You will love how easy they are to make.  You will also be glad to have a dish that cooks up quick and looks  and tastes like you went to a lot of work.  This is a nice one to serve to guests.

Here’s the list of ingredients….brace yourself……

Butter (must be real), Noodles, Myzithra Cheese (pronounced Meh-zee-tra.  You should be able to find it in your specialty cheese section.)

First, bring your water to a boil and add your noodles with some salt and a little oil, if you’d like.

While that’s cooking, grab another small saucepan and put it over low heat.

Let it start melting.

It will start to bubble.  That’s okay.

I actually had the heat at just a little above low, like so.  And the stove was wiped off.  It looks like my kids wiped it.  Hmmm……

Keep letting it cook.  It will get really bubbly.  You can stir it a time or two if you’d like, as well.   You don’t want the butter to burn, but to brown.  That’s why we keep it on low heat.

After it gets really bubbly, it will suddenly start to turn brown.  You can tell because the frothiness starts to dissipate.

See how low the bubbles are now?  And you can see the brown color.  So shut your stove off.

I slid some of the bubbles over so you can see the color and how it is so clear that you can see some brown bits on the bottom.  Brown bits = Yummy!

Your noodles should be done by now, so drain them.   Then put them back in your pan or in a serving bowl.

Pour your butter over the noodles.

Make sure you put in those nice brown bits.

Stir it all into your noodles.

To Serve:  Take a scoop of noodles out and put it on  your plate, then grate some Myzithra cheese on top.  The cheese is what makes it so good.  Start with a smaller amount, then add as desired.

Browned Butter Noodles

1 cube butter

1 8 oz package spaghetti noodles

1 wedge Myzithra cheese

Cook noodles according package directions.  Drain.  Melt butter in saucepan over low heat.  Continue cooking until butter has browned.  Turn off heat.  Pour butter over cooked noodles.  Place noodles on plate.  Sprinkle grated cheese on top.  Serve warm.

We LOVE twice baked potatoes at our house.  You  can make them fairly simply so don’t be scared of them unless of course you are feeding the ball team.  Then get help!  They love them.  Trust me.

What you’ll need:

Baking potatoes, butter, milk, sour cream, mayonnaise, onion, seasoned salt, cheese, paprika.

Here we go:

First, wash your potatoes thoroughly and place them in your hot oven unwrapped and bake for approximately 1 hour on 350 or until they are soft in the center when pierced with a fork.  I didn’t take a picture of this because I assumed everyone would know how to bake a potato.  Hope that’s okay.

Remove them from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.  This helps you not to burn your hands.  Okay.  Yes.  I’ve done it because I’ve been in a hurry and burnt my hands.  In that case, use your hot pad.

Begin by slicing the top off the potato.  I do not chop mine in half.  I like more potato, so I only cut about 1/4 – 1/3 off the top.

Just enough to create a nice “boat” like  above.

Then with your spoon, create a little edge around your potato (about 1/4″) to create an outer shell.

I go all the way around the potato.

Then scoop them out into your bowl leaving your edge.

Like so.  Then place the shell on your cookie sheet and repeat with other potatoes until they are all scooped out.  If you hate cleanup like me, you can line your cookie sheet with tinfoil.

Scoop out that little bit in the tops that you cut off, too.  No wasting here!

If your mom that loves potato peels is around, give her those tops to eat.

With all the potato filling in the bowl, we will now add the ingredients.  First, butter.  Mmmmm.

Then milk, mayo, and sour cream.  Oh yeah!  It’s getting good!

Now, grate your onion.  Sorry about those white knuckles.  I was working hard!

Then add your seasoned salt, and pepper if you’d like, and some grated cheese.

<

Then stick your mixer in there and start blending.  Doesn’t have to be smooth.  Unless you want it to.  Chunky says “twice-baked” if you ask me.

Now start filling your potatoes.

Kind of press it in to make sure they are filled good.

Make sure you heap them so they are full over the top.  Repeat with remaining potato shells.

If you have any left and have them filled as much as you want, you have my permission to eat the remainders.  We fight over that little bit at our house.

This is the frilly part.  It delights your guests and just speaks “classy.”  Sprinkle a little bit of paprika on them.  It makes them look pretty.  It may add some flavor, but I mostly do it because it looks fancier.  Listen….I watch a lot of food network.  Okay?

Now take your grated cheese and kind of press it into the tops.  Put as much as you like on there.  We love cheese around here, so I try to be somewhat generous.

Once you have them all done, pop them into the oven.  If you’re in a hurry, put them at 350 for about 5 minutes.  You just want the cheese to melt.  If you are still preparing other meal items, then put the temperature lower to keep them warm and melt them.

At this point, you can also put them in the fridge.  If I am cooking for a large group or a special occasion.  I can make these in the morning,then put them in the fridge like this and pop them in the oven at dinner time.  It is a nice side dish that can be made ahead and keep things simpler in the kitchen at dinner time.

Oh YUMMY!!! Look at that!! My mouth is watering!

This particular night, we had creamed peas and The Pioneer Woman’s Grilled Ribeye Steak with Onion-Bleu Cheese sauce.  And those are the mushrooms I tried from Pioneer Woman.  I LOVE mushrooms– especially on steak!

MMMMMMMmmmmmmm Good!

Denise’s Twice Baked Potatoes