Turkey Spaghetti Bake

Baked Spaghetti is so good it should have its own fancy name. Baghetti? Anyway, the way the sauce thickens up and gels with the meat and noodles is nothing short of magic and they way it pleases your taste buds is practically food porn. What makes this dish even better is the versatility of ingredients you can use. Drop whatever meat or veggies (within reason) you have in the mix and its just as good.

 

This is the last bit of turkey from Thanksgiving. Mostly the darker and smaller bits that were not even put on the platter. Perfect for the Spaghetti bake.  Just chop it up or pull it apart for a more rustic texture to the dish. 

Next up, chop up some bread. If you have some crusty bread around that is a couple of days old, even better! The bread will keep this dish from getting to dense and will sponge up the liquids and olive oil.

I like to cut the onion up in small and large pieces. This will keep some pieces tender and others more caramelized. Thus, the full range of onion flavor.

Putting the ingredients for a dish all on a plate together, will give you a good idea of ratio and proportion. If you are prone to over doing it with garlic, onions or any ingredients I suggest you lay it all out like this to get a good visual on it.

This is a good point to get the oven warming up. I like baking this at 375. Slightly higher temps will give you a crustier top and bottom.

Use a tablespoon or so of olive oil infused with some dry herbs to coat the baking dish. I used basil and oregano in mine. Be sure your baking dish is oven safe, then drop in the bits you want to be on top of your Spaghetti Bake when you flip it over. I chose some meat, bread, onions and garlic bits.

 

Next pile on the Spaghetti. I suggest a good wholewheat spaghetti noodles. I cooked mine for about 5 minutes and then rinsed them in cold water. Just get the noodles limber enough to finish cooking in the oven. 

It's important to completely cover the noodles with the spaghetti sauce. This will keep the noodles from getting crunchy. Crunch noodles are number 1 buzz kill of baked Spaghetti. Don't let it happen to you.

Whistle whistle... twiddle twiddle.. and 30 minutes later you get this bit of grub magic. Never mind the chard sauce on the sides. We will be flipping this just as soon as it cools and pulls itself slightly away from the dish edges.  Just dump a little parmesan cheese on it and and get yourself a good beverage to wash down the goods.

My flipping technic involves placing the plate upside-down on the bowl, then flipping both in unison. At that point just walk away.. fight the urge to open it up and give it 2 minutes or so to gather itself before using a knife to edge under the bowl and pull it off. 

Dump a little more parmesan cheese on the top with a little bit of balsomic vingare and you've done it. The last of the turkey and the makings of a home baked good mood.

Giddy Up - New Belgium Brewery

As the brewer of the greatest beer in th world (Fat Tire), New Belgium has the right to try whatever they want as far as I am concerned. After trying Giddy Up! I can tell you that I have never had a better coffee infused beer. Never! That said, its average at best. If you purchase the folly pack, the two bottles of Giddy Up! will be the last ones in the fridge. On first sip, Giddy Up! is shocking and totally wrong in your mouth. Like when you accidently grab a drink of expired milk. After guzzling a little down you'll find the beer is not nearly as obscene to your taste buds as it was a few sips ago and you can actually start to taste some of the lemon in beer. By the time you get to the bottom of the bottle.. well, you can at least say you tried it.

Save the Giddy Up! for guests and people you don't really like anyway. Stick with the Fat Tire.

Anti Taco Bell Egg Roll

Why any one craves the crappy food that Taco Bell puts out is beyond me. With such simple ingredients I don't understand how Taco Hell manages to make it taste like such complete and total crap. With that as motivation, here is a unique and tasty option that wont have you sitting on the toilet for the better part of the next morning.

A simple bean and cheese egg roll that provides everything tired drunk person needs in a quick Mexican finger food.

What you need:
Egg roll wrappers
Sliced American Cheese
Re-fried beans
1 tablespoon of olive oil

It's anything but complicated but there is a good chance drunk people will be cooking this so lets spell it out.

1. Set the egg roll wrappers out to warm up to room temperature for easier folding and get some olive oil heating up in a medium heat pan.

2. Gather up the materials and tools you'll need.
Crack that can of re-fried beans open and do your best not to notice how similar it is to dog food. Then, peal the plastic off a slice of American cheese and your ready to assemble.

3. Assemble.
Place the egg roll wrapper on the working surface and the slice of American cheese on the upper portion of the wrap. Do your best to keep it lined up with the egg roll wrapper, it will roll better. Then, spread the re-fried beans directly on top of the cheese slice. Squirt a little hot sauce of your choice on the re-fried beans if you need the spice. I suggest it.

4. Roll and pan fry.
Roll the egg roll wrapper from the top down until the ingredients are fully wrapped (about half way) then fold in the side corners, taking care to keep it nice and neat. Once you have them tucked in, roll the rest of the way down and seal with a little water or hot sauce.

A poorly rolled egg roll will let all the melting cheese out and who wants to get jipped on cheese. This post shows a proper roll.

Tilt the pan slightly to pool the oil and hold one end of the egg roll in the hot oil to seal the ends. This will keep it from squirting out all over your shirt and party pants. Then, place the rolled bean and cheese egg roll in the pan and let it get gold brown on all sides.

Lastly, set the egg roll to the side for just a couple of minutes as not to burn the crap out of you mouth. This is a good time to crack another beer and get a show on the tube.

Enjoy.