Day one of the World Tour...Singapore noodles. Day two's recipe Pastichio

 

Dinner was so yummy!  There is an incredible amount of prep that goes into Singapore Noodles, but it is so worth it.  I spent my afternoon as my own Sous Chef.  Once everything was prepped (mind you I had no idea how many guests would show so I prepped enough for 3 recipes), I relaxed for a bit, waited for the guests to arrive and find out if there were any allergies I needed to be aware of.  There were no allergies and I only had to make 1 recipe's worth of dinner.  I boxed up 2 bonus dinners and served the rest.

Speaking of Sous Chef, one shortcut I can think of is for the julienned carrots.  I always make carrot sticks every week for DH to take in his lunch that he brings to work.  I used carrot sticks that I had left from Friday for the julienned carrots.  It was easy to just chop the sticks into 6 smaller pieces.  I'm sure commercial carrot sticks would work the same way, and it would save a step in your dinner prep.

Wednesday is Pastichio.  Miss M was asking me tonight what it was, but I do remember her liking this the last time I made it. This was one the whole family loved.  Again it's another labor intensive dinner, but so worth it when you have time.  It's break and so I have that kind of time now.  I also know I will really appreciate the bonus dinner on January 12th! :) 

This could be put in two different dishes and baked at the same time and one could be frozen intact for another day, reheated in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 350° making it two 6 serving dinners.  That was me when I had a fuller house.  Now I'm content to serve this to company first and then portion out bonus dinners for later.

Pastichio

1½ c. unsalted butter, divided

6 rounded T. flour

1 qt. milk, heated

2½ c. grated Parmesan, divided

9 eggs, divided

Salt & pepper to taste

1½ lb. elbow macaroni, cooked

2 large onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2½ lbs. ground beef

½ 6 oz. can tomato paste

½ c. water or tomato juice

½ t. ground cinnamon

Dash nutmeg

           Melt 1 c. butter in a large saucepan.  Add the flour and stir until golden.  Gradually add the hot milk, stirring constantly over low heat until the sauce is thick and smooth.  Stir in ½ c. of the cheese; cool.  Beat 6 eggs; stir into sauce.  Season to taste.  Melt the remaining butter in a large skillet.  Sauté the onions and garlic until golden.  Add the ground beef, stirring until the meat is browned.  Don’t pour off the fat.  Add the tomato paste, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper (to taste).  Stir and simmer for 20 minutes.  To the macaroni, add the remaining 3 eggs and a handful of cheese.  Butter a high sided 9 x 13 or 10 x 15 pan.  Spread with half the macaroni.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Pat the mixture down.  Add the meat, spreading to cover.   Sprinkle with more cheese.  Top with the remaining macaroni and remaining cheese.  Press down.  Spread the cream sauce on top.  Bake at 350° until firm and golden, about 1 hour.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Makes 12 servings.