Five-Minute Forever Garlic Noodles For Two

These five-minute garlic noodles are savory, a little spicy, and easy to fall for. They started as the midnight snack my mom made when I was growing up; in my twenties, they inspired a steady stream of marriage proposals from guy friends, which tells you almost everything you need to know.

Ingredients

8 oz somen noodles

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon chili oil, plus more to taste (optional)

4 scallions, finely chopped

1 teaspoon avocado or canola oil

6 tablespoons low-sodium tamari or soy sauce

1 star anise (optional)*

Chopped serrano, jalapeño, or Fresno chile pepper (optional)

Instructions

In a large bowl, stir together the garlic, sesame oil, chili oil, scallions, avocado oil, tamari, star anise, and fresh peppers if using.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until tender but still springy, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the noodles directly to the sauce and toss until evenly coated and glossy. The noodles should turn a light brown throughout.Taste and add more tamari, soy sauce, or chili oil as needed.

Note:

I learned this recipe by sight and taste from my mom, not from a written recipe, so trust your instincts and adjust as you go.

Optional upgrade*

My mom made a dish we called dee-kah, similar to hong shao rou, aka red-braised pork. If you happen to have a little of that broth—or a bit of the pork—on hand, adding some here makes these noodles especially good. Omit the star anise if you add this.

The Joneses' Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

This If Pigs Could Fly Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding has been passed down through the Jones family for generations, although Ava is the first person to make it part of foreplay. Buttery croissants, chocolate, and warm vanilla custard: honestly, the recipe bears some responsibility.

Ingredients

• butter for the baking dish

• 5 large egg yolks

• 1 cup whole milk

• 1 cup heavy cream

• ¼ cup granulated sugar or less if you prefer

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

• 6 croissants (1 lb) cut in half lengthwise

• 6 oz bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao) chopped into chunks or semi-sweet chocolate chips

• Optional: Bourbon cream sauce
  

• Step One:
  Preheat your oven to 375°F and butter a shallow 2-quart baking dish so nothing sticks.

• Step Two:
  In a big mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, and salt, until smooth and well combined.

• Step Three:
  Lay the bottom half of the croissants down, then top with chopped chocolate or chocolate chips, place the croissant tops over the chocolate, then add the custard mixture, making sure everything gets evenly coated. Use the back of a large spoon to press the custard mixture into the croissants. Let sit for ten minutes to let the croissant absorb the custard. 

• Step Four:
  Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. If you have an instant-read thermometer, it should hit at least 160°F, and the top should be golden brown. If your croissants brown early in the process, you can cover with aluminum foil to keep it from overbrowning

• Step Five:
  Let it cool slightly for at least ten minutes to let the custard set, then dig in while it’s warm. Jared’s mom, Patricia, added a bourbon cream sauce. I like a dollop of homemade whipped cream, with a mint sprig or edible flower on top.

Miso Sesame Orange Aioli/Dressing

This recipe appears in Chapter 39, Into Her Arms. Ava uses it on a Dungeness crab salad and notes it’s her favorite thing on the menu she makes for her Marisol’s Divorce party, but it’s not because it’s the prettiest—though it is, all pale microgreens, paper-thin daikon, and avocado fanned just so—but because it belongs to the island. Tide to table in the truest sense. She caught the crab herself, out on a boat with her buddy Brett at sunrise, hauling cages up from eighty feet of cold Pacific Northwest water. If you don’t happen to have a boat, a crab pot, and eighty feet of cold Pacific water nearby, this is how I usually suggest serving it.

AIOLI/DRESSING:

1 cup mayo

¼ finely chopped shallot

1 to 2 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil

1 splash of red wine vinegar

1 tsp of honey or agave

1 to 2 tablespoons of white or yellow miso paste to taste

Juice from squeezing half an orange

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend ‘til smooth. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

SALAD:

Spring Salad mix

Radicchio, hand torn

Green onions, slivered on the diagonal, Japanese style

Sliced English cucumbers on the diagonal

Slivered radishes

Thai rice noodles, like the wide ones used for Pad See Ew or the thinner ones used for pad thai

Poached chicken breast, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

Soften flat rice noodles according to package directions, and set aside. 

When the noodles are cooled or room temp, lay a handful in the bottom of a large salad bowl or in individual bowls. Add a dollop of dressing and toss. Place a spring salad mix on top of that, add the remaining salad ingredients, poached chicken slices, and anything else you’d love. Lightly toss the salad. I like to add a nasturitum flower on this salad. It’s peppery and pretty to look at.