Tonight I pose an age old question.
If it looks like spaghetti and meatballs…
and smells like spaghetti and meatballs….
and twirls on your fork like spaghetti and meatballs…
does it TASTE like spaghetti and meatballs???
Hmmmmm……..
Tonight’s dinner was courtesy of 3 factors:
1.) Poor planning and insufficient food purchasing during my weekly grocery shopping trip.
2.) Insufficient time and energy to make a second grocery shopping trip.
and
3.) 3 random ingredients I happened to have on hand each of which was purchased (no doubt) during a hunger induced trip to the grocery store where lots of little odds and ends somehow ended up in my cart despite not being on my list and have since been sitting collecting dust (or freezer burn, as the case may be) in my kitchen.
So what’s a hungry gal to do?
Make spaghetti meatballs of course! Err… well sort of anyway.
I’m guessing most of you probably consider diced tomatoes to be a fairly normal pantry staple. I on the other hand LOATHE them (unless they are sufficiently masked in a recipe). So tonight when I dumped the can of diced tomatoes into the pot I seasoned it LIBERALLY with anything Italian-ish in hopes of covering up their weird tinny taste.
Then I popped six Trader Joes meatless meatballs into the sauce and let it all simmer away.
Next it was on to the Shirataki noodles. I first saw these on the Hungry Girl show on Food Network and have been anxious to try them ever since. Tofu noodles?? 40 calories for the whole bag??? How could you not be intrigued?
The instructions said to rinse the noodles, drain, then microwave, and pat dry. Easy enough! I followed each step diligently, and as I went to pop them into the microwave I caught a whif of this funky nose curling scent. I paused eyes scanning the room as I tried to determine what on earth had gone awry in my kitchen, and then I realized it was the noodles I was preparing to ingest. They smelled. Like garbage. No… Like rotting fish that had been sitting out in the sun for a few hours.
Do to the stench, I decided it’d be best to give the noodles an extra super thorough rinse. Funny how I was still more than willing to eat the noodles… I mean.. 40 calorie noodles, people! You gotta be willing to give a little with the take!
After nuking them in microwave for a minute I dried the crap out of them (and most of the stench) with a few paper towels.
I combined these 3 random ingredients on my plate, and VOILA!! I had spaghetti and meatballs! Or more appropriately named Tofu Noodle Substitute and Meatless Meatballs! Has a nice ring to it, eh?
Bet you’re wondering if it was any good huh??
Well this is what my plate looked like at the end of dinner:
Guess that pretty much sums it up! Clearly, the highlight of this meal was the meatless meatballs. They got pretty soft once cooked (but managed to still hold together). I might try baking them in the oven next time to see if they firm up at all. Regardless, I’d definitely give two thumbs up on the meatless meatballs!
And the noodles were… ehhhh.. It’s not that they tasted “bad” per se, but they had this really ODD texture. Really rubbery. I guess it just felt wrong in my mouth. Like my belly was saying “please, please, please for the love of all that is edible do not ingest those things!”
So I didn’t cuz when my belly talks, I sure as hell listen.
And now I think a cupcake is in order 
Emeril Lagasse’s newest restaurant, E2, opens in Charlotte Thursday January 26th. Monday night, Vanessa, my favorite foodie friend, and I got the opportunity to check out the new restaurant space and sample the wares. For those who aren’t familiar with Emeril, he is a boisterous celebrity chef, author, and restauranteur and (most importantly) my grandma loves him. I first became acquainted with Emeril through his shows on the Food Network. I was instantly attracted to the peculiar pairing of his cheerful easygoing personality and his serious kitchen demeanor. He is, in my mind, an ultimate foodie, and I both admire and envy him for it.
I’ve always liked watching Emeril cook. He’s a burly man with a big personality who likes even BIGGER flavor. Arguably, Emeril is most known for adding spice to food. He lets you know things are about to get serious by exclaiming “let’s kick it up a notch!” or voicing a booming *BAM* at the addition of a spicy ingredient. Given this *BAM* factor and Emeril’s ties to New Orleans, I was ready for some serious flavors at E2.
