Cooking For Two

Yesterday during girls-night dinner, a dear and darling friend scooped chili on a plate for her boyfriend and seemed embarrassed by that. He had done her a favor and picked her up from work, she said. That was why she was assembling his meal. I didn’t tell her that I had steamed lamb meatballs for my husband and put them in a Tupperware so he’d have something to eat when he came home and found me gone. I didn’t tell her because in a certain light, Tupperware with a post-it note attached can be seen as a little housewifey, a little passive. It’s not. It’s just the way I express affection.

I’m not a real toucher or cuddler. If a friend links hands with me on the street, I have to consciously stop myself from twitching. But despite what I am oft accused of, I do feel fondness and affection. It just all goes into the stew pot. Dinner waiting on the table means I love you. A brown bagged lunch means, here’s a smooch for the road. It’s just how I emote. But I’d still rather feed someone in person than send them packing with Tupperware. Enter Cooking For Two, the perfect monthly contest for two birds in love.

COOKING FOR TWO (PASTA) CONTEST

The Rules: Submit a pasta recipe that can be made for 2 people in one of five categories. Entrees, Salads, Soups, Side Dishes, Sauces. Please include a few words about the recipe and a bit about yourself.

The Prize: Grand Prize will receive $500.00 in cash! Our second-place winner receives $250.00. Third place winner, a Euro-Pro Convection Toaster Oven valued at $89.99. Five runners-up will receive Taste of Home’s Quick-Fry Electric Skillet, valued at $24.99.

The Entry: Red Curry Pasta with Shrimp brings a taste of Asia into your home faster than take-out. With the click of a food processor, forget chopping and prep work. Try this at home and let spicy flavor whisk you out of this continent!

1 bunch green onion, (discard white root hairs and 6-inches of green stem)
1 peeled garlic clove
1 half-inch piece of peeled fresh ginger
4 sprigs of fresh cilantro, including stems
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
1 tablespoon bottled Asian red curry paste
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cups fish or chicken broth
1 ½ cups unsweetened coconut milk
6 ounces dried flat 1/8-inch-wide stir-fry rice noodles
1 lb peeled and deveined large shrimp (it’s okay to use the frozen kind!)
2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish

Cook rice noodles in boiling water for two minutes until soft and pliable. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside. In a food processor, chop green onions, garlic, ginger and cilantro fine. Add grated lime zest, curry paste, sugar, salt, turmeric, cardamom and 2-3 tablespoons of the broth and pulse until as smooth as possible. Heat oil in a 4-quart wide heavy pot over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Cook curry paste mixture, stirring frequently 5 to 6 minutes. Add coconut milk and remaining broth and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.

After sauce has boiled down slightly, add shrimp and simmer, stirring until shrimp are just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in fish sauce, lime and pepper. With a slotted spoon, remove cooked shrimp from pot and cover to keep warm. Immediately add cooked rice noodles to the hot sauce in pan and return to burner, cooking over low heat for less than a minute, stirring constantly. Divide hot noodles between two bowls, top with shrimp and garnish with cilantro.