Friday, November 26, 2010

My Noodle Bowl

Happy  PINK Saturday everyone!
Please stop by and say HI to Ms Beverly, at How Sweet The Sound our host every week for PINK Saturday. 
This is my noodle bowl. 

My Dad bought it for my Mom many years ago at an auction. It was manufactured by Home Laughlin and the name of the pattern is Georgia.

I love the curved handles on the sides, the delicate gold rim and the sweet PINK berry pattern.
But I love this bowl because a couple times of year it comes out of the china cabinet to hold a family treasure..... Egg Noodles!

My Mother made these and her Mother before her and her Mother before her. I'm not sure how far back this recipe goes but I'm pretty sure it was probably brought from Germany with my ancestors. Every single Holiday spent with my Mom's Mom included a huge bowl of these, they were as much a part of the holiday dinners as turkey and pumpkin pie. And there is even a funny PINK story to go  with them! We always add a few drops of yellow food coloring when the noodles are cooking just to give them a little color. Well one year my mom added a few drops and started stirring the pot but the noodles didn't turn yellow, they turned PINK! Someone had switched the lids on the red and yellow food coloring.

But sadly, as much a part of our family traditions as these were, to my knowledge, I am the only relative of my grandma's that not only knows how to make them but still does. It's not hard to make them but it is a little time consuming and it does take practice.
There are only two ingredients, flour and eggs. To make a large batch to serve 6-8 people you will need 3 eggs and 2-3 cups of flour. In a large mixer (or food processor) beat the eggs until blended. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time. Knowing how much flour to add is one of the hardest things to judge. The dough should be sticky but not wet.

Once the eggs and flour are mixed, spread flour over a large area on your counter top and coat your hands with flour too. Remove the dough from the mixer and roll in to a ball. Lay the ball on the counter and begin rolling with a well floured rolling pin. Lift and flip the dough several times, adding more flour to the counter top. 


The dough is ready when it is the thickness thinner than a dime.


Cut this large rectangle in half, and stack the two halves on top of each other, coating the layers with flour before you stack. Cut this half in half again, and stack, adding more flour.

Now cut this in to two rectangles but do not stack. 

Using a sharp knife, cut each rectangle into strips. Separate the the four layers into 4 noodles and spread on a cookie sheet to dry for 2 days. 

When it's time to cook the noodles, bring two boxes of chicken broth to a boil and slowly add the noodles a few at a time. Continue boiling, stirring constantly until the noodles are cooked and the broth thickens, approximately 30 mins. Enjoy!

14 comments:

  1. Happy Pink Saturday Nan, I think your noodles are as much work as my egg but I'm sure yours taste better! Love the bowl, what a treasure! Pinky Hugs sweet girl, Marilou

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  2. Beautiful bowl and your noodles look great!

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  3. What a wonderful story of tradition and love-I'd like to try those pink noodles~

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  4. My Grandmother taught me how to make the same noodles. They are soooo much better than store noodles. Thanks for bringing back precious memories of her. Your blog is beautiful. Thanks for visiting mine too.
    Ginger

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  5. I thought I was one of the few who made noodles. My families favorite meal is chicken and noodles. I make my noodles and the day before I had boiled my chicken and pulled the meat off. Then I defat the broth and when boiling add my noodles and pulled meat. I cook the noodles that way and they put it on top of mashed potatoes. I know, carb city, but that's how his mom did it. They are so good. Looks like I might try your recipe and I never added food coloring either. They look pretty.

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  6. I remember making these noodles with my grandma. But she Italianed them up with tomato sauce and meat and oh were they good!Happy Pink Saturday. Hey, I'm having a give away!

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  7. Such a good looking post. Not good if you wee hungry. You have a real treasure with that Homer Laughlin dish. His work is hard to find and pricey if you do.

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  8. I do love your noodle bowl, but I am loving the recipe for homemade noodles, too. Thanks for sharing.

    Happy Pink Saturday from California which doesn't begin with a "V", lucky me!!!

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  9. Your noodle bowl is beautiful and the family heirloom quality it portrays is very special. As for homemade noodles....You Go Girl! I do love chicken noodle soup...can just imagine how wonderful homemade would be. Happy Noodlein' and Pink Saturday!

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  10. The bowl is stunning and almost looks like a Christmas bowl. Love the pattern! My DH's favorite is chicken n' noodle soup. My chicken noodle soup is very good but imagine it with your home made noodles...man oh man! Happy Pink Saturday. :)

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  11. What a beautiful bowl. I have never heard of a noodle bowl before. Your noodles look so much like the ones my grandma used to make. Thanks for the great pictures. I always have trouble rolling and foldiing them. Happy pink Saturday.

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  12. Beautiful noodle bowl, thanks for sharing about your families tradition and the recipe for the noodles.
    Happy PS
    Gail

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  13. Your noodle bowl is lovely. I love Homer Laughlin :-)
    *´¨)
    ¸.*´¸.**´¨) ¸.**´¨)
    (¸.*´ (¸.*´* LORI LYNN *

    PS: I'm having a Holiday giveaway!!
    http://lorilynnscottage.blogspot.com/2010/11/holiday-happiness-giveaway.html

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  14. Yum!! I might have to try these! They sound wonderful! Happy Pink Wednesday! I am getting around a little late this week!

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I appreciate each and every one of your comments! Thank you for taking the time to leave such nice words!