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Wednesday, April 25, 2001
Ranch dressing dolls up egg noodles
This simple dish can be done in a low-fat way
By Joyce Rosencrans
Scripps Howard News Service
A small, black chalkboard was propped against a deacon's bench in the narrow entry hall of Beare's Restaurant and Catering. The board listed specials of the day, homemade desserts and something called "ranch noodles."
   Family business
   Beare's is a family business, open since last July, in the small Preble County town of West Alexandria, Ohio. I had stopped by for a late Saturday afternoon lunch to admire how well the Beares had remodeled an early Victorian house, polished top to toe and converted into a two-story restaurant. I was served my first heaping helping of ranch noodles as a side dish for oven-roasted pork loin, pickled beets-and-eggs salad, followed by coffee and warm pecan pie for dessert. One of our party ordered a Texas tenderloin sandwich and was shocked and dismayed to be served breaded, fried tenderloin as thin as a dime, the size of a dinner plate. Considerable pruning with a table knife was required to make it bun-size. I commented that his menu tip-off might've been the word "Texas" and was rewarded with a dirty look.
   OK. Once in the kitchen, I figured it wouldn't be hard to adapt the idea of saucing hot noodles with ranch-dressing flavors. My server had described the noodles to me at the time I'd ordered them, saying they're very popular, but on the menu only occasionally. She said the buttered noodles are seasoned with dry ranch salad dressing mix, mayonnaise and sour cream.
   Making it with dry dressing mix, I had some ranch dip left over, having started the project with only six ounces of fine egg noodles. The remaining ranch dip was a blessing served with fresh asparagus spears, plus tiny red radishes.
   For another meal, ranch noodles reminded me of an old noodle favorite, a main dish, I found years ago in a Borden recipe booklet. This was back in the days when Borden's in Columbus, Ohio, sent ambassador Elsie the Cow as dairy-company mascot from town to town in her own fancy semi-trailer.
   Ranch noodle
   8 to 12 ounces narrow egg noodles
   1 cup mayonnaise
   1 cup sour cream
   1 package ranch-style salad dressing mix
   Minced fresh parsley and/or fresh dillweed
   Yield: 12 side-dish servings
   Boil noodles in lightly salted water until done. Drain. Blend mayonnaise, sour cream and dry ranch dressing mix. Dress the hot, drained noodles with as much ranch dressing as you like. Serve noodles warm, strewn with fresh minced parsley and/or dillweed. Use any remaining ranch dressing mix as a dip for blanched vegetables.
   Confetti egg and cottage noodles
   6 ounces spinach noodles, cooked, drained
   8 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
   16 ounces small-curd cottage cheese
   8 ounces sour cream
   2 tablespoons chopped pimiento
   2 teaspoons chicken-flavor instant bouillon
   1 package creamy Italian ranch-style salad dressing mix
   1 cup soft bread crumbs, buttered
   1 hard-cooked egg, sliced
   Yield: 8 servings
   Bake: 25 minutes
   Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, toss drained spinach noodles with the 8 hard-cooked eggs, chopped, the cottage cheese, undrained, sour cream, pimiento, bouillon granules and dry salad dressing mix. Let stand a few minutes to soften bouillon particles, then toss with a wood or plastic kitchen mixing fork.
   Turn noodle mixture into a well-greased or sprayed 11x7-inch baking dish. Top with 1 cup soft bread crumbs. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until bubbly at edges. Remove from oven and garnish with egg slices from 1 egg. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.


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