Cookbook Giveaway: Noodlemania

This week I’m giving away a copy of “Noodlemania,” (Quirk Books, $15.95) a kid-friendly cookbook starring all kinds of pasta. In order to enter the drawing, you just have to leave a comment at the end of this post.

Utah author Melissa Mikesell Barlow wanted to go beyond mac ‘n’ cheese and spaghetti.
“Pasta comes in so many different shapes and sizes, there are strings, ribbons, twists, curls, tubes, flowers, shells, bow-ties, letters, elbows, and more,” she said. “I thought it would be fun for kids to experiment and help create their own meals and have more options.”

I interviewed Melissa last year about her playful pasta recipes for my Standard-Examiner column. Recipes include titles like Little Ladybug Salad, Robot Bites, Gooey Green Noodles, Curly Worms, Silly Sea Creatures, and Pink Pepperoni Flowers. Local photog Zac Williams’ colorful photos add to the fun.
“Most of the recipes can make a meal for a very decent price,” said Barlow. “It’s a good way to introduce kids to cooking. The recipes are fun to make and fun to eat.”

Barlow came up with the idea while she was a book editor at Gibbs Smith Publishing. But somehow it always got put on the back burner. When she left Gibbs Smith several years ago to help with her husband’s business, she continued to work on the noodle idea, this time through Quirk Books. Her daughter helped taste-test a lot of the recipes.

“The recipes are pretty versatile,” Barlow said.”If your child doesn’t like tomatoes, you can substitute a vegetable they do like.”
Younger kids could prepare the recipes with adult supervision, Barlow said, and those who are 9 or 10 years old and know their way around the kitchen could probably make it on their own.
Some of your recipes call for canned chicken, instead of cooking raw chicken. “I wanted one less step for  kids to have to worry about.” Barlow said. “I use a good-quality canned chicken that I buy at Costco, and you would never know it’s canned.”
In a few recipes, Barlow used food coloring to turn the noodles blue in her “Under the Cheesy Sea Shells” recipe, or green for a Purple Pasta Monster. The book also includes a recipe for homemade pasta for those who want to start out with their own from-scratch noodles.

To enter the drawing, please leave a comment about your favorite type of pasta — fettuccine? Spaghetti? Lobster mac ‘n’ cheese? Veggie lasagna? Whatever!  On Thursday, Sept. 18, I’ll draw a winner and post it here. You’ll need to email your snail mail address to me so that I can send you the book.

Mini Spaghetti Pizzas
8 ounces spaghetti
2 cups shredded pizza-blend cheese
1 1/4 cups marinara sauce, divided
Garlic salt, optional
Favorite pizza toppings: Onion, red and green bell pepper, mini or quartered pepperoni slices, cooked ground sausage, green or black olives, mushrooms
Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and let cool slightly.
Divide the pasta into 8 sections and twist each section into a layered circle of noodles to make your pizza “dough”. Each circle should be about 4 inches in diameter and about 1 inch thick. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Place each circle on the prepared cookie sheet.
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cheese over each noodle circle and bake at 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes to melt the cheese. Top each noodle circle with a tablespoon or two of marinara sauce, or just divide sauce equally among the spaghetti pizzas. Leave some of the noodle edges showing on each so it looks like pizza dough. Sprinkle a tiny bit of garlic salt over each, if desired, and then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the sauce. Finish your pizza with your favorite toppings. Return the pizzas to the oven and bake 4-5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and toppings have warmed through.
Makes 8 small pizzas.
— “Noodlemania” by Melissa Barlow
Quirk Books, $15.95