Looking for VeryVeryVery quick and easy dessert pasta

[nowjanuce]

Hi, all - I had the sudden urge last night to make some kind of quick dessert pasta, but all the recipes I found online were either some variation on kugel, or ingredient-intensive enough that I would have had to go to the store (which I was feeling too lazy to do.) I gave up on the idea eventually, but I thought I'd turn to you all here for advice. Any suggestions? I'm really just looking for one or two (or maybe three) ingredients that I could just toss vermicelli or spaghetti or the like in, with no more involvement or complication, really, than that.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Comments

[alphaviolet]

Does Pad Thai count as dessert?

[nowjanuce]

...Traditional Pad Thai? I think I'd have to say no on that one... though I am extremely fond of it!

[alphaviolet]

The tamarind sauce is pretty sweet. But I guess that is different.

I'm not coming up with any other ideas offhand... other than taking the ingredients for kugel (egg, etc.) and pan frying them instead of baking them.

[nowjanuce]

That's an interesting thought. I hadn't considered that. Thanks!

[killing_rose]

What about fruit and candied pecans? I know that in the sweeter versions of salad that my family does for some occasions, pecans and fruit can lend itself to a nice, sweet taste without being horribly sweet.

[nowjanuce]

That's not a bad idea. Would that be fresh fruit?

[killing_rose]

I know some usual ones we use are strawberries and oranges, usually fresh, yeah. Also, perhaps a sweet sauce? Like maybe a brown sugar glaze? (I am tired; disregard this if it seems nonsensical.)

[nowjanuce]

No, it makes perfect and excellent sense. :)

[caramarie]

Sometimes when I make couscous I'll use apple juice instead of stock and make it quite dry, and put in apricot or cooked apple, slivered almonds, and nutmeg and cinnamon. You could possibly do something similar with pasta?

[nowjanuce]

I could work with something like that. Thank you!

[sid]

I found this recipe online, which calls for just butter and brown sugar: http://www.ehow.com/how_5001267_make-dessert-pasta.html

[nowjanuce]

Whoa. Okay, that's perfect, in terms of the kind of thing I was originally thinking of. :D

[sid]

\o/

[drgaellon]

Wide egg noodles, pot cheese (or dry cottage cheese), cinnamon, sugar. Comfort food at its finest.

[nowjanuce]

Sounds fabulous. What is pot cheese, exactly?

[drgaellon]

It's a New York deli thing, I think. It's basically just a very dry, very large curd cottage cheese. You could also substitute farmer's cheese; just break it up with a fork into small pieces. Or dump a container of large-curd cottage cheese in a fine-mesh strainer (or a wider mesh one with some cheesecloth) and let it drain for an hour or two.

[nowjanuce]

Thanks!

[libitina]

Semiya Payasam?

• simple version
• another similar one
• cooked more so it emphasized the noodles
• made decoratively
• prepared as a panna cotta at the James Beard House
• made with chana dal
• shown in relation to another indian dessert (this version also claims it works well with skim milk, should you choose)

[nowjanuce]

Oh, I saw that first recipe last night! I thought it sounded good, but any place I could have found the cardamom was closed by that time. I will definitely try this sometime.

[amalnahurriyeh]

Brown butter, almonds, sliced apples/pears? (I'm in the US, where those fruits are just in season now, which is why I'm thinking of them.) Maybe sprinkle some sugar on at the end to go for the creme-brulee effect (i.e. crunchy bits of burnt sugar)?

What's wrong with kugel? Damn, now I want kugel. :)

[nowjanuce]

Oh, I adore kugel! I was just too unmotivated to go to the store and then make it. :D

[acelightning]

Toss the hot noodles with grated bittersweet chocolate and a little butter. Or how about saucing them with dulce de leche?

(Dulce de leche is absurdly simple to make. Get a can of sweetened condensed milk - you should always have a can or two of this in your pantry anyway - and take off the paper label. Fill the biggest pot you have with hot water, and put the unopened can in the water; there should be at least an inch or two of water above the top of the can. Cover the pot and bring the water to a full rolling boil. Reduce the heat somewhat, so that the water is still boiling, but not quite as vigorously. Let this keep boiling, covered, for at least an hour. Remove the can from the boiling water with tongs, and let it cool to room temperature before opening it. Store any leftovers in the fridge, covered.)

[nowjanuce]

I'm missing an absurd number of staple ingredients from my pantry... but I'll be sure to stock up on condensed milk, among other things. I think I've heard of how to make dulce de leche before, but I'd completely forgotten it. Now I want to try. :)

Your suggestion of shaved chocolate and butter also sounds perfect. Thank you!

[acelightning]

Well, of course, you can melt chocolate into/onto anything ;-D

Sweetened condensed milk is one of those old-fashioned things that ought to be better known today. It makes any kind of sweet custard come out absolutely perfect every time. Forget the recipes that call for evaporated milk and sugar; just use the already-sweetened condensed milk. It makes a beautifully authentic flan (you still have to caramelize some sugar to coat the dishes with). And, with Halloween and Thanksgiving coming along here in the US, I make pumpkin pie with one can of pumpkin, one can of condensed milk, a couple of eggs, and the usual spices - just about the easiest pumpkin pie recipe there can be, and it always comes out perfect, without cracking in the middle.

[nowjanuce]

I grew up much more with evaporated milk than condensed - my father didn't use condensed milk often - so I never really got into the habit of thinking of it as a staple. Now is the time in my life, I guess, when I start to experiment with it. :)

[acelightning]

I think there are two reasons why it does what it does so well: first, it's already been partially cooked, to dissolve the sugar and get rid of some of the water; second, it's got carrageenan in it as an emulsifier.

I had a great-uncle who used to put sweetened condensed milk in his tea or coffee, eliminating the need to add sugar as well as milk. I think he picked up this habit during World War One (!)

[moonbathe_skin]

There is a Jewish pudding that I make called Lokshen Pudding, basically like bread pudding but with pasta. I use very thin noodles baked with egg, sugar, milk and a handful of dried fruit.

[bitterlawngnome]

Ground walnuts and sugar.

Also, Nutella.

[nowjanuce]

I don't like hazelnuts, but the first sounds delicious. Thanks! I'll have to try it.