Spaetzle (German noodles)

This recipe sounds more complicated than it is. It's actually super simple, and it was my first experience making homemade noodles. (It's also a simple carb, but we won't dwell on that right now.)

These taste so much better than any noodles you can buy, although they are by nature very plain. Have them with meat and salad -- I recommend Schnitzel or venison Goulasch-- or try them with mushroom gravy.

You will need a noodle maker for this. Mine is one that looks a lot like a cheese grater, but the holes don't have sharp edges, and the smaller the holes on the gadget, the thinner your batter has to be (i.e. add a little more milk). Here's one just like mine for a great price. My mom paid triple that amount for mine in Germany, strangely! German engineering? For this, I don't think so...

Someday I'll try to make these noodles with whole wheat flour, and I'll add a comment to this post about how it turned out.

Spaetzle (German noodles) (serves 6)

1 pound all-purpose flour

1/8 gallon (minus a 1/4 cup or so) lowfat milk

4 small eggs

some butter for frying

1.) Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl, and whisk until it's the consistency of thick pancake batter.

2.) Bring 10-12 cups of water to a rapid boil in a large soup pot.

3.) Wet your noodle maker so the batter won't stick to it. Place it across the top of the pot in which the water is boiling. Using a large spoon, spoon batter out into the noodle maker.

4.) Push the batter through the noodle maker until the batter is gone. Bring it to a boil again. Boil uncovered for 3 minutes.

5.) Strain the noodles, and rinse them with cold water so they don't stick together.

6.) Cool briefly, then reheat just before serving in a skillet with a bit of butter, allowing some of the noodles to turn a semi-crisp golden-brown.

Need an idea for leftovers? Reheat the leftover noodles the next day in a little butter with some pressed garlic or a sprinkling of garlic salt. You can't go wrong.

Today's question: What's your favorite kind of noodle, and have you ever tried to make it at home?