Kiddie Spaghetti

I received an e-mail recently asking what kind of cheese I use for the dishes I cook. This was my reponse:

The truth is, because of how expensive imported cheeses are, Filipinos use cheddar most of the time. But at home, my kids find cheddar cheese too salty. They prefer soft cheeses like quickmelt. In fact, we even use Cheez Wheez to top pasta dishes. That’s why I don’t specify the kind of cheese. It’s more of personal preference and I think people really ought to experiment with which kind of cheese goes best with each dish.

My preference is soft cheeses for cream-based pasta dishes and cheddar for tomato-based pasta dishes.

Here is a pasta dish that kids won’t be able to resist. Loads of sliced hotdogs and diced salami are the main ingredients for the sweetened tomato-based sauce.

Ingredients :

225 g. of spaghetti, fettuccine or linguini
100 g. of regular hotdogs
100 g. of salami
1 onion, diced
2 sweet skinless pimientoes (canned), finely chopped
1/4 c. of tomato paste
3/4. c. of meat broth
3 tbsp. of sugar
3 tbsp. of olive oil
4 tbsp. of butter
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 c. of grated cheddar cheese

How to :

Cook the spaghetti, fettuccine or linguni according to package directions. Drain well. Transfer to a glass bowl and toss with 2 tbsp. of butter. Keep warm.

Dice the salami. Cut the hotdogs into 1/4″ thick slices.

Heat the olive oil and remaining butter in a skillet. Add the salami and fry lightly for about 2 minutes. Add the sliced hotdogs and fry for another minute. Add the diced onion and pimientoes. Cook until the onion is soft. Add the tomato paste, sugar and broth. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes to blend the flavors. Uncover and add the cooked noodles to the sauce. Toss well. Transfer to a serving platter and serve with grated cheese.