A Few of Our Favorite (Fast) Foods

Around 1750 the Earl of Sandwich put some meat between two slices of bread and gave fast food a good name. It was several hundred years before American ingenuity came along to ruin its reputation.

But fast food doesn’t have to mean a hapless piece of meat or produce that’s been fried to a frazzle, wrapped in layers of paper and plastic and sold for the cheapest possible price. Fast food can be made from scratch, served with pride and consumed with pleasure. The following recipes, a few of our favorites, prove the point.

Using Your Noodles

I got this recipe from my sister, who adapted it from the original recipe in the City Restaurant cookbook. If you have unexpected guests, a quick, light supper of grilled boneless chicken breasts served with cold soba noodles is just the thing. The tangy heat from the noodles works well with the blandness of the chicken. Simply throw chicken breasts on the barbecue to cook while preparing the noodles. By the time the noodles are done, so is the chicken.

To keep the meal simple, I put out a cutting board with an assortment of cheese and crackers and seasonal fruit for dessert.

This is an embarrassingly simple meal to prepare, but don’t tell your guests--they’ll think you’ve slaved in the kitchen for hours.

SPICY COLD SOBA NOODLES

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon molasses

1/4 cup sesame oil

1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon chile oil

3 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar

1/2 bunch green onions (white and green parts), thinly sliced

Salt

1/2 pound soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles)

Place soy sauce in saucepan over high heat and reduce by half. Turn heat to low. Stir in molasses and warm briefly. Transfer to mixing bowl. Add sesame oil, tahini, brown sugar, chile oil, vinegar and green onions. Whisk to combine. Season to taste with salt, if desired. Set aside.

Bring large pot salted water to rapid boil. Add noodles, bring back to boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes or until al dente.

Drain noodles and plunge in ice water. Drain again. Rinse well under cold running water. Combine noodles and sauce, toss well and chill. Makes 2 to 4 servings.