Chinese Egg Noodles

Last night, we had no book at the restaurant and it being a gorgeous day, I said to hell with it and left Tony to handle the kitchen. The day had been crazy warm (over 80 degrees on March 14th) so we could eat outside for the first time in 2012. I figured with it being grilling weather, Wednesday—historically the slowest night of the week, and March (just before the dreaded Madness starts) that I could get home for an evening, and I was right.

I called Ann earlier in the evening to probe offhandedly what she might like for dinner, not letting on that I might be coming home later. In fact, I told her that coming home would be impossible. Devious me! I wanted to surprise her by showing up out of the blue and also making something for dinner that she really wanted.

All the dishes she mentioned were pastas and I knew we had a package of fresh Chinese egg noodles, thinner than but about the same width as taglierini or fettucine, in the fridge that we needed to use. I haven't had pasta—my favorite food—in months as I am slowly working off the winter gut. Actually, the gut didn't come from the winter but from the pasta orgy we had all last summer.

And so here you see our pasta made with all the bits laying around in our refrigerator: rendered pancetta, tomatoes, mashed avocado, thinly sliced garlic, green onion, toasted panko, and sautéed shrimp.

Good? Did I hear you ask if it were good? I made enough to feed four people and we sat on the patio whisking away the pesky fruit flies trying desperately to drown in our 2006 Linden Petit Verdot and we.....ate.....the.....entire.....bowl!

And what a great time it was too, sitting outside on the patio on March 14th, barefoot and wearing shorts and a t-shirt, eating pasta, drinking great wine, not being in my windowless restaurant kitchen, and having great conversation with my best friend!