This week, we're double-dipping in the world of Dan Harmon's lovable, irreverent collegiate caricature: Community. I'm here to defend the "weird" favorite food of Abed Nadir: buttered noodles. Yes, that impossibly plain side dish/cafeteria filler/thing you eat when you're sick. With a few simple tricks, we can upgrade this ubiquitous underdog into something worth making all on its own.

Ingredients

5 Minute Buttered Noodles Ingredients:

• 1 box egg noodles

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter

• Kosher salt

• Freshly ground pepper

15 Minute (Better) Buttered Noodles Ingredients:

• 1 box high end supermarket pasta 

• Gourmet butter

• Kosher salt

• Freshly ground pepper

Butter from Scratch Ingredients:

• 4 cups heavy cream

• ½ cup cultured buttermilk

• European butter

Homemade Pasta Ingredients:

• 12.8 oz 00 flour

• 3.2 oz rye flour

• 2 tsp kosher salt

• 3 large eggs

Method

5 Minute Buttered Noodles Method:

1. Start by bringing a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles and remove from the heat once tender.

2. Drain the noodles and rinse with tap water before adding the noodles back to the pot. Add 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, a pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3. Mix until the butter has completely melted and the seasoning has mixed evenly across the noodles. 

15 Minute (Better) Buttered Noodles Method:

1. Start by bringing an oval-shaped dutch oven of slightly salted water to a boil and then add the high-end pasta. **Use slightly less water to make sure the water is extra starchy. 

2. Once the pasta is done, put aside about ½ cup of the water and then drain the pasta. Return it to the warm pot and do not rinse.

3. Add 2 tablespoons of the unsalted gourmet butter,  ¼ cup of the pasta water, and a generous pinch of kosher salt.

4. Give it all a rigorous stir until everything is completely dissolved and mixed together. 

Homemade Butter Method:

1. Start by combining 4 cups of heavy cream with ½ cup of cultured buttermilk, whisking to combine then covering to let sit out at room temperature for 24 hours. 

2. After 24 hours, dump the mixture (which is now creme fraiche) into a stand mixer along with equal parts of room temperature European butter and whip together until all the milk fat separates from the newly minted buttermilk, should only take 15 seconds. 

3. Once a butter lump is formed, wash it in ice water 4-5 times until the water squeezed out of the butter runs clear. Squeeze out as much water as possible then place it in the fridge.

Homemade Pasta Method:

1. In a large bowl add 80% double zero flour (12.8 oz), 20% rye flour (3.2 oz), 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, and 3 large eggs. Beat together using a fork and knead for 8-10 minutes. 

2. Place the dough in a Ziploc bag or cover with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. 

3. After 30 minutes, cut the dough into smaller pieces then run through a pasta roller 3-4 times. Make sure to fold into thirds after each time through. 

4. Once the desired thinness has been reached, run the thin sheet of pasta through a pasta cutter set for fettuccine style pasta. 

5. On a well-floured rimmed baking sheet, drape the pasta into small nests and give each nest a nice dusting of flour. 

Homemade Buttered Noodles Cooking Method:

1. Once ready to cook, place the pasta into a large pot of a small amount of boiling water and let it cook for 90 seconds. During the 90 seconds, make sure to keep a saute pan warm, not hot. 

2. After 90 seconds, place the cooked pasta into the warm saute pan along with 3 tablespoons of homemade butter, ¼ cup of pasta water, a pinch of kosher salt, and mixing together rigorously. 

3. Once the butter sauce has reached an Alfredo-like consistency, place on a plate with a dollop of the creme fraiche, an optional grating of brewers yeast, and enjoy.