An easily adaptable spaghetti pie that’s fit for a cook-off

The Austin Food Blogger Alliance is hosting a cookoff event again this year, but with a new theme: noodles.

After several curry cookoffs, the nonprofit — full disclosure: I helped start this group and now serve on its community advisory board — is now bringing together anyone who loves any kind of noodles, from Italian spaghetti to Vietnamese vermicelli.

From 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 23 at Brew & Brew’s event space, 906 E. Fifth Street, more than a dozen contestants, who include some local bloggers and area restaurants, will bring their best dish, and the crowd and a panel of judges will determine the winner. The Oodles of Noodles Community Cook-off costs $25 in advance or $30 at the door. You can still register to compete by emailing cookoff@ austinfoodbloggers.org. For more info, go to austinfoodbloggers.org.

For noodle inspiration, check out this spaghetti pie from spiralizer master Alissandra Maffucci that’s made with a potato noodle. If you have a spiralizer, you can spin these yourself, but if you don’t, pick up one of the packages of pre-cut veggie noodles at the store.

We still eat plenty of regular pasta in my house, so I’ll be making this with precooked spaghetti noodles. If spinach isn’t your thing, try asparagus or broccoli by cooking the vegetables to al dente in the pan before baking for about 15 minutes.