Friday, March 30, 2012

My Easy Homemade Pasta

My mixing bowl was my counter top. I used room temperature eggs and all purpose flour. To begin, I just formed a mound of flour, 2 cups and added 4 eggs. Make a well with the flour and add the eggs. Beat the flour and  eggs with a fork, little by little, starting with the inner rim of the well to incorporate the flour. As you incorporate the eggs, keep pushing the flour up, maintaining the rim, to keep the egg mixture inside. All the flour should be incorporated and now you begin to knead. I did add more flour to create the elastic consistency needed( and to keep my hands from becoming sticky) for the finished product. I kneaded the dough for 7 minutes. After I reached that bouncy (to touch) consistency), I shaped the dough into a ball then divided the dough into 4 equal parts and covered the dough with a dishcloth. This is important to keep the dough from drying out.

My noodles were cooked to an al dente consistency, 5 to 6 minutes, in a large pot of boiling and slightly salted water. Remove from pot and drain. Add to your desired sauce. This sauce was made from eggs, cream and cheese with Italian bacon, Pancetta.

My ball of dough, right before I divided it into sections to place in the pasta maker.

A flattened section of the dough( rectangular shape) ready to slide into pasta machine.

And here we go! The first three times I put the pasta through, I folded each end over, so it is now a small piece again and passed it through the widest setting again. I do this three times. Gradually, I changed the settings down, running the pasta through each setting twice, until I reached my desired thickness. Keep dusting strips with flour to prevent any sticking. I also cut the dough strip in half as the strips get really difficult to manage the thinner they become. If you have two extra hands with you, no need to do any cutting. Your pasta machine will have all the needed directions for passing the pasta through the machine as well as using the attachments. The entire process is easy~ and what a difference in the taste when you make it at home!
  Have fun and try it! I found my pasta machine at Home Goods which, incidentally, was made in Italy and cost $60.

Drying my pasta on a pasta rack or you can use a cookie sheet. Dry at least 30 minutes.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Dinner with French Sister

Starting the evening with a little sparkling wine!

Salad with Blood Sausage and Ham

Lamb-oh so perfectly prepared!

Such a delicious selection of cheese!

And more-dessert!