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.

A few pictures from Paris Cookbook Fair- 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!

Butternut Squash with Barley

This is a new twist on pearled barley-instead of risotto-for a healthier dish.

Roasted butternut squash adds a great flavor along with the cheese. I use the squash all year long since it is always available,


This recipe has been tested by Country living~ and me!
Ingredients;

3 T. of olive oil
2 1/2 cups of chopped butternut squash
5 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 small head of garlic, finely chopped
1 t. of fresh thyme-plus a little more for the garnish
1t. of fresh lemon zest-I used dried
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of chopped onion
3/4 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 1/2 cups of pearled barley


Heat the oven to 400 degrees. You will need to toss the squash with 1 to 2 T. of the oil. I put everything into a large ziplock and shake it-with the salt and pepper, too. Spread the squash on a lined baking tray with parchment paper and roast until tender. About 20-25 minutes.Give it a stir once in a while...

In a large saucepan, add the remaining olive oil and saute the onion until softened. Add the garlic.  Add the broth, simmer and reduce heat. Add the barley and cook, stirring for two minutes. Add the thyme and lemon zest. Simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and the barley is tender and al dente, about  thirty minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Gently fold in the squash and garnish with the extra thyme. Add salt to your liking.

Feast for your eyes~fresh seafood!

Located in the Melrose Building very close to downtown Seattle, you will find the fifth generation of Taylor Shellfish Farms.This is the place to taste and buy fresh seafood along with a  a dynamic selection of shrimp, live crabs, clams, culinary cookbooks and even selected wines to enhance your shellfish experience. 

Taylor Shellfish Farms specializes in shipping live shellfish. Their phone number is:           206-501-4321

This is a bowl of Taylor Farms famous house-made geoduck chowder, supplied by Xinh Dwelley Oyster House of Sheldon, available daily along with clam chowder and fresh oysters. Makes a great lunch and takes no time at all to enjoy as you dine at your cozy little table and watch all that is cooking and being prepared from the open kitchen.

Oysters for two!

Taylor Shellfish at Melrose is located at 1521 Melrose Ave.,  Seattle ,WA

Peach-Carrot Muffins,a peach of a muffin!

Recipe makes 6 large muffins.

Fresh peaches give the muffins that added moisture and soft texture.

Muffin Recipe


Heat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour muffin tin.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of flour, 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of whole milk,  2 eggs, 2/3 cup of canola oil, 1/4 t. of ground nutmeg,
1/2 t. of salt, 1/2 t. baking soda, 1/2 t. of baking powder, 1 t. ground cinnamon, 1/2 c. chopped pecans, 1 1/2
cups of  diced peaches, 3/4 cup of grated carrots. Stir ingredients together adding the peaches and carrots at the end. Gently fold all mixture together.
Spoon the batter into greased muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes until wooden toothpick comes out clean.Cool several minutes before serving and slicing.

Fish and Chips from Bowpicker ~ street food!

Astoria Column ~ built to commemorate the migration to the Pacific coast. Take the trek up the 164 steps to view the incredible sight below. A great way to work off all those extra fries you just inhaled from the  Bowpicker! 

Pull up in your car, walk right up and order!You may have to wait 10-15 minutes but, certainly worth the time. 

Bowpicker is located near the Maritime Museum, right off the main street next to the water. (Another great place to visit while traveling through Astoria,OR)

I have eaten my share of fish and chips around the earth and I will say, they get 5 stars!

They use Albacore Tuna and what a difference that makes~not fishy, not dry, just down right delicious.

Busy in the kitchen-opps, galley!

This was a half order which hubby and I shared-plenty! I noticed an extra bite or two in there.....hummm...

Chef Dennis and his no knead bread~it works!

yes, easy to prepare!

Prep time: 2 hours 10 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 2 hours 45 mins

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 3 cups of warm water
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Coarse Salt
• 1 /1/2 Tablespoons of Yeast (2 packets)
• 6 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• Corn meal for dusting peal
• Flour to dust dough ball

Instructions

1. Start with tap water at about 100 degrees (body temperature), make sure the water is not too hot it will kill the yeast. Colder water is ok it will just take longer to rise, if your letting it sit overnight it really doesn’t matter.
2. Add the yeast to the water and mix it up. Don’t worry if all the yeast does not dissolve, it will finish mixing in the flour.
3. Mix the salt into the flour.
4. Add the flour into the yeast water and start your mixer. (This is wet dough.)
5. Now place your dough into your container. Cover, but not tightly and place on the counter for about 2 hours to rise. (If you don’t have time to wait let it sit out for about a half an hour or so, and put it in the refrigerator overnight, it will rise just more slowly.) The dough does need to sit in the refrigerator after the initial rise for at least 3 hours before using*
6. Now that your dough has set up you are ready to form a dough ball. Pull off about a one pound piece of dough (this recipe will make about 3 loaves this size). This is the only time you really handle the dough. You need to pull it down to form a ball, tucking all the ends in at the bottom. The ball should be semi smooth. I had to add some flour to keep it from being too sticky while forming a ball.
7. Place the dough ball on a cookie sheet with a liberal amount of corn meal under it so it will not stick.
8. Let this dough rise for 40 minutes, and while it is rising preheat oven. I used a 350 oven temperature.
9.  Dust the top with flour and make some light slices into the dough for that artisan look.*
10. Before you place the bread into the oven you need one more thing; in another baking dish, or the broiler tray add two cups of water, the steam it creates will give the crust that nice crackle.This really does give it a wonderful crisp top!
11. I heated up the water in the micro  for a quicker start
12. The dough should have a dark colour (probably darker than you think it should be), this is rustic artisan bread.
13. You may have to experiment a little to get it just right for your oven. Chef Dennis said his oven took 35 minutes to bake the bread.I just tapped the top for that hollow sound,then removed from oven. 

Notes

*Its best to make it a day or two before you need it, remember this dough will last up to 14 days in the refrigerator, and the older it gets the better it will taste. You’ll begin to get more of a sourdough taste as it ages. In fact, when and if  you make a second batch Chef Dennis suggests that you don’t clean out the container and let the scraps of your original dough speed up the fermentation process.
*if you don’t have a bread stone you can bake this bread on a cookie sheet , you just won’t get the crusty hardened bottom to the loaf
*(You can form the dough into a longer loaf if you like, or make a bigger loaf, a bigger loaf may require a longer cooking time though)

This recipe can be found on Chef Dennis's web page: www.askchefdennis.com
This is one of the easiest breads I have ever made. I was not sure about putting the dough in the refrigerator to rise more, but it worked like magic. 

Nothing better than serving it right from the oven with fresh extra virgin olive oil.

Pizza in Rome~a great recommendation!

After my last trip to Italy with my touring group of ladies, I had to be in Rome to fly back home so... I took Elizabeth's Minchilli's recommendation to visit this wonderful pizza establishment. Elizabeth has taken several classes from the owner himself, he does offer classes to the public I read, making breads and his fabulous pizza. Elizabeth reports from Rome where she writes about all things delicious and beautiful. She also gives private walking tours taking you to some of the most exciting eating establishments in Rome. Although I have never met her, I know we have many things in common. Sometime soon, I will give her a call! If you are in Rome, look her up......I know it would be a great experience for you. She also writes a fabulous blog about her findings in Rome and also in Florence.
elizabethminchilli.com

Bonci is famous for his constant innovation of toppings and ingredients.

This was the pizza I chose~loaded with fresh basil!

The pizza was warmed and then the basil was added at the last moment.

Delivery truck and address if you want to find BONCI! It is delicious!