Pasta Mama: The First Attempt

I am currently waiting for my pasta maker to get here from Utah (my family will be bringing it in a couple of weeks). So I was going to wait on the homemade pasta until then...makes sense right? But then I thought, if I don't start blogging now, what will all my fans do, where will they turn? Not wanting to deprive my fans of a good blog (or my husband of a good dinner), I decided to have a go at it - rolling pin style. After much mixing, kneading, rolling, slicing, boiling, tossing and eating, I am proud to say that I made (and we actually consumed) my first homemade pasta dish. I decided on using a familiar recipe for the topping so that I could focus on the pasta part. So here is the pasta recipe (courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook). *Note - This will be the main pasta recipe that I use in most of my dishes, so I won't post it again. Also, if you get bored easily, I would only reccommend reading this recipe if you're planning to make the pasta.*

Homemade Pasta (page 414)
Prep - 1 hour (ahem, 2 if you're me)
Makes - 5 servings

Ingredients-
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon dried basil or sage, crushed
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cooking oil or olive oil

Steps -
1) In a large bowl stir together 2 cups of flour, basil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. In a small bowl beat eggs; add water and oil. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; stir to combine.
2) Sprinkle a clean kneading surface with the remaining 1/3 cup flour. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic (8 to 10 min). Cover and let the dough rest for 10 min.
3) Divide the dough into four equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 12-ince square (about 1/16 inch thick). Let stand, uncovered, about 20 min. Cut as desired. OR If using a pasta machine, pass each portion through machine according to manufacturer's directions until dough is 1/16 inch thick. Let stand, uncovered, about 20 min; cut as desired. (ex. cut into linguine or fettuccine strips, or cut into squares or circles for ravioli etc. Be creative).
4) To serve pasta immediately, cook according to chart in book. (for fettuccine or linguine, cook for 90 seconds to 2 min. Stuffed ravioli, 7-9 min. Lasagna noodles 2-3 min). p.s. when they say 90 seconds to 2 min they mean it!! DO NOT OVERCOOK, or you will have mushy-ish noodles. Just ask my husband.
5) To store cut pasta, hang it from a pasta-drying rack or spread it on a wire cooling rack. Let pasta dry about 1 hour or until completely dry. Place it in an airtight container and chill for up to 3 days, or in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 8 months. (really? that sounds like a long time)





While I was waiting for the pasta to set/dry a bit, I worked on the rest of the dish.
ZUCCHINI ALFREDO. And don't be scared by the Alfredo - it's really not as fattening as it sounds. (This Recipe courtesy of "Terry" and allrecipes.com). * my own additions*

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) package uncooked egg noodles
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 ounces cream cheese, cubed *I used low-fat - still delicious*
  
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil *must be fresh!!*
  
• salt and pepper to taste
• grated Parmesan cheese (optional) *not optional* =)
  

Directions

1. 

   Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.*or go through much more trouble to make homemade noodles, also, you can really use any kind of noodles here - I like using bowtie*
   
2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic, and cook 2 minutes. Mix in zucchini, and cook 10 minutes, until some of the moisture has evaporated.
3. Pour the milk into the skillet, and stir in cream cheese until melted. Mix in basil. Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve over the cooked pasta.*I like it tossed*

And voila! The finished (and only slightly mushy) product! Really though, if my first attempt had turned out perfectly, what would I blog about for the rest of the year? (I really do love the zucchini alfredo recipe, it's just the noodles I need a bit of work on). All in all, I would say a success. And with fresh papaya on the side, you really can't go wrong with any meal. Also, I've decided that it doesn't necessarily make sense to make the same pasta recipe over and over with different toppings, so I will be trying different things every now and again with store-bought pasta. For example I just came across a recipe for some delicious looking pad-thai...more on that next week?

*Note the adorable little sioux chef above helping me make (eat) pasta dough*
*I understand that I may have to improve the quality of my photos to keep any readers around...have no fear, I am working on it.*