I made up a song parody, to be sung to the tune of "Rawhide":
Rollin', rollin', rollin
Keep that pasta rollin'
Rollin', rollin', rollin'
Let's eeeeeat!
HAAAAA! This is funny only because A) I'm a big, fat nerd, and B) I'm going to be making and rolling out pasta for the very first time tonight. Wheee!
I can't believe I've never tried making pasta before this, considering my undying devotion to that particular foodstuff. But I do kind of have this fear of dough. And also, I've never had a pasta roller of my own. The MiL has one, though. The thing is older than I am, and maybe showing its age a little in the form of rust spots, but still sturdy and still ready for action. So I'm going to be bringing the MiL's pasta roller over to our friends Alyssa and J.'s house tonight, to join forces with Alyssa's mother's pasta roller. Then Alyssa and I, both complete pasta-making novices, will attempt to follow the instructions in Mark Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World and roll out some pasta that is edible and not too mangled.
Obviously, I have high standards.
The menfolk will be sitting in J.'s workshop drinking beer and staring at the fire in the woodstove while we make the pasta. And grunting at each other, I bet. I invited them to help, but they seemed to think that eating the pasta when it's all cooked and slathered in sauce was enough involvement for them. No sense of adventure, those menfolk.
Also there for the pasta eating will be the lovely C. of Constant Catastrophizer, attended by the always-amusing Mark and Arlo the Entertainer. And of course, Alyssa and J.'s small son will be in attendance, possibly helping us roll out pasta, possibly sitting in the workshop with the menfolk. But not drinking beer. We hope.
A good time should be had by all. Assuming we don't completely screw up the pasta.
And you know I'm going to be singing my Rawhide Pasta song. Because THAT is just how I roll. (Geddit? Oh, I slay me.)
Have fun! Here's a terrific link to check out about the ups and downs of making fresh pasta.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thepauperedchef.com/2008/11/tagliatelle.html
It's on my short list of things to learn how to make this year.
Good luck with it. It's really easy once you get the hang of it. But I won't kid you, it took me several tries before I really got the hang of it.
ReplyDeleteOh, it always tasted great, it just didn't get easy until the third or fourth time.
I started making homemade pasta several years ago and I just can't hardly eat the dry stuff now. It is the most amazing thing with just a drizzle of olive oil and some freshly grated romano, what could be quicker and tastier? nothing
ReplyDeleteI love making my own pasta, it tastes so much better than the store bought stuff... one thing to note, when you first run the dough through the pasta roller, it will break and crack and otherwise look like crap, you will think you screwed it up, well it isn't messed up, it will look that way the first few times you run it through, just keep folding it back on itself and running it though the roller on the largest setting. Keep doing this until it comes through smooth. No one ever told me that part, I still remember the first time I made homemade pasta, I almost cried when I ran the dough through the first time, I almost threw it out, I'm glad I kept running it through, it came out perfect! Read my latest post about it: http://www.off-grid.net/2009/01/02/homemade-pasta/
ReplyDeleteWretha
My son and DiL made pasta this year at Christmas and it was delicious.
ReplyDeleteI could eat pasta every day...
Ohhh i love pasta!!!! BTW, thanks for answering my mulberry question. Maybe when i come up to visit you can ply me with pasta and mulberry liquor? *grin*
ReplyDeleteDarnit, K, you had to go and write about making your own pasta, didn't you? And now you're probably going to report that it was wonderful and I'm going to feel compelled to try it myself. Like I need something else to do. Thanks! ;)
ReplyDelete