Homemade Pasta

We went out to dinner with two other families on New Years Eve.  We somehow got on the topic of homemade pasta and they were shocked that I didn't have a pasta maker.  My mom used to have one, but that was many moons ago and after returning a few duplicate Christmas gifts I purchased a new pasta maker!

Ironically, a friend posted her favorite pasta recipe on her cooking blog.  It was a sign that I must make pasta!

My flour well where I placed the olive oil, eggs and salt.

Then it was time to mix and mix, then knead and really knead.  Kneading for a good ten minutes...

It was finally time to start rolling pasta dough!  I was very excited and got a little frustrated with getting the hang of my new toy and how many times each sheet of dough needed to be run through the press.

But the beautiful piles of fettuccine noodles was worth the manual labor.  And I'm confident it will take me half the time to make my next batch of pasta now that I have a little practice!

The tasty, cooked pasta was well worth the effort.  The kids scarfed the pasta down in record time and even Charlie asked for seconds (she isn't a huge noodle fan).  If you have a pasta maker, you must try this recipe. Or if you have ever questioned buying a pasta maker - run out and buy one right now!  Mine was about $70 at Williams-Sonoma and worked very well (it only comes with fettuccine and spaghetti noodle cutters).

Click here to view Chef Anne Burrell's pasta dough recipe!