Cookbook Review + Homemade Pasta... I finally got it right!

Last night about 8 o'clock I really wanted something I could knead for awhile. I'm certain that I'm in the minority in this, but there's just something about making things from scratch with my hands that is really satisfying to me. And I love kneading dough. It's a great stress / tension reliever... very peaceful for me.

So... I went to Barnes & Noble and looked at bread cookbooks and pasta cookbooks and came back with The Pasta Book (Williams-Sonoma).

About this Cookbook

I chose this book because in the first section there are detailed instructions AND illustrations for making pasta by hand. Something I've tried to do unsuccessfully a couple times already with the basic instructions that have come along with my pasta machine. 

Additionally, this book has a number of tasty looking pasta recipes for using with the noodles you create, as well as even more recipes for cooking with dried pasta noodles.

Even further, this book goes into things like stuffed pasta, dumplings and asian noodles, making this quite a comprehensive cookbook that I greatly look forward to getting further into.

Some recipes that stand out to me after browsing:

• Potato Gnocchi with Roasted Pepper Sauce
• Cheese Ravioli with Tomato-Basil Sauce
• Minestrone
• Fettuccine all Bolognese

And now the fun part... the Pasta Making!

As I said before... I've had a number of unsuccessful attempts at handmade pasta. This time, I could tell the whole way through the process that I'd finally gotten it right!

I will also add that the cute little silicone pastry mat you see in some of my pictures is an absolute LIFESAVER for me. I got it at a gift, and I haven't been able to find this same adorable one online anywhere, but any silicone pastry mat should do the trick.

I'll start with a shot of my finished pasta. Not too shabby! I've got some practicing to do to really perfect it, but I was very pleased with the result.

So the first step I always struggle with right off the bat. You are to measure out your flour and create a well with it which will hold your eggs and olive oil and then gently move the flour in to the center to begin the mixing process. 

I never make my flour well quite deep or sturdy enough to hold my eggs. Of course that trend continued this time, however, I was at least able to salvage it, which was nice. Make that flour well deep, folks!

The kneading will take a bit of time and muscle. The book said to knead for 10 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. You will certainly feel this starting to happen while you're working with the dough and it's kind of cool. It will start as a bit of a sticky, crumbly mess, and end up similar to this ball of dough below, that feels somewhat like a stiff (non-stinky) playdoh.

After the dough rests, the rolling begins. The book gives excellent instructions for rolling the dough and as you can see, mine turned out great!
  

After it's rolled, all that's left to do is cut! The book gives instructions for rolling and cutting by machine or by hand, so you can even do all this without the fun little pasta crank as well!

And here are some of my strands drying. Obviously I know this is not the best way to have them drying, but unfortunately I don't have a lot of kitchen space or a pasta drying rack yet. (Although I'm hoping to get one today!) Either way, it worked alright for me.

And one last shot of the final, cooked noodles which I enjoyed at about 11 o'clock at night. Honestly not bad, considering I left for Barnes & Noble about 8 o'clock, and probably got home and started shortly before 9 o'clock.

If you've never really made something like this by hand. I highly recommend at least trying it. Do it in a low-pressure situation, just for fun... not when hungry people are waiting for dinner. Take the stress out of it, and enjoy the peaceful ability to work and create something with your hands!

Here are some tools to get you started on making pasta...