Operation Home-Made Pasta

About a month ago we had a new kitchen floor put in, which of course meant completely reorganizing the cabinets and installing a pantry in an old closet.  In the course of taking everything out of the cabinets, I made some interested discoveries.  For example, we own not one, but three cast iron corn bread molds - two in the shape of little corn cobs, one with various Arizona-themed shapes (coyote, cactus, crescent moon, armadillo).  I also found canape bread molds, an espresso maker with milk steamer, and an Easy Bake oven with remnants of a vanilla cake circa 1999.

             
Aside from the random kitchen ware, I stumbled across an unopened box of pasta making attachments for our KitchenAid stand mixer.  My dad and I have been wanting to make our own pasta for ages, but we always shied away from it, since we didn't have a roller.  However, this pristine box of shiny stainless steel gadgets changed it all.

We chose a lazy Sunday afternoon for our pasta making endeavors.   We used a pasta recipe for KitchenAid mixers, basically because it gave specific speed and setting directions.  After a quick run to the health food store for semolina flour (and a cappuccino at the cafe next door) and quick review of the KitchenAid manual, we were ready.

Now, I knew that making pasta from scratch wasn't going to be a breeze, but it was a little more...intense than expected.  I think part of the issue was a lack of adequate counter space.  Okay, there's something you should know about me - I never clear enough kitchen space for myself when cooking.  I always end up working in a cutting board sized space, with spices, kitchen towels, utensils, and empty containers piled up around me.  I know I should be more organized, but it works for me.  However, when making pasta, I suggest having a large, clean work area.  You need to have somewhere to lay out the rolled pasta before you cut it - clearing your kitchen table, cleaning it, and dusting it with flour would work best I think.

We decided to hand-cut the pasta, since rolling out the dough, changing the attachment, and then cutting it seemed like it would take too long.  In reality, my dad cutting the rolled dough into long strands with a pairing knife took quite a bit of time and added effort.  It wasn't until his last piece of rolled dough that he thought of using a pizza cutter, which made things go a lot faster.  We only rolled and cut half of the dough last night, and this afternoon, I cut the rest, but this time using the cutting attachment, which was way easier and simpler than hand cutting it - though it didn't have that charming rustic look.

Makeshift drying racks.

Also, the recipe I used called for a "pasta drying rack", which I didn't even know such a thing existed.  In it's place, we covered the bottoms of some plastic hangers and hung them from our kitchen lamp and cabinets.  It felt kind of trashy, but, you know, in a good way.

Since I wanted to highlight the pasta, I cooked down some tomatoes, garlic, onions, and basil down in white wine - I mean, after putting all that energy into its production, I didn't want to drown it in a heavy sauce.  Not only was the sauce nice and light, but so was the pasta itself.  The flavored reminded me of an egg noodle, but not as thick and dense.  Normally if I have two plate fulls of pasta, I feel overly full.  But after two plates of this stuff, I could still have eat another two...or four.  It's going to be the perfect alfresco summer dinner - I'm picturing our teak table, fresh cut flowers, tiki torches, a sun dress, a big glass of a bright white, and this pasta with lemon, peas, and asparagus.  Jeeze, I cannot wait for summer.

Classy Dinner Party Tomato Shrimp Pasta

In my family, birthdays are a big deal.  Actually, that's an understatement.  Birthdays are a HUGE deal.  Birthdays are everything.  And they don't just last one day, oh, no no.  They last a whole week.  That's right.  A seven days of celebrating and honoring of the birthday boy or girl.  Most of the time this means they get to choose meals or what we watch on television, but really its just an excuse to guilt people into doing whatever you want and pop a bottle of sparkling every night for a week.

Slaving over a hot stove.

This year to kick off my birthday week, I trained up to my alma mater for a little dinner party with the college gang.  I spent most of last week trying to decide what to make; I mean, I wanted something easy that would serve ten people, but that would look gourmet and fancy enough for a classy dinner party.  After a lot of web-surfing and soul-searching, I decided on a tomato sauce with shrimp over spaghetti - tomato sauces are probably the easiest thing to make, and what's more posh than shrimp, really now?  This recipe was perfect, because I was able to get it prepped and on the stove in about 15 minutes, before the bulk of people arrived, and then just let it stew and the flavors develop while we had cocktails and appetizers.  By the time we were ready to sit down, the sauce was done and we were all fairly toasted.  It was the perfect dinner party dish.




Tomato Shrimp Pasta
2 tbs olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small sweet potato, cubed
1 tbs basil
1 tbs oregano
2 tsp red pepper flakes
½ cup red wine
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
2 pints cherry tomatoes
2 lbs spagehtti
1 large bag of cooked frozen shrimp
salt and pepper to taste




+ In a large sauce pan, saute the onions and garlic in oil until the onions become translucent.  Add the sweet potato until the onions and potato just start to brown.
+ Add the herbs and red pepper and mix until well combined.
+ Add wine to deglaze the pan, then add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and one pint of cherry tomatoes.  Give a good stir.  Season to taste.
+ Cover and cook for as long as desired, at least 30 minutes.  Put water on to boil.
+ Once the water is boiled, add the pasta.  Stir the sauce, add the last pint of cherry tomatoes and shrimp, and season to taste.  When the pasta is done cooking, the shrimp should be heated through and the cherry tomatoes soft but whole.
+ Strain the pasta and return to pot.  Spoon a small amount of sauce into the pasta and stir until evenly covered.  Serve in large bowl with remaining sauce poured over the top.