Basic Pasta Class I

Hi, all. We had a wonderful time at our basic pasta making class with Luke Miller. Everyone had a chance to make their dough, roll the dough through the pasta machine to make their choice of noodles and cook two sauces. Of course after all of that work they were able to sit down and eat their creation and drink a bit of wine. To make this class even more fun the fire alarm went off during Luke's basic Alfredo sauce demonstration. Not knowing the code to stop the alarm, 911 would not stop the fire department from coming to "ingredients". I could silence the alarm; but not stop the strobe and I apologize to my downtown family for any distress cause by the fire truck being parked on First St. The strobe has stopped (as of this morning) and all is well.

Below are the recipes by Luke Miller from Class One: Basic Pasta:

Basic Pasta Dough

1 T EVOO
1 3/4 C Unbleached Flour
1 t Kosher Salt
2 extra large eggs or 3 large eggs

On a solid work surface add 1 1/2 C flour in a mound and make a well in the center reserving the remaining 1/4 c for later kneading. Add oil, eggs and salt in a bowl and mix. Pour egg mixture in center of mound and begin to work with your fingers until you form a mass. Use the reserved flour a little at a time to form into a smooth ball. The dough will be slightly tacky to the touch when it is ready. Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit in refrigerator until you are ready to roll it out.

Simple Tomato Sauce

3 T EVOO
2 Cloves Garlic chopped fine
1/4 C Yellow Onion chopped fine
1/4 C Red Wine
2 16oz cans of diced Tomatoes
1 T Basil
1 T Oregano
1/2 t Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Kosher salt to taste
Sugar to taste*

Sweat garlic and onion in oil for a few minutes until translucent and cooked through. Add wine and deglaze pan. Add tomatoes and spices and simmer until desired thickness.

If you would like a smoother tomato sauce, pulse it in a blender or food processor before serving.

*Sugar is added as a way to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. Add this in small amounts, like salt, until you get the desired taste.

Alfredo Sauce

2 Cloves Garlic
1 T EVOO
2 T White Wine or Vermouth
2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1 C fine grated Parmesan Reggiano Cheese
1 T Butter

Sweat garlic in oil for a few seconds and add wine before garlic browns. Add cream and reduce while whisking on low heat until cream thickens and coats back of spoon*. Whisk in cheese until smooth. If it is too thick add more cream. Whisk in butter before service.

*When thickened to right consistency, you should be able to run your finger down back of spoon and separate the sauce in two parts.

I can tell you that everything tasted so good. I didn't realize how easy it is to make pasta (although we sell some pasta here) and how good it tastes. It does take a bit of time; but you can store your mound of pasta for a while. The homemade sauces were easy and delicious and they didn't take much time at all. I promised Calla Rae we would attempt this at home. Hmm, I wonder if Luke would come over and help :-).

Next week we will be filling ravioli with cheese and seafood and we learn two new sauces.