Slap Your Momma Pasta!

This pasta is so good that I think it was a runner up for the Seven Deadly Sins list. I have to thank my friend, Michelle Hannah for making me attempt to make my own pasta one day a few weeks ago when we were both cranky and needed a pick me up. We ignored our needy children and made pasta. Because sometimes... that's just what you gotta do. I'm also thanking Pioneer Woman for these recipes. If you are not familiar with her, you're missing out. Michelle's also the one that's introduced me to her and now I am in love with several of her recipes, use her photoshop actions for some of my pictures and follow her on twitter. I'm a big stalker fan.


Ok, so the pasta!


Her recipe is here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/05/homemade-pasta/


And here are the directions:
Ingredients

• 6 whole Eggs
• 3 cups All-purpose Flour

THAT's it. Seriously. What is in our store bought pasta?? I halfed this recipe because it was just for Jason and I. I had enough leftover for leftovers for one of us, so she's right on the money.

Preparation Instructions

Rule of thumb: Two eggs per one cup of flour  

Make a well in the center of your pile of flour and crack in your eggs. Slowly mix together with your hands. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead (roll, punch, push, etc.) by hand until dough becomes smooth and pliable, adding flour to the board as necessary.

Let the dough rest for a little while before rolling it out. You can sort of figure on one egg per person to determine how much dough to make. Example: Two eggs and one cup of flour would make enough pasta dough for a dinner for two.

When you’re ready, roll it out on a floured surface as thinly as it’ll go. The noodles will plump up quite a bit when they boil in the water, so the thinner you can roll it, the better. Cut the noodles really thin. You can use a sharp knife (if you can keep it in a straight line), a pizza wheel, or a long pizza/bread cutter.

Jason and I got a pasta maker for Christmas. Instead of rolling it out, I sent the dough through the machine to thin it out and then through the attachment to cut it into strips. It worked beautifully. The first time Michelle and I made the pasta though we did it by hand like she directs. It still worked great, this was just easier and faster.

To cook the noodles, just boil them in salted water (very important!) for probably two minutes. They cook lightning fast, so don’t let ‘em go too long.

I was afraid that they would clump and stick together but they separate in the water very nicely. It looked like real pasta! Definitely don't cook them long. Because they're fresh, it really only takes about 2 minutes of cooking time. 

Then the rest of the meal I did shrimp alfredo.

I sauteed the shrimp in butter for about 7-10 minutes

And then followed Pioneer Woman's recipe for alfredo sauce. OMG. To. Die. For.

You can see her recipe here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/07/fettuccine-alfredo/

(I love how many pictures she posts!)

And directions:

Ingredients

• 1 pound Fettuccine Noodles (homemade!)
• 1 stick Butter
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• 2 cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta according directions.

In a saucepan or skillet, warm butter and cream. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Grate Parmesan cheese and place half of it into a large serving bowl. Pour warm butter/cream mixture over the top.

Drain pasta and immediately pour it into the bowl.
Toss a couple of times, then sprinkle in the other half of the Parmesan.

Toss to combine, thinning with pasta water if necessary.
Serve immediately as a main course or accompaniment to meat or salad.

And this is what the final product looked like:

So it looks good, but doesn't come close to showing just how amazing this dish was. The pasta tasted so fresh and because I used fresh (meaning a block that I grated) parmesan cheese, it almost sent me over the edge. My husband said that we can't go back to boxed pasta, and he's right! There's no comparison. And with really how easy it was to make, there shouldn't be any excuses to do so either.