cranking it out

When it's your birthday and you can choose anything in the world in the metroplex that you'd like to do for the day, you should choose to make pasta. 

Choosing to make pasta gives you a day not unlike New Year's; a day to reflect.  Think about it; you blinked and the past year was gone, wasn't it?  You are, one year older.

You'll realize you need to knead. 

Turning the crank round and round, your thoughts go round and round.  You consider what to do with the sheets of pasta.  You consider the coming year. 

Dear God, let it be a good one. 

Dear God, let my linguine be good. 

Egg Pasta

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 pinches of fine, Kosher salt

3 large eggs

Mound the flour onto a cutting board, making a well in the center.  Crack the eggs and drop them into the well.  Stir them with a fork to break them up and continue stirring as you add flour from the side walls, a little at a time.

{Yes, I've had the wall break.

You just have to repair it as best you can.  It will be okay.}

When the ingredients combine to form a dough, begin to knead it, pushing the ball with the palm of your hand then rotating the dough, folding a bit of it over and pushing again.  Knead until it is very smooth.  For me this is 10 to 15 minutes.

Pat the dough to form a disk, cover the entire disk with plastic wrap and set it aside to rest for 15 to 30 minutes.

Cut the rested dough into fourths and process according to your pasta machine instructions.

         

Cage Free!