a trip to the other coast (NUMBER 1!)

NUMBER 1 - homemade pasta at dad's


Now I want no parental rivalry here. This one goes to dad (and not the buche) because it was a brand new thing for me. When I was growing up, when did anyone ever make homemade pasta? Well, it never happened, but this year my dad got a pasta machine as a gift. The plan was to try it out for the first time and make a scrumptious dinner. Now those of us who know my dad are always confident in his cooking abilities but the pressure had started to build and my dad seemed downright nervous about how he was going to pull this one off. Not only did he pull it off but it was DAMN GOOD. I might even go with the best pasta dish I've ever had--AND it was wheat-free. Beat that!

It had started to get a bit late, everyone was getting a bit nervous about the entire procedure. When I think of homemade pasta, I imagine bubby slaving all day in the kitchen. So, you can imagine the anxiety at Whole Foods at about 5:30 pm. Fifteen minutes later, we were on our way home and a few minutes after that the dough was well underway. The dough consisted of only two ingredients: eggs and flour; white spelt flour in our case. We did a couple of small batches at a time, about 2 cups of flour and 2-3 eggs. Then we rolled the dough, carefully and according to the machine's directions.


Once the pasta (linguine) was cut, we floured and piled it up (not recommended, to avoid sticking). This is when the pasta is supposed to dry but we were hungry and it was getting late, so this step didn't quite happen. Freshly made pasta cooks in just a few minutes. Now here is where it gets fun. Sauteed in a pan (in this order) went: olive oil, turkey bacon (no piggies here!), garlic, truffle paste (black AND white), oyster mushrooms, chives and italian parsley. With parmesan on top! The sauce was perfect; the truffles, mushrooms and turkey bacon melded together into yummy, savory, salty goodness. Definitely worth every bit of effort.