This ain't Barilla, baby

No more boxed pasta for you, trooper. This is the real deal, the stuff Kraft workers dream of and only experience in fantasty (fantasy + tasty) worlds. So come on down for some

Homemade Pasta.

I've taken a culinary adventure trip to upstate New York this week, which is as wild and crazy as it sounds. Not only do they know how to party like rockstars up in here, but they've got snow. I haven't seen any yet, but I'm holding on (Wilson Phillips style).

As my little family unit discovered tonight, the arduous task of rolling out the pasta dough is made much more enjoyable when done with a bunch of people you like being with for 45+ minutes.

The recipe itself is insanely easy-- all you need is three ingredients:
2 cups semolina flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1.25 c lukewarm water

Mound the flours together on a work surface and make a well in the center. Slowly pour the water into the well while swirling the flour inwards, forming a very messy mass. It's good to have a buddy so that you can focus on the flour as they pour the water.

As you can see, you're just moving from the inside out in a helter-skelter fashion. Once you have cohesive dough (add enough water to pull it all together, but not so much that it becomes sticky) knead it for 10 minutes. This is very important to develop the gluten and make the dough nice and silky.

Camilla, my lovely sister, did the honors for us.

Spray some saran wrap with olive oil and tightly wrap the dough. It becomes very sticky, so the oil will prevent you form pulling your hair out when you unwrap it later. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

Take small (large marble) bits off of the dough and roll them into long strands. Cut into the desired length (you could do tiny bits or long, spaghetti-like noodles) and lay on a baking dish with semolina flour (prevents sticking).

We thought flour would help the rolling process, but it actually made it very difficult to roll the dough properly. Using a dry surface with no flour worked very well and allowed for the correct shape.

Boil a large pot of water with an ample amount of salt. Dump the entire contents (including the semolina you used to dust the baking sheets) into the water and let cook for about 6 minutes. It depends on how thick your pieces are and how firm you want it. Remember-- this isn't like dried pasta, so don't expect al dente!

When it's ready, drain and toss with your favorite sauce.

We went with my dad's famous Vodka Pasta (which I will debut here soon!) and ate ourselves silly.
Nom!