I make da pasta

Pasta is probably the best thing that I have made by myself over this entire experience. It was also the worst. I take that back, the bread, and possibly the salad where I added too much garlic, were the worst. I should clarify, taste wise--the pasta was one of the best, cooking wise--it was one of the worst. Pasta is harder to make than you would think. Apparently, something with only three ingredients can be just as complicated as yeast. Yeast is very complicated. I really don’t know why I had so many struggles with the pasta, but I think it was just adjusting myself to using the pasta machine. BUT I have learned the key, the secret if you will, to correctly using a pasta maker; do NOT put the entire chunk of dough into it at once. The pasta maker does not respond well to an overwhelming amount of dough. I am getting ahead of myself, first, here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cups of flour (the book says preferably Italian type 00 but I seriously doubt I had the foresight to buy that and mine turned out just fine.)
• extra fancy flour for dusting
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• salt (they do not specify how much salt, so I added a pinch because that seems to be the standard salt measurement)

and there you have it. It only has three ingredients. I was shocked too.

Directions:

1. I would like to first note that making this was a lot more fun than I assumed it would be, so just follow the directions even if you are weirded out.
2. Clean your countertop.
3. Sift all of your flour and your pinch of salt directly into a mound on to your countertop. (Do you see why I added step 2?)

   

   don't forget to get all of your ingredients out ahead of time

   
   
4. Make a well in the center and add the eggs. After significant trial and error, I have found that it is best if you add a small amount of eggs, incorporate that into the flour and then gradually add more of the eggs. I did not do that at first and the egg came out of some hidden hole in the flour and made a stream and flowed all the way off my countertop.
   

   
5. Incorporate all of the egg into the flour mound.

   

   the true struggle

   
   

   
6. Knead for about 10 minutes.
7. If the mixture is too soft, add some dusting flour. If it is too firm, add a little water. Use your good judgement.
8. Shape the dough into a ball and let it rest for 15 minutes.

   

   to prove I did not steal the below picture from the internet

   

   this is not from the internet

9. Now start using your pasta maker. As I said, do not put the entire chunk the pasta maker. This does not work at all, put smaller chunks of dough in.
10. Here is how I would do it, if I tried it again right now:
1. Break the ball into 4 smaller balls.
2. Make each ball into a rectangle.
   

   
3. Feed rectangle into the pasta maker at the highest setting.
   

   
4. Gradually get to a lower setting (like 3).
   

   

   
   

   
5. Then feed your thin rectangle into the contraption that makes the rectangle into tiny strands of pasta.
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   
6. Lay tiny strands out flat until you are ready to boil them.
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   I MADE THAT

11. To cook your pasta, bring a pot of water (with a pinch of salt in it) to a boil. Add the pasta and continue to stir until it is cooked. I do not remember exactly, but pay close attention anywhere in between 3 and 5 minutes and I’m pretty sure you’ll be good.

Now you make your sauce. See it is intense for something with three ingredients.