Hey, guys ... I don't know if you've made pasta before, but I definitely thought it was going to be so much easier than it really was. We started around 7:00, and didn't finish until around 9:30 and that was when we actually sat down for dinner.
I won't lie - we had a lot of fun, but boy, was it hard. I mean, physically, it was hard to roll that dough out; reading the recipe was the easiest part! With only 4 ingredients, how could I screw it up? Welp, I done messed up, friends!
Thank God, one thing wasn't dry and that was my glass of wine. Thankfully, Zac was there to pour it. We also laughed more with each other because we’d never made dinner together, let alone spent more than an hour in the kitchen with each other. The recipe told me I could make the dough by hand, in the Kitchen-aid mixer or in the food processor. I choose the easiest one and that was the food processor. Little did I know, at this point, I was in for it. Even after reading the recipe, I STILL l had no idea what I was doing. I’m generally guilty of skimming a recipe just to get to the actual ingredients and directions. Had I actually looked at the photos, I would have been slightly more prepared. (I wish you could hear how hard I am laughing at myself as I write this!!)
We should have recorded the entire journey, I did manage to do a few time-lapses. What took place was almost like an episode out of Nailed It! on Netflix, where contestants try to replicate a recipe exactly as it should be. If you haven't seen it, that's okay ... neither have I but I imagine I would’ve been the first to be cut after this poor attempt. I'm not new to this whole baking and cooking business, but damn, I'm definitely new at making pasta from scratch.
I HIGHLY recommend reading your recipe at least a dozen times before starting. I only read mine once and that was one week before we even made the pasta. I thought I'd be extra fancy and get pasta flour - I honestly don't know why I did. I should have used the all-purpose variety the first time so I didn't feel so bad wasting the fancy flour.
So the recipe’s author says, "Turns out, homemade pasta is even more delightful — and easy and delicious and fun — than I expected!" Maybe for her! I had a horrible time, and by horrible, I mean the pasta was SO hard to roll out that we had to make our dough balls the size of golfballs just to knead them! Now, I'm not saying it is hard for everyone, but Zac and I will laugh at this every time we think of making pasta again. I will ABSOLUTELY be borrowing my mother’s pasta roller the next time I want to do this.
For such a simple recipe, it became the most difficult one I've ever attempted. I may or may not have added more flour than I needed - I'm pretty sure I lost count, but I can't remember (too much wine?) - we ended up making two different batches. First the food processor, went to the kitchen add, then made another in the food processor. This first batch is a blur but the second one looked much better, but I still had a hell of a time rolling that shit out.
Since we decided to roll the dough out, I gave it my all but it just wasn't cuttin' it. Zac had to take over because his strength with the rolling pin was far better than mine. He won't admit it if you ask, but he was getting real tired and his hands were cramping from rolling the dough it, it was THAT hard. DEFINITELY get a pasta roller, we didn't have one. I mean it you want to try without one, I warned you, but if you nail it on your first try, I may not be able to be your friend after it...just kidding. I want you to tell me how you did it and where I messed up!
I'll try it again, but give me a few more months for my ego to heal. There's first for everything right? I mean I can't be good at everything. I do wish I had done this live so everyone could have laughed with us. I mean it wasn't a complete disaster, but it was close. We'll be laughing at this for years to come. I didn't even cook the pasta enough and it was still hard in the middle, definitely not al dente.
About a week after our date night I had a client ask me how it went and I just had to laugh. This client is ITALIAN and she makes pasta at home all the time. Her fiancé was even there to back up the fact that her pasta is amazing. She told me how her mother and grandmother used to make pasta all the time. They would teach her how to make it and it would all be by hand. There was no recipe, it was all about the texture of the dough. When I told her how it went down and that I added water because my dough was so dry, she DIED laughing. I got a few tips and tricks from her that I will try the next time, whenever that is.
The pasta still tasted okay, but next time I might stick to the good ole fashioned boxed pasta, or maybe I’ll give it another try, but I will make sure I keep it to two ingredients. Eggs and flour. I won't even try to get fancy, besides using a pasta roller that is.