St. Patrick's and Cinco de Mayo parties.
I finally got around to adding the picture galleries to my Flickr accounts.
Click through:
St. Patrick's Day 2008 Party
May 22, 2008
September 20, 2006
Batali Pasta - Round Two
I made fresh spaghetti last night. I did things a bit differently than I had before, as I said I would. This time, I used 3-4 cups of high-gluten bread flour (an exact measurement is out of the question, really). I also modified the recipe to only 3 whole eggs and about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. I prepped it in the well-method and kneaded it about 10 minutes, then let it rest another 15 or 20 in the fridge while I prepared the press and bench.
I pressed it out a few times on each number to about a 3-4 width, then cut it down with the spaghetti wheel. I floured it again with the HG flour and let it rest about 30 minutes while I cooked the sauce.
The sauce I used was actually out of a jar. Yeah yeah, but I at least modified it enough with a good base of some tomato paste, a bell pepper and about a 1/2 cup of stiff white wine, reduced down to almost a syrup. I then added the jar of Archer Farms Vodka Tomato Sauce I got from Target 
a while back. I have to say, the sauce right out of the jar was great, but after the initial caramelization of the tomato paste and bell pepper in the saucepan, the actual condiment came out spectacularly good. Of course, just as the sauce was finishing up, I dropped the pasta into the water, which had already been at the boil for almost 45 minutes. I sliced a loaf of pugliese I picked up from Albertson's deli, brushed it with the same olive oil and rubbed it with garlic, some salt and a little oregano (I was out of basil). I then oiled up a saute pan and fried the bread to a golden, crispy brown. By the time the bread was done (really quick), the pasta came out and into the sauce. Salads were prepped and and everything came out great.
I have to say, that even with the jarred sauce, the pasta was better than almost any I've ever had. The texture was perfect, the taste was absolutely astounding. Eaten uncooked, you could taste the olive oil in it. Cooked, it was just perfectly flavored with the right amount of salt (added at the drop) and oil.
I could have made it better, but compared to the normal "Americanized" Italian food I've had all my life here, this was ten times the flavor, ten times the texture and ten times the fun to do. I'm hooked on fresh pasta.
Ciao.