Tag: Pasta

I’m a Pasta Fanatic… Aren’t You?

61VnBAoAoWL._SL1000_How Hard Can It Be

If you’re not eating fresh pasta YOU ARE CRAZY!  Especially for the simple reason that it’s incredibly easy to make; not to mention the, “I can’t get enough fresh pasta” taste it leaves in your mouth after you’ve tossed the noodles in your favorite sauce.  I had someone comment on my homemade pasta video a while back.  They were so thankful for my simple little recipe.  This person even went out and bought a little hand churned Pasta maker for like $20 or $30 bucks and mentioned that they were going to start cranking’ that dough out so they could even stalk up the freezer and have it ready to go down the road.

So let’s talk about it shall we?  As you can see in this photo, I’ve got a pasta maker.  It’s been sitting in my storage unit for a while because I’ve been on the road working lately, BUT, was able to pull it out recently and grace my family with a few dishes that involved some freshly made egg noodles.  It doesn’t matter what you decide to make, whether it be Italian, Greek or some twist of your favorite Asian noodle dish, but one thing is for certain, if you’re pasta isn’t the right consistency, you are going to make a mess!  Now this isn’t a contradiction to my theory that pasta is incredibly easy to make, NO!  All I’m saying is, like anything else, you’ve just got to do it right!

You don’t have to follow my recipe by any means but I’ve laid out a basic instructional video for those of you that aren’t too familiar with making your own noodles and in fact don’t have any fancy gadgets or gizmos to “Get’R done”!  The most important thing to know are two simple steps for the final outcome.  ONE, make the dough Dense.  TWO, when the dough is rolled out for the slicing of the noodles, make absolutely sure the dough is dusted with flour and dry enough to separate; otherwise you’ll have a sticky mess.   Easy enough right?  Now watch this video and you’ll see just how easy it really is from any Poor Man’s Gourmet Kitchen!

The Full written original recipe can be found here http://poormansgourmetkitchen.com/making-fresh-pasta-from-scratch.html

Spaghetti with Angel Hair Pasta

IMG_20121112_171626

IMG_20121112_171106

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just the Basics

This is one of the best Spaghetti dish’s I’ve ever had. The secret is in the simmer. You’ve got to let this baby reduce and get the most flavors you’ve ever loved from your favorite Italian seasonings, sink in and settle like little bombs for your taste buds to explode when they hit your tongue!

The meatballs are entirely another matter however and they are just as explosive. But, it’s something I haven’t decided to share with the rest of the world yet, and quite honestly I’ve misplaced my recipe’s “Exact” ingredients, so I’m sorry to say you’ll have to work with another recipe if you’re wanting Meatballs. In the meantime you can brown some Italian sausage and hamburger mix if you’d like to keep it simple and Americanized. I promise you it will be, almost as good! 😉

1/2 small onion, chopped (optional)
1 1/2-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 (3 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (7 1/2 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 cup beef stock or bouillon (for a long period of simmering for flavors to meld. If you don’t want to simmer it as long, add less)
1 1/2 teaspoons basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8-1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
1/4 cup red wine (a good Cabernet!)
1/2 lb Angel Hair Pasta
1/2 to taste parmesan cheese

Directions:
1 Add onions and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until onions are softened.
2 Add garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and beef stock (bouillon).
3 Add basil, parsley, brown sugar, salt, crushed red pepper, and black pepper.
4 Stir well and barely bring to a boil.
5 Stir in red wine.
6 Simmer on low, stirring frequently for at least an hour. A longer simmer makes for a better sauce, just be careful not to let it burn!
7 Cook the Angel Hair pasta Al dente. (This means under cook them and strain)
8 Add the pasta to the sauce and let it soak up the remaining liquid as it reduces, stirring frequently.
When the runniness is gone from the liquid, serve.

Clam Sauce Recipe with Sauteed Mushrooms

The Best Clam Sauce Recipe

This has got to be the best Clam Sauce recipe I have ever had!  Butter, white wine and heavy cream is just screaming creamy obsession, and I can’t think of anything better than a little garlic to compliment a juicy cup of chopped clams, topped off with some sauteed mushrooms and scallions!

Why is this Clam Sauce Recipe Unique

Any Clam sauce recipe I ever had a bite that was like no other flavor.  That’s why I decided to experiment here and there to develop my own recipe.  I’ve since dabbled with a few other ideas from other existing and various types of clam recipes and I’ve turned out quite a few unique spins that I believe taste just as good if not better that the originals.  You’ll understand a little more about what I’m talking about after I post my Clam Chowder!  If I post my Clam Chowder that is!

The Clam Sauce Recipe consists of:

2 tbls. butter
1 chopped garlic clove
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 tbls scallions
1 can 6 oz. of chopped clams with juice
1/3 cup white wine
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 pinch of ceyenne
1 lbs. fresh fettuccini pasta (or your favorite pasta)

Once again this is a recipe that really needs to be baby sat through out the duration of it’s cooking on the stove, so be careful not to screw it up.  You don’t want to burn the butter, or over cook anything that will taint the oveall flavor through out the sauce cause it will suck if you do, I promise you.  Keep a constant stir and follow the steps in my video and you will knock this clam sauce recipe out of the park!