Homemade Pasta

For our January Cooking Club party we got together for pasta night!  Christina Bailey demonstrated how to make your own pasta and the rest of us brought sauces to share.  The food was fantastic and the company sublime.  Thanks, Christina!

Homemade Pasta recipe:

2 cups flour


1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs (beaten)

If using a food processor, use the dough blade and have it running with the dry ingredients in it. Pour in the beaten eggs while it runs and wait for it to make a ball. If it's too dry you can add a little water or olive oil, or finish kneading it by hand. If you don't have a processor, mix together the flour and salt, put it on a floured counter or cutting board, make a well in the center and pour in the beaten eggs, mix in the flour little by little until it's all incorporated and knead until smooth and elastic. Let dough rest wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge for at least a half hour.
 

Use the dough as you like (roll it out with a pasta roller, or with a rolling pin: with the rolling pin, you'll need to fold and roll, fold and roll).

Eat and enjoy!

Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce

Submitted by Shauna Hinckley


Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 cups milk

6 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (I use less)

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Melt butter in a medium, non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add cream cheese and garlic powder, stirring with wire whisk until smooth. Add milk, a little at a time, whisking to smooth out lumps. Stir in Parmesan and pepper. Remove from heat when sauce reaches desired consistency. Sauce will thicken rapidly, thin with milk if cooked too long. Toss with hot pasta to serve.



I also used a few drops of Tabasco in mine. Then I sautéed chicken and sliced mushrooms (I actually used canned of both, but fresh is obviously better) in butter with some garlic, onions and Italian seasonings. Then I combined it all.

This is one of my oh-crap-its-dinner-time-AGAIN-but-I-just-fed-them-yesterday meals. My kids really love it. Enjoy!

Michelle and Matt's Asparagus

Submitted by Michelle Ricks


Ingredients:

Asparagus


Red pepper

Carrots

Hazelnuts

Shallots

Sun dried tomatoes

White wine vinegar

Lemon juice

Olive oil

Garlic salt

Fresh parmesan





Ok so first I grabbed the hazelnuts & sun dried tomatoes carrots & shallots and diced those babies up tossed it in a heated pan with olive oil till the shallots were transparent. I pulled it off the heat and then steamed the beefy asparagus for 5 minutes. I combined the asparagus with everything else and splashed it with lemon juice and white wine vinegar. Sprinkled with parmesan on top to finish.

Creamy Light Pasta

Submitted by Melissa Maxwell
Recipe by Pam Anderson

1 cup chicken broth
1 cup 2% evaporated milk
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 T. butter
3 T. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, plus extra for sprinkling

Microwave broth, milk, and garlic in small bowl until steamy hot (3-4 minutes).  Let stand a couple of minutes.

Place butter in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over lowe heat.  When butter melts, whisk in flour, then hot milk mixture all at once, whisking constantly until sauce thickens, 1 to 2 minutes.  Stir in Parmesan, along with add ins.  Add salt and pepper to taste and simmer to blend flavors (about 5 minutes).

Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.  Return pasta to pot.

Pour cream sauce over pasta, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten.  Toss and serve immediately.

Add ins:
3 cups asparagus pieces, 12 oz. salmon (cut into 2-inch chunks), 1 tsp. lemon zest, 1/4 cup fresh dill

12 oz. cooked shrimp (cut into 1/2-inch pieces), 1 box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry, 1/2 cup drained petite diced tomatoes (canned), 1 tsp. dried oregano

3 cups broccoli florets, 2 cups shredded chicken, 1/2 cup drained petite diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, 1/2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes

Audrey's Marinara

Submitted by Emily Daniel
(just 6 more months and the credit's mine. it's all mine!!!)


Ingredients:

1/2 lb Italian Sausage, cooked until somewhat crisp and drained on paper towels

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 carrots, peeled and diced

1 eggplant, prepared according to directions*

1 zucchini, diced (I used half a zucchini and half a summer squash)

2 red bell peppers (cut into large pieces)

8 oz sliced mushrooms

1 large can stewed/diced tomatoes

1 large can tomato sauce

1 small can tomato paste

1 tsp. each basil, oregano, garlic

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

2 T sugar

1/4 C red wine



1) Chop eggplant into small cubes (and I mean really small, smaller than dice) and toss the eggplant with 1 T Kosher Salt in a colander. Set the colander to rest over a large bowl and let the eggplant drain for 1-3 hours. Rinse the salt off the eggplant and then press in between two layers of paper towels to get the rest of the moisture. If this step seems too labor intensive, you can just use the eggplant undrained, which is okay, or you can drop the eggplant altogether.

2) Saute onion, carrots, and eggplant in 1 T olive oil until carrots are softened. About 5 minutes.

3) Add remaining vegetables and saute another 5 minutes.

3) If using, add wine and cook on high heat until it has evaporated, about another 5 minutes.

4) Add tomatoes, sauce and spices. How much salt and sugar you use are up to you.


This makes a lot of sauce, so serve a crowd, or freeze some for later. Or get really wild and halve the recipe. That's what I did!

Cranberry Bread

Submitted by Laura Hintze

2 cups flour


1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup butter

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

3/4 cup orange juice

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped

3/4 cup nuts, chopped



Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a large bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add egg, orange peel, and orange juice all at once; stir until mixture is evenly moist. Fold in raisins and cranberries. Spoon into a greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack.