Thursday night- over at a friends house to get schooled in the art of making pasta. I dont know too many folks that make their own noodles so Ive always considered Sean an exceptional human being based on his pasta prowess alone. What makes him so extraordinary is the fact that not only does Sean make pasta but he makes it regularly. He probably makes it as often as I make toast…his comfort level betrays ample experience. Letting go of any feelings of intimidation, I resolutely want in on this whole casual pasta making bit. This little production is of course old hat to Sean as we set up to get started. Flour in a bowl, make a little ditch for the eggs…slowly stirring it together with a fork until we can roll it in our hands. We make two different types- one plain, the other with spinach mixed into the base. The kneeding is funny..shimmying it between our palms, slapping it on the counter, flattening the dough and rolling it in on itself…and repeat. It starts out sticky and quickly evolves to a pleasant elasticity. The process is shockingly simple and we soon put our little dough blobs aside to rest while we work on a sauce. Mostly Sean works on the sauce- I chop up some mild Italian pork sausage and quickly step back to better observe what hes doing.

Whats happening is best described as controlled chaos. The kitchen looks like its been ravaged by a pack of teenage boys..teenage boys that know how to cook and choose great ingredients mind you…but nonetheless, what Im trying to say is its fucking messy. Sean is moving fast- peeling, slicing…olive oil is drizzled into a pan. He sautes the onions which are quickly joined by peeled bell peppers, tomato and chunks of sausage. At this point, my stomach is pinching at me…the smell of dinner creepin’ in thick. Back to the noodles. A little silver hand crank pasta machine is attached to a table, towels layed out to catch the sheets of pasta after they are pushed through. Breaking up the blobs into smaller lumps, Sean slowly feeds them into the machine..in goes an amorphous blob- out comes a smooth sheet of pasta. Not quite that simple actually, he has to patiently keep refeeding the dough through- adjusting each time to a tighter setting. In the end, the sheets are about as thick as a sheet of heavy paper. Next, they are cut into thick pappardelle noodles and dropped in to boiling water to cook. Its all coming together now- he tosses the pasta with the simmering sauce then adds butter and a smattering of parmesan to the mix. Thats it, thats all.

Im happy to say that the pasta making was less of a production than I had anticipated. Granted, there were a few extra steps but the end absolutely justified the means- the pasta dish was spectacular. The noodles were perfect- their consistency tender, pleasantly firm. The sauce really decorated the pasta well- the sausage gave a nice kick, the bell peppers so soft they melted in with the noodles and the onions. The dish was smooth, well composed..spot on really- I would go as far as to say memorable. Will I be cranking out fresh pasta with the quickness and ease of an Italian grandmother from this point on? Probably not but this meal in itself will definitely have me hesitating next time I reach for a box of dry noodles.