The past few weeks have been a bit tough.  Especially with the devastation that bitch Sandy brought to many seaside towns (and the lower part of Manhattan) along the East Coast.  It hit especially close to home for me because my mom & her husbands beautiful house that sits on this sweet little canal was obliterated with 72 inches of water.  They are safe and unharmed physically but it looks like it’s going to be  a while before any sense of a normal living situation is restored for them.

During the few days when there was nowhere to go because transportation was pretty much non-existent, I found myself at a loss of having control over much of anything.  I was frustrated because I couldn’t get to my mom to try to help her, I couldn’t get to work, I couldn’t do much of anything but hope for the best for everyone that was suffering.

So I did what I always do when I feel this way & I started cooking.  I love cooking because it relaxes me.  It allows me to focus on the task at hand and all of the things that are stressing me blur out for the time being.  I made pasta from scratch & was amazed at how simple & delicious it was to do.

Handmade Pasta:

• Clean a large counter space or wooden cutting board off well and make sure it is completely dry.
• Mound a short and wide pile of 3.5 cups of unbleached white flour and make a shallow well in the center.
• Crack 4 large eggs into the well ( I did all 4 at once & it ran too quickly and made a huge mess so I think it would easier to do them one or two at a time).
• Using a fork, beat together the eggs and begin to incorporate the flour starting with the inner rim of the well. As you incorporate the eggs, keep pushing the flour up to retain the well shape (do not worry if it looks messy). The dough will come together in a shaggy mass when about half of the flour is incorporated.
• Start kneading the dough using the palms of your hands. Add more flour, in 1/2-cup increments, if the dough is too sticky. Once the dough is a cohesive mass, scrape up any left over dry bits, and continue kneading for 3 more minutes.  Make sure to add flour to the countertop if needed.
• By now the dough should be feeling a bit elastic and slightly sticky.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes at room temperature. Roll and form as desired.  I did half by hand and the other half with my Kitchenaid pasta maker attachment just to see the difference.  The attachment definitely got it to come out more uniform, but it wasn’t necessary.
• Boil salted water and cook pasta about 6-8 minutes or until it feels done.  Serve as desired.  (I did mine with crumbled fennel sausage, sautéed leeks & Porcini mushrooms.)