Spring begins

Today is the first day of spring here. The sky above my house is an arabesque of blue surrounded by varying shades of threatening black clouds, and the sun's light is strong and hot. I walked barefoot to the park near my house. It's a designed park, all fancy gardens and asphalt walkways, but nevertheless it's beautiful. I can still feel my feet tingling with the softness of thick mustard green moss, and the moist dark brown of earth. There's a storm coming in from the North - I haven't lived here yet long enough to know what that means, but maybe we'll have another thunder storm. My walk being completed, there's nothing to do now but drink coffee and have breakfast. At 1:37 in the afternoon.

Last night, I made dinner for my boyfriend's family. I eat over there probably half the nights out of the week, and I feel bad that I'm such a mooch. Besides, I wanted to try out a new recipe: pasta. Homemade pasta. Now, I know the rule that you're not suppose to cook things you've never made before for people you like, especially people like your boyfriend's family, but I really couldn't resist. And it went over surprisingly well. Everyone loved it and swore it was delicious, though I found some things that I could have done better or differently. So here's what I did, and then the ways I would change it.

I used the recipe for Orecchiette that can be be found on Epicuriuos: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Orecchiette-with-Chickpeas-242012. This recipe says it has 8 first-course servings. Not knowing how much that was, and needing to feed six people, four of which are fully grown men, so I decided that a first-course serving must be about half of what someone eats in a full course, and so I multiplied the recipe by 3/2 and got down to business.

Ingredients:
3/4 c. warm water
1 1/8 t. fine sea salt
2 1/8 c. semolina flour

Mix the salt and the water, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Add the semolina flour and incorporate to make a firm dough. I found I needed to add a bit more water (maybe a tablespoon or two), but I think that was because of the type of semolina I was using. Honestly, I think I should have added a bit more water; I don't think my dough was slack enough, though I wouldn't know, never having made pasta before last night. When you're happy with your dough, knead it until it's springy and elastic. Everything should be smooth - no tears in the dough. Cut this into five pieces and let it rest for half an hour underneath a bowl. This period of rest allows for gluten development, which will help the pasta be pasta, and not some horrifying mass of damp semolina particles when you boil it.

While I was giving it its half hour, I started on the salad, which was just some red bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella (try to get fresh mozzarella; it doesn't come in a block, but in a ball, and it's soft and the flavor is light but unique, whereas the mozzarella from a block tastes like cheddar gone slightly wrong), basil, and a bit of cucumber, all drizzled in olive oil and balsamic vinegar with some sea salt on the top. (Add the saucy stuff just before you serve; otherwise it will be slightly odd.)

Then it was time to deal with the pasta. I took one of the five pieces out and rolled it into a baguette-like shape, about 16 inches long and 3/4 inch thick. Then you're supposed to cut it into 1/4-inch thick pieces and make these little ear-shaped pasta out of them. Which I did. I found that you have to roll the little pieces of the dough into balls before you can make the orecchiette shape effectively, and when you do make the shape, what I did was press down with the tip of my thumb and smear a bit, so that the dough makes a little hat for your finger. I enlisted my good sport of a boyfriend to help, and so we made a whole bunch of pasta and were really goofy together. This is what cooking is all about - having a really good time. If you get good food in the end, that's a bonus, but the real point is being happy while you're cooking. Why make something a chore when it's so diverting?

Once we'd finished the pasta, we washed the mushrooms (lots of them - white button, because they're cheap and I'm cheap, so we matched) and I cut them into slices and set them aside to be fried in copious amounts of butter. Then I started the sauce.

Alfredo sauce isn't that hard. I promise. You start with a roux, which is equal parts flour and oil (I used olive oil and all-purpose flour). Cook this in a pot on lower heat, stirring constantly, until the flour is cooked, but not browned. To this, add your spices - fresh, finely chopped garlic (I used two cloves and could probably have used more), oregano (I accidentally used dried basil, which turned out fine, but oregano is what you want), rosemary, salt, and pepper. Saute a moment more, until fragrant, and then add either water (if you have a thick roux) or milk (if you want this to taste really awesome rather than just very good). I added water, and then was sad and added milk. Turn up the stove a little, so that it's around medium heat, and add a profusion of finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese. Of all the hard Italian cheeses out there, this is probably the best. In the world. It has a sharp taste, makes your tongue tingle a bit, and is delightfully salty. The aftertaste is warm and full, and leaves a craving behind. When you add it to sauces, it makes everything better. This is good, because I needed an ameliorater.

Somewhere in the middle of the sauce process, the water for the pasta boiled and we added our orecchiette to it. We could see the quantity wouldn't suffice, and so we supplemented it with box pasta. Strangely, the two tasted more or less alike, with mine being just a little more chewy. While we were waiting for the pasta to finish, I cut up some more basil and my sous-chef grated more cheese and set the table. In the end, we had just enough. Ginger cookies and coffee for desert. Everyone was happy.

BUT.

Pasta is fun to make. I'd encourage you to try it. But it probably makes more sense to use box pasta instead. It takes forever to make, and it's very difficult to make enough. That said, this recipe produces very tasty pasta, though I think I overcooked them, among other things. But it was worth it. Trying new things frequently is.

Kate