Handmade Pasta and a Birthday Dinner

Earlier last month was my dad's 50th birthday. His request for a present? A home cooked meal in our new kitchen that included cupcakes. Done. I love to cook for family, and this was the first meal D and I have cooked for company since our new kitchen was installed. We had the dinner last weekend, and here are a few photos of the main dish being prepared.

The Menu


Handmade fettuccine with pesto sauce (frozen from last year's garden)
Handmade spaghetti with tomato sauce (tomatoes canned 2 summers ago)
Sauteed beet greens with garlic
Steamed broccoli with olive oil
Green Salad with radishes and cucumber
Strawberry Shortcake with vanilla cupcakes and ice cream

Unfortunately, I did not think to take photos of anything but the pasta making process. Trust me when I say it was delicious! All of the vegetables were from the market along with the strawberries. Everything was made and eaten with love.

Homemade pasta is one of my all time favourite meals. It truly tastes entirely different from store bought pasta, and is surprisingly easy to make. We received our pasta attachment for our mixer as a Christmas gift last year, but you could do this easily with a hand crank or by hand! I really encourage you to give it a try, it is delicious!

Pasta Dough

4 large eggs

1 tbsp. water

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Place eggs, water, flour, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix all together using either a wooden spoon or the dough hook attachment if using an electric mixer. Beat for 2 minutes with mixer, a bit longer by hand, until smooth dough forms. Hand knead for an additional 2 minutes. Cover the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes. Divide into 4 pieces and roll out to desired thickness. Cut into any size pasta. 

** We had to add a few more tablespoons of water to get it to come together, just do it by feel.

Cook the pasta in boiling water for about 2-3 minutes, until al dente. 

Enjoy! 

Brenna