pasta making

for the latest in my pasta making adventures, we are starting off with my beloved pasta shape, the pappardelle noodle. i thought i'd switch it up this time by serving it tossed up with a fresh basil pesto. i'm still learning which noodles pair with which sauces, but i have to say, the pesto-pappardelle combo was dynamite!  

to toast to our latest pairing, we initially planned to have alex and larry over to catch up with them post-wedding celebrations. sadly, larry wasn't able to make it, but alex was all too happy to snack on the extra pasta :)

when serving, we paired it with an impromptu chicken masala, and a thirst-quenching white wine. it was lovely.

after our past lessons learned from making ravioli, T and i were ready to give it another go. we still had some snafus here and there, but overall, it went much smoother than the last time. i just have to remember to flour all the things, including the ravioli trays. 

we revisited the cheese filling used in our previous attempt...i mean, don't fix what ain't broke, right? then, it was tossed with T's infamous bolognese sauce and served with a bold, and jammy red wine. the perfect way to usher in a fun weekend, and treat T's 'rents to dinner. 

then, a couple of weekends ago, T and i tackled a new (to me) pasta shape, angolotti (pronounced an-yo-lo-ti). if you haven't heard of this noodle, it is somewhat like ravioli, but made in a pillow-like shape. think your basic rectangular or throw pillow shape, with only three folds. it is equal parts delicious and adorable, if that is even possible for pasta. 

traditionally, angolotti is filled with meat or pureed veggies. i thought i'd try a different angle, so i filled it with a goat cheese, pepper, and chile flake mixture. then, to keep on the adventurous angle, i made a saffron-vermouth tomato sauce. truth be told, i was very nervous that the filling and sauce wouldn't pair up, but it was oh.my.goodness SO good. cat came over for another one of our wine dinners and it matched perfectly with the varietals she'd brought.

progress!