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03/20/2005 Entry: "Homemade Noodles"

Okay. Here's how I make home-made noodles.

In a large bowl make a little pile of flour, then a little salt, and a little oil.

One egg would be enough for a smaller portion, two will make a large portion. Mix the flour into the eggs just enough so they are kneadable. There should be some flour left over. While kneading, the dough might become a bit brittle and then a tiny little more oil will help. When your lump is well kneaded--after about five minutes--get started with the rolling pin. A wine bottle or a roll of plastic wrap will also suffice.

Roll the crap out of the dough with your trusty rolling pin. This is the most time consuming part of the whole spiel. With a larger lump of dough, it might be wise to cut it up into smaller parts as the sheets of dough get larger. Or get one of those heavy-duty crank deals with a noodle attachment that you can clamp to the counter. That would be so nice and save so much time.

When you have a nice thin rectangularish sheet of dough, dust it with flour and fold it a few times longways so it is no wider than your knife. Cut it into thin strips and unroll them. Fresh noods!

You could dry them out on a rack, but I have found they turn blackish. I toss 'em into a large pot of furiously boiling water and let em squirm for just a few minutes. Dried ones need some time longer, which is a good idea seeing that we're dealing with raw eggs. Anyway, if you boil them with a little stock you can eat them just so. Otherwise with a little pesto you've got a delicious dish. So nice, steaming and puffy.

As for measurements and how much one might need for larger batches, I'll leave that for you to figure out. You need experience to know when a dough is ready for kneading, and then again to know when it is kneaded enough. After all, what is the point of making homemade noodles than to have the fun of reinventing the wheel?