Pasta Night

Now, my intention was to steam clams in a white wine sauce with fresh made pasta. Sounds delicious right? Well, of course there are no clams at the grocery :(, figures.... So, sauteed shrimp with white wine sauce over fresh pasta it is!!!

Step One: Make the pasta dough

Whether on a cutting board or in a bowl, whatever you're comfortable with, this is crazy simple. Make a well with your flour and salt. Pour your oil and eggs in the center. Start mixing in the middle to keep the liquid from escaping your flour well. Once you've mixed the dough to the point it forms lumps, start using your hands and kneed the dough to one homogeneous ball of dough.

Step Two: Rolling the Dough

Take small amounts of dough to work with. Flatten the pieces so they'll fit through the largest opening in the pasta machine. Fold the dough in thirds every time you roll it out until the dough no longer tears and is smooth. Then start lowering the opening in the machine every other time you roll the dough through.

For example: Roll the dough through the machine twice on size 7, then lower to size 6 and roll through twice. Be sure the keep your dough well floured so it doesn't stick. No one likes cleaning the sticky bits of dough out of the machine...been in that boat before!

Look! A lovely thin rolled piece of dough. I like to roll it to about a size 4 thickness.

Step Three: Cut the Dough and Boil

If you have the attachment for cutting the pasta, yay for you! I do not so I folded the sheet in fourths and cut it with my knife. Remember: well floured pasta!

Tada!! Fresh Fettuccine. Now boil a pot of well salted water, and it takes about a minute to cook it through.

This should be the end of it, on to the shrimp! But I made too much dough, and it doesn't keep. So......

(The tortellini are filled with a mix of goat cheese, Romano, black pepper and basil. They are cut out of the picture because they were most definitely a learning experience!)

So now, on to shrimp!!

Shrimp in White Wine Sauce with Fettuccine

Onion, 1/2 small diced

Garlic, 3 cloves minced

White Wine, 3/4-1 cup

Red Pepper Flakes, 1 pinch

Herbs de Provence, 2 tsp

Salt, to taste

Black Pepper, to taste

Chicken Stock, 1/2 cup

Butter, 2 Tbl

Shrimp, deveined 12 oz

Fresh Basil, handful roughly chopped

Toss shrimp in salt and black pepper and sear on high heat in a splash of olive oil. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside. While pan is still hot throw in onions, garlic, red pepper, herbs de provence, salt and black pepper. Stir constantly to keep from burning on high heat. Deglaze the pan with the wine. Watch out, the steam will get ya! Reduce heat to a simmer and cook down the wine to about half the amount. Add the chicken stock and shrimp back in. Simmer for just a minute or two, add in the butter and basil. Toss with the freshly cooked pasta and serve, easy peasy. Enjoy!!

Let me know if you like it as much as my family did!:)