Thanksgiving 2023

After a bit of back and forth, we (I) decided to have pasta as part of Thanksgiving dinner. We'll be going to the community room of Mary's condo. Jered will make the sauce. David has requested that I make a bit extra for him to take home. (Ask me for some homemade pasta. That's right up my alley)!

Joan and I began the week after we got into town after our fall vacation in Florida. I made 3 full batches (3 cups semolina, 4 eggs, 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil, 1 teaspoon salt). As always, I let the mixed dough sit for 2 or 3 hours to season.

Joan and I rolled the dough to the thinist setting on the Kitchen Aid and them we hand cut the narrow spaghetti on the chittara. Three recipes works out to 3 pounds of dried pasta.

I made another 3 recipes and packaged them for the family(there's a bit extra for David) in 8 oz packages to take home.

Next I made a 1/2 recipe for Mary because she likes the wider cut, from the other side of the chittara.

Then I made a 1/2 batch for Jimmy. He likes the wide cut, but a thicker noodle and only white flour, no semolina.

I also made a 1/2 recipe for Griffin and his family (wife Jessica and kids Emma,Rowan,Kieran,Jackson,Baily). Their's was a vegan recipe; semolina, no eggs, just water. I gave them some narrow cut and another portion of bow ties for the kids.

Since I know that Maria prefers chickpea pasta, I made a recipe of that for her to take home on saturday, not at Thanksgiving.

On the saturday before Thanksgiving, Maria and Gerald came over to make more pasta. I made 3 recipes. Gerald and I worked on bow ties to take home for all the nieces and nephews with small chilcren.

Joan and Maria worked on 1 batch of dough to make penne pasta which I was also going to give away, but am seriously considering keeping for Joan and I.

We used the third recipe of dough to cut thine pasta on the chittara. 

All four of us switched around on the different types of pasta we made. Actually, Gerald discovered if you make one roll in one direction on the gnochi borard and then roll the same piece in the crosswise direction, you get a much more beautiful pattern!

On sunday, I wasn't satisfied with the amount of bow ties for give away, so Joan and I made another recipe. As Maggie Rose says, "All you have to do if pinch a piece of dough!"