An edible work of art

The art of pasta making

At first glance the contraption looked similar to one of those play-doh toys. You know, you turned the crank and the play doh would be pushed out of a spout in thick strings of different shapes. That's what my parents' pasta machine reminded me of when I first saw it. Turns out pasta-making is more than child's play; it is an art form.

The dough for pasta is as sunny and cheerful-looking as a mound of play-dough. It is a buttery yellow color and you pinch off a piece and slip in and out of the gears of the machine, so the dough flattens into a disc and swipes up any grease that may have been hiding. You then fold the disc and repeat.

Here's where it gets fun. Pick up one of the buttery-yellow piece of dough and feed it through the machine while turning the crank. It will be transformed from a chubby ball of dough to a long sheet. Then feed it again and the long, smooth sheet of dough will be uniformly shredded. The pasta is then swirled around a baking pan lined with cornmeal before tossed into the pot of boiling water.

I've experienced the pasta-making process with my parents but the first time I watched my
niece and nephews create pasta was during my birthday party last week. I spent the previous night making meatballs and while they defrosted in a pot, my father set up the pasta machine and my niece and nephews gathered around the counter top and peered up at it, looking intrigued.

My niece and father making pasta.

They loved making pasta. My youngest nephew giggled with glee as he turned the crank. Turns out they are good pasta-makers. It tasted fantastic.

It is always said the best presents are not things bought in a store and this statement was proven true on my 34th birthday. Truly  the best birthday present was having all my family sitting around my kitchen table and eating a dinner three young children enthusiastically helped make. It was really a work of art.

Crankin' away!