only in Montana OR fresh pasta

There are a few special dishes that families only make once a year.  Sometimes they are so time intensive that it may be impractical to make the dish more often.  Some things are associated with specific holidays or celebrations.  Some dishes may just seem out of place if they are made anywhere else or at any other time.

Fresh pasta is that way for me.

Rolling out pasta dough on the oversized well-worn bread board at our cabin in Montana is how you make pasta.  Grammy and I mix the eggs and flour in the butter-yellow pyrex bowl that has been there since the fifties.  Then we dump the floury, shaggy dough onto the board and knead it until it is smooth and elastic. We laugh and talk and take turns with the rolling pin when our arms give out.   After slicing the pasta thin with a pizza cutter, we let it dry out on the board.  Usually, our noodles get tossed into a massive pot of turkey noodle soup. 

Oh, I've made pasta plenty of times at home.   My husband loves it!  My kids like helping me mix the dough.  I have a nifty pasta roller that clicks on the counter and my girls help me churn.  I have tried several different recipes and we even make filled pasta sometimes. 

But to me, the real way to make pasta is in Montana on my great-grandma's bread board.


Fresh Pasta
by Mario Batali

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 eggs

Mound the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board. Make a well in the middle of the flour, add the eggs. Using a fork, beat together the eggs and begin to incorporate the flour starting with the inner rim of the well. As you incorporate the eggs, keep pushing the flour up to retain the well shape (do not worry if it looks messy). The dough will come together in a shaggy mass when about half of the flour is incorporated.

Start kneading the dough with both hands, primarily using the palms of your hands. Add more flour, in 1/2-cup increments, if the dough is too sticky. Once the dough is a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up any left over dry bits. Lightly flour the board and continue kneading for 3 more minutes. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Continue to knead for another 3 minutes, remembering to dust your board with flour when necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes at room temperature. Roll and form as desired.

Note: Do not skip the kneading or resting portion of this recipe, they are essential for a light pasta.

cold comfort OR cauliflower potato soup

Baby, it's cold outside.
I love the winter with it's crisp white snow, cold air and lots of blankets inside.  Winter, after all, is the month of hot bread out of the oven, all day dinners in the crockpot and lots and lots of soup!  I love this Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup from one of my favorite food blogs, Butter, with a side of Bread.  I adjusted this yummy recipe just a bit by adding some potatoes to the soup.  In this soup, I find that the immersion blender is a lifesaver.  I love my immersion blender!  I didn't tell my family there was cauliflower in the soup.  They had no idea!  It really tastes just like a delicious chowder.

WISCONSIN CAULIFLOWER SOUP
adapted from Butter, With A Side of Bread

2 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk**
1 1/2 cups water**
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 large russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

**Can substitute 1 can {12 oz} evaporated milk and 2 cups water for the 2 cups milk and 1 1/2 cups water.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk in flour and salt. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and water.  Add cauliflower and potatoes, heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. {Don't let this step deter you from making the soup! Blending it is really easy and so worth the extra 3 minutes. The most annoying part are the added dishes!} If you have an immersion blender, use it- it literally takes less than a minute to blend. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Serve soup with remaining cheese as a garnish.