Make Your Own Pasta

In a recent LA Times story, Evan Kleiman, the host of KCRW's Good Food radio show and the woman behind the great Caffe Angeli on Melrose in LA (which I adored when I lived there), wrote about why shoppers should not buy supermarket "fresh" pasta.

"If imported Italian dry pasta were choice A and fresh pasta were choice B and I could only choose one to eat for the rest of my life, there would be no contest. I’d choose A, dry pasta. Many home cooks, bamboozled by the glut of fresh pasta in restaurants, have come to believe that if it’s the chef’s choice, then it’s the better product. It is not."

Now while she acknowledges her story is about her love of dry durum wheat pasta, she also readily acknowledges that fresh pasta made well and served with appropriate sauces is a great dining experience.

Making really good fresh pasta demands quality ingredients and skill--and it's something that with practice home cooks can do for themselves. Back in the 80s, the idea was to make it, then hang it on "pasta racks" or broom sticks to dry and then cook later. Today, of course, we recognize that you can put a big pot of water on the stove to heat and make your pasta while the water is coming to the boil.

Because I've spent a lot of time with a several chefs who have shown me their techniques--and because with summer almost upon us and fresh tomatoes being a perfect foil for a good pasta in many cases, I thought I'd do a round up of four of my favorite pasta-making experiences with San Diego chefs. And next week, I'll have a new one for you from Daniel Wolinsky, chef de cuisine at Cucina Sorella in Kensington, whose tagliarini is in the photo above.

Here they are:

Fabrizio Cavallini's Organic Handmade Pasta: Who better to teach the art of pasta making than an Italian chef? Fabrizio Cavallini of Bencotto and Monello demonstrated how seemingly easy it is. All it requires is high quality 00 flour and organic semolina, both of which are available locally at Mona Lisa, and eggs. Oh, and skill. But I have a video of Fabrizio's demo, which shows how you go about making the dough.

Nick Brune's Dark Roux Noodles: Nick Brune is a Louisiana native who lives in California and has combined his culinary understanding of the two states to create a Cali-Creole cuisine that was the focus of Local Habit in Hillcrest. No longer there (both Nick's affiliation with the restaurant and then the restaurant itself), Nick has turned his focus to his longtime catering company Eco Caterers. When I came for a visit, he taught me a dish that combined his Creole background with Southeast Asian flavors, based on his travels there. This dish places dark roux noodles into a pho-like soup, which is stunning. But you can also enjoy the noodles as pasta with your favorite sauce? What's the secret to these dark noodles? You'll have to read to find out!

Ryan Studebaker's Roasted Vegetables and Goat Cheese Raviolini: Ryan, of MIHO Catering, makes a lovely egg pasta that he turns into little pockets of savory cheesey appetizers, thanks to a variety of seasonal roasted vegetables blended with goat cheese. You can take his recipe full hilt with the raviolini or simple enjoy the pasta recipe, make noodles, and top them with his vegetable goat cheese mixture.

Amy DiBiase's Ricotta Gnudi: Okay, technically this may be considered the "anti-pasta" since "gnudi" means naked, as in ravioli without the pasta. But why not make a tender, creamy pasta-like dumpling that so easily takes a good sauce. Amy, who is now with Grand Restaurant Group, taught me this dish while she was at Tidal. It's so luxe it's a whole meal, depending on how you sauce it.


Print Page

Mediterranean Feast for Paula to Raise Alzheimer's Awareness & Funds

When my smart and funny and oh so talented friend Paula Wolfert disclosed last year that she'd been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, the food world was stunned and desolate. That lasted all of a moment or two--because Paula dismissed the grief and took charge in her usual way. Instead of wallowing and retreating, she stepped up to become an activist for awareness and research.

Back in November, she appeared on the PBS's NewsHour with interviewer Judy Woodruff. What she said bowled me over:

"My head is with my children, my husband, my friends, and sharing with the Alzheimer’s Association whatever I can share, because this is the most important thing I want to say. The shame that people have about their memory loss is — and the denial that exists and their friends saying, oh, everybody has — you know, it’s senior moments, forget it.

"And by the time they finally become like the old ladies or old men become, it’s too far. You can’t help — those people can’t be helped. It’s too late. It’s too late. We have to come out the way people with HIV came out, the way people with cancer came out. We’re not going to get enough money from the government or from anybody else unless we stand there and say, hey, I’m not an old zombie. I’m me, and I need help, and all the people around me who are suffering the way I am, we need help.

"But we have to come out and say it. We’re worried. We need to do something."
 

Food writer and friend Amy Sherman and I visited with Paula at her Sonoma home several years ago. Oh, the feast she made us and her husband Bill Bayer!

Indeed. And this cause has become that much closer to my heart because just a couple of months ago my dad also was diagnosed. I've relished how quickly he has improved thanks to drugs, but we don't know how long that will last. Thankfully, we have the close support of the San Diego chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, along with family and friends. That is huge for him and for those of us caring for him.

This Sunday, Mediterranean Feast for Paula, a grassroots fundraising and outreach campaign organized by chefs Farid Zadi and Susan Park, with the support of Paula and the Alzheimer's Association California Southland Chapter is being held at the Daily Dose in downtown L.A. from noon to 4 p.m.

Of course, a Mediterranean food fest is only appropriate to honor Paula, the author of eight cookbooks--five of which are on Mediterranean cuisine. The event is set to be the largest Mediterranean food event to hit L.A., with participating chefs including Mary Sue Milliken, Susan Feniger, Farid Zadi, Nancy Silverton, Robbie Richter, Josiah Citron, Kris Yenbarmroon, Matt Molina, and others. Amy Scattergood and Evan Kleiman are the keynote speakers.

There will, of course, be tastings (think rabbit with preserved pears and ginger, duck with green olives and herbes de provence, berber skillet bread and sauteed kale with garlicky white beans, a whole lamb roast, porchetta, paella, bouillabaisse, briks, bisteeya, and so much more). There will also be a talk by Paula, and a silent auction with proceeds benefiting the Alzheimer's Association.

All this for a general admission ticket price of $75. VIP admission of $125 includes free valet parking, a goodie bag filled with spices and ancient grains, and table service with wait staff.

For tickets and more information, visit the event site.



Print Page