Lasanon

The origin of Lasagna straight from Wikipedia - although the dish is generally believed to have originated in Italy, the word "lasagna" comes from the Greek λάσανα (lasana) or λάσανον (lasanon) meaning "trivet or stand for a pot", "chamber pot". The Romans borrowed the word as "lasanum", in Latin, meaning "cooking pot". The Italians used the word to refer to the dish in which lasagna is made. It wasn't long before the name of the food took on the name of the serving dish. Interesting, huh? Who knew?

So, on my holiday off last Monday as the country celebrated Columbus Day, I was determined to make my first pasta with my new pasta maker (how appropriate, huh?). And, of course, that pasta was going to be lasagna noodles because I was tasked with making lasagna for a luncheon we were having at work on Thursday. I figure it would be the best opportunity to see how the noodles would hold up, plus there would be tons of other dishes at the luncheon so in case my dish wasn't up to snuff, we all wouldn't starve to death!

I was terribly excited about my first adventure with the pasta maker. It's hard to believe it had been sitting on my kitchen table for the amount of time it had been there and I hadn't yet had the time to use it!

I proceeded to whip up a batch of dough using a recipe I found on the Internet. It had all-purpose flour, eggs, olive oil and water. I have since found a recipe by Mario Batali that I plan to use next time which is just all-purpose flour and eggs. I know, under Italian law, dry pasta (pasta secca) can only be made from durum wheat or semolina flour. I haven't found any yet but as soon as I do, that is what I'll use. Interesting enough, most of the pasta recipes I have seen in recipe books (including that of Maria Batali) just call for all-purpose flour. I guess since we aren't in Italy, it's okay to use it!

Anyway, rolling the dough through the rollers on the pasta maker was really fun. You push it through, all the while turning the handle to make the rollers roll. Then you move the rollers closer together, thus making the noodles flatter and flatter. Really fun! Obviously, it doesn't take alot to amuse me. :)

The end result is to the right. Umm, umm, right? And, yes, it was. We ate it yesterday, along with many other wonderful dishes, and I am happy to report that there were no left-overs. My first noodles were a success!

Actually, I'll be making another batch of lasagna for dinner guests Saturday night and will make the noodles fresh, cook them immediately, and assemble the lasagna at that time as well. I am also using a different recipe that touts itself as being the "world's best lasagna". I sure hope they're right! If nothing else, it will definitely be another fun adventure in the kitchen!