Giada makes it look too easy

So I am behind on posting this, but I have to write about my experience making homemade ravioli...

now we are talking homemade too...homemade marinara (which is sooooo worth it. fresh, delicious, with that tang of REAL tomatoes...nooom) ...homemade dough (so easy) and homemade ricotta filling.

Now outside of their relative detectability I only have one funny story to impart and that i my rather sad attempt at making the dough by hand. I have made dough before hundreds of times (that 100's translates roughly into about 20) but always in the food processor. This process is easy and worth it if you have the extra ten minutes and the pasta you are making is simple enough in flavor to really let the fresh taste stand out. HOWEVER...

I had the brilliant idea that I would try it without the aid of modern machinery, and instead opt to make it the "old fashioned" way. You know the drill I'm sure:
eggs resting in a bowl made of flour, like a volcano of chicken fetus, stirred gently, soft music playing as the dough comes together and is eventually kneaded in a wholely organic if not beautiful way...man and his connection with the food he makes...an almost sensual gentle but firm gesture...

let me stop here. I'm sure you know the drill...but let me impart my own accounting of this event. Chris is helping me by mixing our ricotta filling, and asks me right as I'm about to mix in my eggs how to fold...the rest goes like this...

"well you basically, ..hang on....expletive...expletive ...my egg is escaping...ahh...expletive expletive expletive ...ahhhhhhhhhhh...expletive ..."
etc

Now I did eventually get my dough under control, and hte pasta was fabulous but sufice to say I may abandon my food is a sensual process idea in lew of hte reality that while I may not be half bad at this cooking business....I am not very graceful

meal over-all initally recieved a 7 (ouch) on the Chris scale, but he later explaine das I tried to cut myself with my ravioli (harder then it looks) that he only meant our choice in filling, that it was bland. Amended vote to a 9 when asked how out ricotta filled ravioli ranked when judged as Ricotta filled ravioli not just ravioli in general....
vow to be more clear on expectations next time and to up medication as to be more prepared for Chris's German Olympic judge standards

Martha Pressured Me

So I always meant to start a blog about food. I like to write and I like to cook so it seemed like a good plan. I do suffer from commitment phobia, but Martha Stewart has inspired me to get off my butt (while ironically will be achieved by my sitting on my butt typing) and get to writing.

You see I attended a taping of her show recently. She's my hero, it was a BIG deal. And today I read on Twitter that she is having a special blog show and I would need to sign up for tickets tomorrow. This of course made me wish that I had actually started that blog that I had always meant to start (along with my novel, learning a languege and reading War and Peace) In fact, I have always wondered if anyone ever did read War and Peace, or Proust, or anything by Shelby Foote....ever. Or is this just a snotty person right of passage.
But rather then let this damn blog become one of those other imaginary activities that you always "are going to do", I'll move it to the "are doing" category.

Now I don't know if I will actually sign up for the show tomorrow but needless to say Martha, yet again, has challenged me to do what I always meant to and never did....

Wish me luck!!!!!