Al Dente

There are a few dishes I enjoy making as much as eating, if not more so. 

Pasta is definitely one of them.

I feel like an alchemist when I combine the simple raw ingredients of egg, water and flour into golden threads of various shapes and sizes. 

I wish I had a nonna to teach me all the tricks about pasta making, but since I don't have any, I have had to learn through many trials and errors. 

For me, the key is to always use Tipo 00 flour.

Another trick I've discovered, that may sound counter intuitive, is to freeze my freshly made pasta overnight. This way I can cook the pasta to al dente successfully every time.

There're some other benefits of having a stash of homemade pasta readily available in your freezer. It comes in handy when you are tired and/or drunk.

Don't thaw the frozen pasta before cooking. Just dunk the frozen pieces into the boiling water (use more water so the temparature doesn't drop when you add the pasta). Cook al dente and toss with some olive oil, cheese, black pepper and egg and you will have the perfect recipe for instant mood lifting.