A Classic

For Dinner tonight, I decided to make homemade pasta and creamy tomato sauce that my sister taught me how to make back in my early college days. I haven't made it in a long time because though it is my favorite and surprisingly easy, it's not all that good for you ... But I hadn't had it in over a year probably, so I thought it was time! And mmmm there is nothing better in my opinion, than pappardelle.

Home made Pappardelle with Creamy Tomato Sauce
Pasta serves 4, sauce serves 6-8
Sauce:
1 can crushed tomatoes
6 cloves garlic
1 large onion
1/2 C heavy cream
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Peel and cut onions into half and then quarters. Peel garlic cloves. Toss all in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Or just chop by hand.
2. In a sauce pan or deep frying pan, heat Olive Oil on Medium High heat. Add Onions and garlic and cook until softened and slightly browned. If it browns too fast with no caramelization, turn heat down a little. You don't want the garlic to burn.
3. Once cooked through, add crushed tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Once heated through, add heavy cream and turn down heat a little. Sauce should thicken a little, and you're done. Add some more salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Serve with some grated pecorino romano cheese or parmigiano reggiano cheese if you want.

Pasta: (recipe from "America's Test Kitchen" cookbook. Best book EVER)
2 C all-purpose flour, plus extra as needed
3 large eggs
(water)

1. Pulse flour in food processor. Add eggs and process until dough forms into a rough ball, about 30 seconds.
2. Turn out dough ball and small bits onto a clean surface. Knead dough until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes or up to 2 hours.
3. To roll, use a pasta machine. And slowly roll out to thinnest setting. Let dry a little so it won't stick together. Then gently fold pasta width wise and cut pasta to desired thickness. For pappardelle, you want about 3/4 inch~1 inch.
4. To boil, just toss noodles into boiling salted water and once they turn whitish and start to float, they are ready to be eaten.