I came across a recipe on the Pioneer Woman blog. If you don’t already follow this blog, check it out – cooking, family, photography, men in Wranglers and chaps – what’s not to like?! I subscribed to all of her RSS feeds because I don’t want to miss a thing. She recently had another blogger (and his family) as guests, and Pastor Ryan made homemade pasta and Bolognese sauce.

When I was little, my grandmother made homemade noodles. Mom tells me that grandpa actually taught her how to make them. Grandpa sometimes used a wheelchair inside the house, and I remember sitting on his lap as he wheeled us past the counter where the noodles were drying. I’d reach out and scoop up a handful and we’d retire to the living room, where I’d share my booty.  Ah, fond memories of living dangerously close to salmonella poisoning!

Noodles (or pasta, if you want to get fancy), are simple to make. Seriously, it’s flour, salt and egg. You can leave out the salt if you’d like. Figure about 1/2 cup flour per large egg, and 1 egg per serving. Mix, knead for ten minutes, let it rest at room temperature (I wrapped it in plastic), then roll it out ultra thin and cut it in strips. Skinny strips, wide strips – whatever you like. Mine were about 1/4″ wide. I used a pizza cutter, but grandma used a knife, and cut hers about 1/16″ wide. Yep, you read that correctly. Grandma had a steady hand.  Toss ’em about a little so they don’t stick to the counter, and let them dry out a bit. Say, long enough to make Pastor Ryan’s Bolognese Sauce. (That’s about 2 – 2 1/2 hours.)

This Bolognese Sauce is to die for. To. Die. For. todiefor. Really damn yummy. Mom actually said it was “the best spaghetti sauce she’s ever had.” That’s a lot, coming from her. Best of all it’s really easy, as long as you’ve got time to let it simmer.  Give it a try – you won’t be disappointed.

And yes, I courted Salmonella poisoning again today – I just love raw noodles.