First up is Aliza Green with her new book Making Artisan Pasta; How to Make a World of Handmade Noodles, Stuffed Pasta, Dumplings, and More
Homemade rules in the kitchen, and everyone from artisan bakers to canners and picklers know it. Culinary enthusiasts are exploring classic skills again, and home cooks are making homemade, hand-shaped pasta faster than you can say tagliatelle.
With simple, fresh ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions, MAKING ARTISAN PASTA (Quarry Books) teaches you how make your own fettuccine, ravioli, lasagna, and dozens of other styles of pasta and noodles by hand. The fully illustrated, step-by-step tutorials will walk you through the entire tasty process, from mixing dough, rolling, and shaping pasta through cooking, serving, and storing. Artisan pasta is fun to make and fun to eat for everyone from kids to seniors. Colorful doughs flavored with red pepper, porcini mushrooms, and asparagus and flours like buckwheat, chestnut, and rye inspire the creative cook.
Going far beyond noodles, though, this book includes tutorials on gnocchi, Chinese pot stickers, pierogi, and dozens of other world pastas.
Learn more about Aliza and order a copy of this great book!
Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
2009 Clos Du Bois Calcaire Russian River Chardonnay
The full-bodied 2009 Calcaire, brilliant silver straw in hue, has intense aromas of apple blossom, pear, and integrated oak spice, with hints of vanilla and crème brûlée. Bright, vibrant flavors of pear, apple and soft citrus over a core of minerality are layered with touches of brown spice and nuances of cream. This delicious Chardonnay has a rich, silky texture and long finish and is blessed by balanced acidity and structure, which will allow it to develop additional complexity with bottle age. This rich, full-bodied Chardonnay calls for scrumptiously prepared, equally rich seafood dishes, with buttery, creamy pastas and earthy mushroom-infused food.
Full-bodied and elegant, this 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon opens with inviting aromas of raspberries and cranberries layered with pleasant notes of white pepper and anise. On the palate, concentrated flavors of tobacco and dark chocolate intermingle seamlessly before culminating in a smooth, lengthy finish. Featuring well-integrated tannins, this hearty Cabernet Sauvignon displays great structure and would pair perfectly with a grilled rib eye steak and baked potato. Approachable at an early age, this wine would benefit from additional cellaring of 5-10 years past the vintage date.
This wine is bursting with aromas of lemon custard, white peach and Asian pear. The lively aromatics are followed by equally intense flavors and an elegant finish. Barrel fermentation and oak aging for 14 months have added hints of vanilla bean, roasted hazelnut and baking spice to this complex and intriguing wine.
