Pasta #1 - Fettuccine & Tomato Sausage sauce

Recently I've been getting some awesome cooking toys from close friends and family encouraging to try new stuff, and in turn invite them over for dinner.  My dear friend Nikki bought me a traditional hand-crank pasta maker for my birthday.  Being the Italian that she is, I know this gift comes with the caveat "I'll be over for some pasta!" Any time, Nik!

First things first was a dough recipe I can call my own. Lots of research and ideas were flowing. I first sought out some Semolina flour and the guidance of some fellow chefs. For my first go around, I used 1/2 semolina, 1/2 all purpose flour and 2 eggs for my dough. I wasn't aiming to make a ton, just enough to get an idea. Taking all the traditional steps, mixing, kneading, and letting the pasta rest, it was time to start cranking. I also had started a very simple pasta sauce using roma tomatoes and simple seasonings.  I wanted to go very traditional and simple.  


The dough was decent, a tad dry and I found very quickly I need to work on my kneading and rolling out techniques.  But, the pasta started to look pretty good. Sauce bubbling away, I cranked out some Fettuccine and my appetite increased. 


Heavily salting the pasta water, I dropped in my fresh pasta and hovered over it diligently.  In about 3 min, the pasta was ready.  Drained then sauced I was ready for my feast. 


The pasta was good, not great, but I still wolfed it down like someone who hasn't eaten in a week. Notes taken, I learned from my first batch and can only improve from here! Thanks again Nikki!