Buon Anno! Homemade Pasta with Bolognese Sauce for the New Year

Who doesn't love pasta?  I have wanted to tackle homemade pasta for years.  My friend Heather was kind enough to gift me the pasta KitchenAid attachment a few years ago, but I was too intimidated to use it ha! Last weekend I was fortunate enough to learn first hand from Chef Carla Callini in a private lesson with my friend Sam!  She learned from her Italian grandmother and I'd bet she could do it in her sleep.  All her recipes are in her head, so I followed her closely with a pen and pad in hand.  It seemed so easy working with Carla, but when I got home and tried to make some pasta with my kids I put too much water in the mix and it was a disaster.  I kept trying until I finally got it right this past Sunday. I don't think I will ever buy boxed pasta again.Thank you Carla- molto apprezzato!  
What's better to put on fresh pasta than Bolognese sauce? It was a perfect dish to make Sunday while watching the Giants win and advance in the playoffs.
I spent years trying different bolognese sauces. They were all good, but nothing I would blog about.  One day at work my friend Kevin Kelly raved that his sister-in-law Jeanette's sauce was the best.  I got the recipe from her and it's by far the best bolognese recipe I've come across. I have been making it for years!  

Carla's Pasta recipe:
1 cup of flour (King Arthur's 00 flour- looked in many grocery stores including Trader Joe's and Whole Foods and haven't found it, but did find it online @ amazon.com)
3/4 cup of semolina flour (Whole Foods brand is Bob's Red Mill)
Water (add spoonfuls of water until the dough came together)
1 beaten egg 
1/2 teaspoon of salt


In the KitchenAid with the dough hook attached put both flours and the egg and mix.  When the dough starts to form add water as necessary until the dough forms a ball.  Then remove, knead it (on lightly floured surface) until it's as Carla would say "smooth as a baby's butt" and satiny and elastic.  Let dough rest for a few mins with a damp towel in a draft free space.
Attach the pasta roller to the KitchenAid and roll dough into a log and cut off one inch pieces. Pinch the top of the inch piece and push through the roller on the "1" setting then repeat on "2", "3", "4" and lastly on "5". You should now have what looks like a lasagna sheet. Either hang the sheet on a pasta drying rack or put back on the floured surface. Continue the same process with the rest of the dough until you've rolled it all out into sheets. Change the KitchenAid attachment to the fettuccine cutter.  Slide the pasta sheets into the cutter and hold them as they come back out as fettuccine.  Put back on drying rack to rest while you finish with the rest of the pasta sheets.  Once you are done you are ready to boil.  Fresh pasta boils very quickly so just a few minutes and it's ready for the sauce.

Jeanette Kelly's Bolognese Sauce:
5 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons each of minced onion, carrot and celery
3/4 pound meatloaf mix (ground chuck, ground veal and ground pork)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of whole milk
1 cup of dry white wine
1 28- ounce can of diced tomatoes with their juices
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (for the table)
I also add chopped fresh basil and 3 cloves or minced garlic


1. Heat 3 tablespoons butter in a large, heavy bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onion, carrot and celery and saute until softened, but not browned then add the minced garlic (about 6 minutes).  Add the ground meat and 1/2 teaspoon of salt; crumble the meat into tiny pieces with the edge of a wooden spoon. Cook, continuing to crumble the meat just until it loses its raw color but not yet browned (3 minutes).


2. Add the milk and bring to a simmer; continue to simmer until the milk evaporates and only clear fat remains (10-15 minutes).  Add the wine and bring to simmer; continue to simmer until the wine evaporates (10-15 mins).  Add the tomatoes and their juices and bring to a simmer.  Reduce the heat to low so that the sauce continues to simmer just barely, with an occasional bubble or two at the surface, until the liquid has evaporated (3 hours).  Add chopped basil and adjust the seasonings with extra salt to taste.  Keep the sauce warm.  The sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for several days or frozen for several months.  Warm over low heat before serving.


3. Bring water to a rolling boil in a large pot.  Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta.  Cook until al dente, drain the pasta leaving some water dripping from noodles.  Toss the sauce and remaining 2 tablespoons butter.  Serve immediately. 


** NOTE I have always doubled this recipe so I can freeze some.