@John Brunner -- I talked to my daughter earlier and she is sending my Kitchenaid pasta rollers back to me. She used them once. I'm scared to ask my son about the Philips pasta machine... he might want to return it, too. At any rate... I was reading about pasta rollers online and someone posted that they put their pizza dough through the pasta roller to make a nice thin flatbread-type pizza crust. Hmmmmmmm. So I ordered a bag of Caputo semolina from Amazon (from Italy and good reviews) and I will be giving this flatbread thing a go. Has your machine shipped yet?
@Beth Gallagher Yeh, they guy shipped it right away. I pinged him after I ordered it to make sure it comes with a manual (and it does), and he said it's going right out. EBay shows it being shipped. You know, I read an Amazon comment about running pizza dough through the machine but I thought the guy was being smart; I mean, a 6" wide pizza??? There was no specific "to make flatbread" comment. That's a good idea! I've made a bunch of different versions of Naan, and have cooked them on a cast iron skillet and on my outdoor grill. I also have a recipe for Chapati that I have yet to try. I never thought of using a pasta machine for this. We'll have to see what the thickest setting is...of course, they would just be down-sized. And you would have to be careful...these breads tend to be stickier than pasta. The first thing on my list is ravioli. Ever since I started down this path, I've had a hankering for homemade ravioli. So I just ordered that flour as well, along with a neck shade to augment the sheer one I got and to get "free freight.". (Velcros around any cap.)
You can cancel an Amazon order within the first hour or so, then re-order. Just file that away for future use.
Damn!!! This ain't this first time I've done that. I always go back to see if I can "Add an Item," I never thought to cancel & reorder.
Any delivery news @John Brunner ?? My Kitchenaid roller/cutters are back home; must have cost my daughter a pretty penny to ship because those suckers are heavy. I had forgotten which configuration they are; I have the 3-piece set that basically cuts spaghetti and fettucini, and can be used for wide noodles or to roll out lasagna. None of the fancy cutters which is fine for me. I had also forgotten that they are made in Italy. Seems that the best pasta machines/cutters are made there. I made ravioli yesterday but I cheated and bought fresh 3-cheese ravioli from the grocery store. It was SO good in marinara with crumbled Italian sausage in the sauce.
@Beth Gallagher Yeh, I bought some refrigerated pasta for my Shrimp Scampi. I've used refrigerated tortellini in the past and really like it. I can't wait to make some fresh. I should get my machine and ravioli stamps tomorrow. There's no way I could justify the cost of the Kitchen Aid attachments. If I had a large family I could rationalize it, but one batch of ravioli will make many meals for just me. I ordered Semolina from Amazon (ETA July 19) and some Caputo 00 Pasta & Gnocchi flour from Walmart (ETA July 15.) Semolina is also used in Indian cuisine and is sold under different names (farina,suji, rawa, rava.) I'm going into Charlottesville tomorrow to drop that returned pizza stone off at the UPS Store, so will stop by an Indian market I shop at there to see if they sell these flours. I've been reading up on blending different types of flour together to make pasta, to make it more "Italian pasta" and less "Amish egg noodles." There are lots of differing opinions out there regarding the perfect blend, which I guess is good, because if there's no agreed-upon perfect way, then there's no wrong way. White flour makes the pasta smooth, adding semolina flour adds color and roughness for the sauce to cling to. One guy claiming to be of Italian ancestry on a forum I stumbled upon validated a much-criticized posted recipe that has both egg and warm water as the liquids. He says his Italian grandmother used water to diminish the "egg noodle" effect. I've also grabbed some ravioli filling recipes (I'm more interested in the stuffed pastas than I am in noodles.) Asparagus and Ricotta Ravioli in a Lemon Wine Sauce looks real good. Heck, I might make some to fry...gotta love bar food!
I got my semolina from Amazon today. I used to keep a stash in my freezer but when I gave my pasta making tools to my kids I dumped most of it except for a single bag that I use to sprinkle on my pizza stone. I looked up my old order for the Kitchenaid attachments; I paid $99 for them about 10 years ago and they still look brand new. (Of course they have only been used about half a dozen times. ) The same set is $150 now...what the hell. The only advantage to having the motorized attachments is that you have two hands to deal with the dough/noodles. So probably not worth the price difference to most people. I think I gained 6 pounds from reading your post; I absolutely love pasta. I have some shrimp in the freezer so I might whip up a scampi soon. Oh, and I have this CI Pasta cookbook, purchased in 2005. I guess I'll spend the evening perusing. I haven't looked at it in years. https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Boo...cooks+illustrated+pasta&qid=1594250303&sr=8-1
If you got your flour so fast, maybe mine will beat their ETA. But I'll still hold off until it's all arrived. The machine I purchased has a feeder ramp on the back of it, so that might help a bit. It's odd, these are all the same mfr/model but some have these quirks.
That feeder ramp looks like a nice feature. Does the machine clamp to the countertop? I have Amazon Prime, so my orders usually come pretty fast.
Yeh, it's got a clamp. I had heard that Amazon recognizes when a Prime customer logs in and your pricing is different [higher] that non-Prime customers. Any truth to that rumor? I would think it's too easy to catch for them to even try such a thing.
So on my quest to make Italian pasta and avoid Amish egg noddles, I purchased a product used to make Indian sooji ka halwa and sooji upma. Distributed in America by a company out of Northern Virginia. I also learned that the different Middle Eastern names for semolina (farina, suji, rawa, rava) are dependent on which part of India or Pakistan you're in. The store I went to sells it packaged as sooji and as rawa. But it's all the same stuff. In typical ethnic market fashion: 2.2# Caputo Semolina flour from Amazon = $11 2.0# Askar Sooji from a friendly local merchant= $3 Perhaps not an identical comparison, but still, the sooji is pure semolina...
So my pasta machine arrived today. It makes a scraping noise when I turn the handle...in other words, it's not smooth and quiet. I guess that's normal. Now I'm waiting on my flours to be delivered. Picked up one yesterday, one to arrive tomorrow, the other on the 22nd. I made marinara sauce and portioned it out. It's in the freezer, aging, waiting for that first batch of ravioli!! eta: I just pulled up a video of this machine. The noise seems to be normal. Damn you, Bezos!! Where my flour at?