Somewhere, in the dark corners of attics and basements, there is a place where pasta machines go. No one quite remembers putting them there, and yet there they are, sitting next to the fondue set, gathering dust and waiting until they are found 20 years later, covered in a fine layer of nostalgia and regret.
And now, still basking in the warm afterglow (and extra pounds) of our trip to italy , I find myself considering a Mercato 150, a hand-cranked relic of a time when people made things with their hands. I wonder: if I buy it, will it stay? Or will it, too, eventually find its way to that hidden place where pasta machines go?
Tell me, where does yours sit? And when was the last time you turned the handle?
The classic Atlas pasta maker with a little engine that could attachment. It sits on our basement shelf and has been there for many, many years, as we rarely make fresh pasta anymore.
In fact, itâs been so long I honestly couldnât tell ya.
I was just thinking about making some spinach fettucine the other day and was wondering where my Kitchen Aid attachenents were.
Not here, maybe one of the kids âborrowedâ them. I canât remember. Gotta get on the phone.
Similar to @small_h I use my KitcheAid pasta attachment about once a month. Neighbor #2 likes my Spinach Pasta, so I make up a big batch and take some to her. (Picture attached is just regular pasta, which Sunshine likes better)
As a side note, I did try the âhand crankâ version, prior to purchasing the KitchenAid attachments. I found a complete (non-opened) unit at Goodwill and thought Iâd give it a try. OMG!! Way too much cranking â even with Sunshine helping me, I was hating the process. I ended up donating the âhand crankâ version to another charity. So (and this is just my opinion) donât bother with the hand crank version and get the genuine âKitchenAidâ version of the pasta attachments.
I have an Atlas pasta maker that got used so often, I was gifted the Kitchenaid attachment to make things easier. I make pasta with it every couple of weeks. The other times I have an extruder for the fun shapes. If I need a large sheet, I use a rolling pin.
The hand crank now lives in the basement, but I wonât be getting rid of it yet simply because thereâs a lot of nostalgia attached to it. When the kids were little, they loved helping me make noodles by turning the crank.
If you like pasta, you wonât regret getting one. Fresh, homemade pasta is an absolute joy to eat.
About a decade ago, a friend passed hers on to me because she didnât use it. I made fettucine twice with it, and while it was very good, I just donât find myself using it at all.
There is a very good pasta shop not 5 minutes from my house. So for about $5, I can get a good sized bag of fresh pasta that is of excellent quality, and they make it daily so itâs always super fresh.
Oddly enough, I will watch cooking shows (especially Maryann Esposito on Ciao Italia) where they make fresh pasta and think, oh I should do that. It never happens LOL
2 other thoughts:
Start watching pasta grannies and get inspired to go at it with a rolling pin (not bad for 2).
Or get the small Phillips which is often on sale at Costco.
(Homemade really does just hit different with the simplest prep or bolognese.)
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CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
13
I got the same one at thrift about 6 months ago. Still sitting unopened in the pantry.
Recently I made homemade pasta using Marcella Hazanâs recipe (but instead of all all-purpose I sub 1/2 with 00 flour)
I made good sauce with San Marzano DOP canned tomatoes and then gave finished product to my friend at his market. He asked his young worker, from Jordan, if heâd like to try it, said yes.
Later he saw workerâs portion in garbage pail. It made him angry and weâve decided he doesnât get offered more of my food.
I LOVE using pasta attachment for Kitchenaid. Iâve never tried hand rolling, wish I had a special table for it like Pasta Grannies use. My Italian relatives in Connecticut NEVER made fresh pasta. Geez.
Same here, more or less. I really only use the roller, though, because I tend to use fresh pasta for lasagne or pappardelle, so the two cutters are collecting dust in the basement.
