Noodles and Pasta

Books, of course, have been written about the simple combination of flour and water (and sometimes other ingredients) rolled into dough and boiled as noodles or other shapes. Call the result pasta, noodles, udon, or whatever you want, it’s universal and beloved.

You can make your own pasta—there are some recipes in this section—and few things are as good. A Sunday afternoon with a pasta machine, followed by a Sunday dinner with fresh egg noodles and a nice dark sauce, is a wonderful experience, and store-bought “fresh” pasta is almost never the same, at least outside of Italy. But obviously dried pasta is a staple, one that is far easier to deal with than the fresh variety.