Fresh Rigatoni

 I made rigatoni today with an extruder attached to my Kitchen Aid:

For the dough, I used:
3 cups flour 4 large eggs 1 tsp olive oil 1/2 tsp salt
Knead dough well until it comes together. Let it rest for 1-2 hours, then take it out and knead it again. If it is sticky at all, knead in a handful of flour and work it until it is no longer sticky. Put in an extruder (I use a kitchen aid) and allow to dry in a floured tray for 45 minutes. Boil for 6-7 minutes, and finish in sauce of your choice.

I made a meat sauce:

For this, I used:

1 pound lean ground beef (95%)
1 tbs olive oil
1 shallot, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 handful fresh basil
1 tsp salt
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 jar pasta sauce
4 strips of bacon, crisped

Cook the beef at medium-high heat in a sturdy saute pan until it is no longer pink. In another pan, saute the shallot in the oil until soft, then stir in the garlic and cook on low heat. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked beef and simmer until it starts to thicken, then add the pasta sauce and simmer for another 10 minutes. I chopped some of the basil and added it in to the sauce and used the rest for garnish. Towards the end of the simmering, add the crumbled bacon and stir well. The sauce should have a nice shine but should not have any grease sitting on top. Stir in the cooked pasta and let sit for a few minutes before serving. Garnish with basil. 

Old Fashioned Ginger Bread

1 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
4 tbs butter
1.25 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour
1 egg
2 tbs buttermilk
1 cup hot water

1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cloves (if you like them)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt and cloves. Blend into the creamed mixture. Stir in the hot water. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes in a standard loaf pan until the knife comes out clean with a moist crumb.