Fresh Homemade Tagliatelle with Pesto

I finally saw Julie & Julia. It was a good movie... but I kept on thinking I was watching two movies at the same time (if that makes any sense). However, two things happened after watching the movie. One, I left the movie feeling famished. Two, I gathered up all my cookbooks and read through them figuring out all the things I can make, photograph, and blog about. I just want to cook and bake as much as possible. After seeing the movie I became incredibly inspired to actually seriously start writing a cookbook. Well - maybe in a year or two - but as of now I will keep on cooking, photographing and blogging. Oh yes, I also felt incredibly inspired to try totally new (and complicated) recipes and be totally ok with messing them up, but being able to say I tried/did it!

But about this recipe - it's fresh, handmade, Tagliatelle with Pesto I made a few days ago. I made it before the movie, realized the movie was starting in 30 minutes, so I heated it up after the movie and ate it for dinner. I must say - for how relatively easy it was to make - I was impressed. Next time I make it though, I will spend more time rolling it out (to get it super thin) and cutting thinner strips of pasta.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups strong white flour (I just used King Arthur's plain AP flour... it turned out well)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1-1/2 Tbsp olive oil (I primarily use olive oil from Crete - I think it tastes better)

Directions:

1. Sift the ingredients into a bowl and stir in the salt.
2. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the eggs and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Use a wooden spoon to stir the eggs while gradually drawing in the flour. After a few minutes the dough will be too stiff to use a spoon and you will need to use your fingers.
3. Once all of the flour has been incorporated, turn the dough out on to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (it took me about 5 minutes). Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 15 minutes.
4. Roll out out the pasta so its REALLY thin (this is where I kinda messed up) and fold into thirds and cut out long, thin strips, about 1cm wide.
5. To cook, bring a pan of water to a boil, add 1/2 Tbsp of oil, and the pasta will take about 3 minutes to become al dente (aka fully cooked).
6. Drain the pasta, place in bowl, mix in pesto, pour a glass of red wine, sit back, & enjoy!