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Mr. Kitchenette and I are pretty addicted to Iron Chef. I know, I know… we’re old school. Nowadays everyone is watching Top Chef and don’t get me wrong – we love that show, too. But there’s something kind of awesome about Iron Chef… I think it’s that the Iron Chefs are established, and that they make dishes that the normal person at home would never even dream of making.

A few weeks ago, we watched “Battle Balsamic Vinegar.” I think they created this battle just for me, honestly… practically every dish I make has balsamic vinegar in it. I heart balsamic vinegar. Well, anyways, Bobby Flay - my favorite chef – made balsamic vinegar pasta dough. I KNOW. Where does he come up with this stuff?!

So the next morning, I was recanting my undying love for Bobby over Twitter, and Lan of Angry Asian Creations was all “I want that balsamic vinegar pasta dough,” and we agreed that someone needed to make it. So I made a valiant effort, and this is the result. Not exactly what Bobby made on IC, but to tell you the truth… I don’t really remember what he made exactly… (I know, I’m so ashamed!)

I made this using my Kitchenaid mixer to mix the dough, and then I used the mixer’s pasta roller attachment for the noodles. I try not to post recipes where you might need to buy a new kitchen tool, but… I really love my stand mixer and pasta maker, and I think every cook should get one if they can afford it. If you don’t have a mixer, then you better get to the store quickly! Just kidding. You can roll the dough by hand with just a rolling pin, but the noodles won’t be as thin. Katy over at Sugarlaws has excellent instructions for making the noodles by hand.

This is the first recipe I’m posting that is totally and completely from my brain only, so please let me know what you think!

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Balsamic Vinegar Pasta Dough

Serves 8 to 10

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Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups (830 ml) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) kosher salt
3 eggs
6 tbsp balsamic vinegar
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Directions:
Mix together flour, salt, eggs, and balsamic vinegar. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together when you squeeze some in your fist. (You may need only a little water, or you may need a ton – it all depends on a variety of factors such as the humidity level in the air, the altitude you’re making this at, how old your flour is, whether you’re making this on the 3rd Saturday of the month, and whether God wants to smite you that day or not. You get the point. I needed about 1/2 cup of water, but you may only need a few tablespoons.)

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Working in batches, knead the dough for 2 minutes (per batch) on a Silpat or floured countertop. If the dough seperates when you try to knead it, add more water (a tablespoon at a time) to make it more pliable.  Pat the dough into flattened circles and let it rest for 20 minutes before proceeding to make the noodles.

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Attach the pasta roller attachment to the stand mixer. Starting in the “1″ setting (the thickest setting), feed the dough through the roller. Your first attempt probably won’t be pretty, but simply lay the pieces flat and press together, before sending the piece through the roller again.

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First pass through the rollers. What? This doesn’t look edible to you? Pffff.

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Once your dough comes out in one piece, fold into thirds, and pass through the rollers again before moving to the next setting.

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Pass the dough through the rollers at least twice, for every setting 2-5. You can continue to roll the dough out to settings 6,7, or 8, but setting 5 will get you very thin noodles that are perfect for sphaghetti or linguine.

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Since this recipe makes a shatload of pasta, I like to freeze the leftovers, and then use them later. As I feed the dough through the cutter to get noodles, I lay the noodles out on wax paper. I guess and put about 1 serving’s worth of pasta on each sheet, and I make sure to lay the noodles out flat so that they don’t get tangled. Dust with a little all-purpose flour, and stack the wax paper sheets. Then you can put all the sheets in a ziplock bag and stash in the freezer. Then, the next time you’re too tired to make anything for dinner, just whip out your pre-made fresh pasta noodles. It’s fun to live like kings, no?

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Balsamic Vinegar Pasta with Goat Cheese and Scallions

Serves 2

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Ingredients:
1/4 Balsamic Pasta Dough, recipe above
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 bunch scallions / green onions, green parts only, thinly sliced
4 oz goat cheese, seperated
salt and pepper

Directions:
Bring to boil a large stock pot full of water. Salt the water generously.

Heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Grate the garlic into the oil and butter, and add the crushed red pepper. Cook for approximately 2 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant. Do not let the garlic or red pepper burn! (If it does burn, just start over! It will taste terrible – I know from experience.) Add 2 oz of the goat cheese, crumbling it with your fingers as you add it to the pan. Remove the pan from heat. Allow the goat cheese to melt into the butter and olive oil while you cook the pasta.

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Add the pasta noodles to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, or until the pasta is tender but not mushy. Remove the noodles and add to the sauce, and toss gently to coat the noodles with sauce.

Transfer noodles to plate. Crumble remaining 2 oz goat cheese over pasta, and garnish with scallions. Serve immediately.

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Now Playing in the Kitchenette:  Laura Marling / Ghosts  – Someone has a girl crush… I’ll give you a hint… it’s me.

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