{meggie writes}: My First Foray

It's no secret that I've always wanted to be Italian.

The wine, the style, the food, the history. What's not to love?

Alas, the closest my ancestors got to the Adriatic was France. It's a good thing I love all things French equally as much. At least there's that.

To make up for it, I've visited Italy twice, I've drank more than my share of wine, and I've been carbo-loading for decades. I like to make my own red sauce, and Adriana Trigiani is one of my favorite authors.

You'd think, what with this love affair of mine, that I'd be confident in my skills as a homemade pasta maker. I mean, what could possibly be more Italian than that?

But, honestly, there's something about the whole process that really freaks me out.

Maybe it's the mixing of the dough - not too little and not too much.

Or the vast amount of flour that seems to be involved - floating up into the air and settling down like a fine layer of drywall dust (I know A LOT about that and have been actively avoiding it).

Or maybe it's the fact that I didn't have a little, Italian grandma who spent years teaching me her skills in the kitchen.

Whatever lame excuse I might provide will be just that - lame. And I'm owning up to it. So tonight, even though it was just another night, and all three of my kids hovered like no-see-ums on the counter, I ventured into the world of homemade pasta.

Ricotta Gnocchi with Brown Butter Sage Sauce. My first foray. I've always been a sucker for gnocchi, so it was a natural choice.

And guess what? It wasn't so bad!

Yes, I severely underestimated how much I should make for a family of five (we saved a plate for The Russian). And yes, we were all covered in flour by the end of the process. But all in all, I'd count it as a success. And I will definitely attempt the recipe again. In fact, I'm planning on making sweet potato gnocchi next week. (All right...settle down there, Meggie. One win at a time!)

That said, here's the recipe. You should try it one night when it makes absolutely no sense and you're home alone cooking with all of your children. Trust me - you won't regret it.

So, enjoy our first attempt at pasta-making, an event that was celebrated with a handful of bad pictures, many participatory hands, a kitchen full of dirty dishes, but more excitement than I thought possible.