Old Bay - I've tossed out my crank-style pasta machine - just like my mom, gram, aunts and great aunts did before me! There is just something about those machines that we do not like - waste of time, money and energy.

When I learned to make pasta - I learned by placing the flour on a clean table; make a well in the center; add eggs and a bit of salt. Using a fork, scramble/beat the eggs (on the table with the flour around them) and start to incorporate the flour into the eggs around the edge. Eventually the fork is no longer needed - continue to work the flour into your dough until smooth - you can tell by the feel. Cover with an inverted bowl and let the dough rest 15 minutes. Roll with the dowel (I've got some long dowels! and I don't own a rolling pin - just dowels!) and cut with the knife. You can use a pastry cutter. Some pastas (like gnocchi) are made by pulling off pieces of dough and rolling into thin logs (a bit thicker than pretzel rods) and cutting into pieces (about thumb size) and rolling off your thumb (some use a fork for that - but me it's faster off the thumb).

I have graduated throughout the years to using a large bowl and making the well in the middle, etc. But years ago - cripe - you poured 5 lbs. or more of flour on the table, cracked a ton of eggs, sprinkled them with salt, beat the eggs right on the table and incorporated the flour. We had hungry mouths to feed.

You can roll the dough as thick or thin as you want and cut as thick or thin as you want.

After you have made the wonderful noodles what is the best way to store them? I don't have a drying rack or anything like that but I thought I could freeze them somehow????

wvchick - you can just leave them draped over a bowl to dry; back in the old country they place a clean dishtowel over the back of a chair and drape them over that! To freeze them without cooking you would need to coat them well with flour to prevent sticking and it can be tricky. Since noodles and pasta can be made in minutes you may want to re-consider freezing. A friend of mine bought one of those laundry racks to use just for pasta because she makes so much of it.

OMg they are so much better than store bought noodles, and the other things you can do is so much better as well. Make your own ravioli! Make your own Tortollini!

My recipe for basic pasta dough is real, real simple

100 grams flour per person you are serving
1 egg person you are serving.

That's it!

add a dash of olive oil and a pinch of salt and you are good to go.

You can also buy Spinach Powder and Tomato Powder to add to your pasta dough to make tri colored pasta as well.

disclaimer....yes, those links are to a site that I own and operate....I generally do not try and self promote and I don't want to get a reputation as a spammer....however, when a topic comes up and I have something that may be helpful or useful I will post a link.....

I am really here only to talk about cooking so please don't think I am a spammer!!

George, to me a spammer is somebody who comes to the forums and only links to their own site. And Lord knows, there are enough of them.

You, on the other hand, post like a normal person, sharing information. If that info happens to include a link to your site I don't think anyone minds.

It's the other kind that trip my trigger.

So keep posting. You've got a lot of good stuff to share.