I got pretty excited when I saw that the Gutsy Cooks Club menu lined up for this week would entail me to make my very own fresh egg pasta noodles. I used to make my own pasta before especially lasagna noodles but I admit that laziness too often gets in the way of making these on a regular basis and really, the convenience of using store-bought pastas is just way too tempting not to mention that they seem to last FOREVER in the pantry. But I must say though, on a personal level, that I have yet to encounter a commercial brand of pasta that can compare to the amazing taste and texture of fresh homemade pasta. There's just nothing like it! Sure, you're limited to the shapes you can make (obviously due to the limitations of your pasta maker) but what I really like about making my own is that I can control exactly how thick I want my pasta to be. I always get disappointed with the quality of lasagna noodles I get from the store -- oftentimes they're too thick which obliges me to pre-cook them (even if the package instructions say there's no need to) as layering them uncooked makes the noodles absorb a lot of the sauces, resulting in a very dry lasagna. With fresh lasagna noodles, they are layered immediately after pressing them.
