Thanksgiving is.....well for me, it's pretty much summed
up in that picture...two children whose parents could not be any prouder of..My wife and I are very lucky,
very lucky indeed to be raising two daughters from a country far, far away, who love my cooking,
espcially my Italian cooking and just love to help their Dad with it.  Ok, sometimes..the're still kids,
and get bored easily.  But every now and then, I try to come up with some hands on cooking, stuff
from the bottom up to get them in touch with what the're eating...it's not just food...there's a world of
people who help get those ingredients to our kitchen..taking them to farms and walks through the
woods, on the beach, getting a feel for what is natural and what is not.  They certainly like the occasional
McDonald's fries...it's not a steady diet in our house...you all know that by now...We try as parents to
balance everything in life...(however, there will be no Olive Garden or Jarred sauce, ever. I must be
firm about that!) At the end of the day, as we approach this great holiday of Thanksgiving, I'm pondering
about what I'm most thankful for...and that is having a great family to be part of, and of these two girls
whom Mommy and Daddy love unconditionally.  
As a parent, we try to get our children to like the things we liked as children ourselves..selfish? Perhaps.
But it also connects us together, to our past, our present, and our future.  My mom enjoyed making
homemade pasta once in a while...then for what seemed eterninty, her and Dad were making pasta
4 or 5 times a week, buying electric pasta makers and turning the little house we lived in, into an ob-
stacle course of kitchen towels with pasta drying on them, chair backs with tagliatelle draped over the
backs...so one night last winter's Holiday season, I gave the girls a crash course in tagliatelle ( long
egg noodles) making.  We pulled out Mom's food processor and started the lesson.  Into the pro-
cessor, add 3 eggs and one yolk, whir till the eggs are blended.  Hey serious chefs out there...cooking is fun..
see their faces..I see too many dour visages on many of today's chefs..especially if you are cooking at
home...relax and enjoy the process...if it turns into a disaster, then order out.  Now add 3 cups of flour and 1 tsp of kosher salt..stream it into the food tube and keep the blade running.  When the dough comes
free and clean from the sides stop and turn the dough out and knead it for 10 minutes on a smooth
surface.  Then, let it rest, covered for 30 minutes.
  Happy faces make good food..it's a rule...divide the dough into
quarters.  With each quarter, flatten with your palm and on a lightly floured board, gently roll (always in one
direction) the dough until it is about 1/8 " thick.  Keep the other quarters covered with a kitchen cloth. 
Gently cut the dough into 1/4" wide ribbons and drape them over clean chair backs.  You can drape a
kitchen towel over the chair back first. 

  Let these rest for 30 minutes.  In the meantime,
have 3 cups of sauce ready, marinara, meat, bolognese..your choice...have it nice and hot.  Also,
fill a big pot with 4 quarts of water, salted, and bring it to a rolling boil.  Add the pasta and stir
briskly. Then leave it alone until you see most of the pasta coming to the top of the pot.  Give it a
stir and cook for about 4-5 minutes total.  Drain and add a drizzle of good fruity olive oil, some
black pepper and 3 tbs. of grated cheese, Pecorino or Parmigiano...then 2 cups of sauce and toss
together well.  Let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving. 

Is pasta part of Thanksgiving?  That's not the point here...do something that makes you feel
thankful this week...with family, with friends..just be thankful!