• aj12754 November 2011

  I recently added the Babbo Cookbook to my collection and Batali has so many wonderful pastas in this book that -- for the first time ever I am considering making fresh pasta for his recipes. I was wondering about the virtues of the stand-alone pasta-maker vs. the pasta attachment to the Kitchen Aid -- are there cookbookers out there who have had experience with either or both?
• Queezle Sister November 2011

  I have neither. I keep thinking about getting the kitchen aid mixer (costco has a good price%2
• southerncooker November 2011

  I don't have a kitchen aid so don't know about the attachment. I do however have a stand alone pasta maker that I got for a couple dollars at a thrift store several years ago. My daughter and I have made pasta with it several times and it worked very well. I later found a ravioli attachment for it at another thrift store and my daughter made ravioli a couple times with it.
• Queezle Sister November 2011

  What an awesome score - what is the brand? Is it easy to use?
• andrew November 2011

  I bought a stand-alone pasta maker last year when I saw one on sale at a local store for something like $12, reduced from $30. It wasn't great - it was uneven when it rolled out the sheets of dough, and then it broke after only being used a half dozen times. So my lesson there was, you get what you pay for.
  
  I have a Kitchen Aid and have been thinking about getting the pasta attachment. I took a pasta course run by a local restaurant/deli and they had the attachment, and it was fast and consistent. It's not cheap, though I see Amazon has it for about $80, which is better than I've seen it in stores.
  
  Though after a brief burst of enthusiasm after taking the course, I stopped making pasta - it's so easy to buy that it was one of those home-made things that didn't quite seem worth the time and effort. I have vague hopes of getting back into it sometime though...
• aj12754 November 2011

  Thanks guys - making fresh pasta has always seemed a bit more trouble than it's worth and the KA attachment is gets pretty iffy reviews at Amazon ... I may need to rethink this and just modify the Babbo recipe a bit ... appreciate everyone's input!
• kateq November 2011

  I have an Atlas pasta machine--the old-fashioned hand-crank sort and I love it. I also have the kitchenaid attachment (a gift) but I haven't used it yet. Once you get the hang of it (the hand crank machine)--and find a place in your kitchen where you can comfortably fasten it down and use it, it's a great thing. And there's nothing like fresh fettucini or lasagna noodles or any of the other kinds of pasta you can easily turn out. I've also used the pasta machine for rolling out certain cookie doughs (like Mexican chocolate cookies)--using it like a small sheeter and it works wonderfully. We are planning on doing ravioli at Christmas--and it only makes sense to make a ton of it at one time, so I'm planning on breaking in the kitchenaid attachment then. While the hand-crank works very well, it is a lot of effort. There is (I don't have it but I've seen it) a little motor you can attach to the manual machine which, in theory at least, would be terrific.
• aj12754 November 2011

  Thanks Kate! I will look forward to hearing about your experiences with the kitchen aid after Christmas... meanwhile ... Happy Thanksgiving!
• soupereasy November 2011

  I have the Atlas hand crank and have used the KA attachment. You really need to have a good place to attach the Atlas. Countertops are rarely compatable.
  I have used it with great success and annoyance, it works really well but you practically have to duct tape it to you workspace.
  The KA attachment is easy to use and you have both hands available to work with the pasta.
• southerncooker November 2011

  Sorry it took me so long to reply about the brand of pasta machine I have. I kept forgetting to pull mine out of the pantry and check. It's an Imperia hand crank from Italy. Here's a link so you can see what it looks like:
  http://tinyurl.com/7r2gt2t
  The ravioli attachment is also an Imperia. I sure was lucky to find such good bargins at those thrift stores. It attaches to my table really well but doesn't work on my counter.
• southerncooker November 2011

  Forgot to mention it's not that hard to use but a bit of a pain to clean up.
• aj12754 November 2011

  Thanks soupereasy and southerncooker -- I have a feeling there is fresh pasta in my future :-)
• kateq December 2011

  I'm back to report that I LOVE the KA attachment. It's incredible how much effort is removed from the pasta making process. All the bother of finding a place to clamp the pasta machine and keeping it clamped is gone. And having hands free to just feed and manipulate the sheets of pasta is wonderful.
  I tried and fell in love with another tool -- a ravioli rolling pin which is shown here: http://fantes.com/images/120624ravioli.jpg
  
• southerncooker December 2011

  Kateq, I have one of those ravioli rolling pins. I saw one at a yard sale and picked it up to look at it. The lady asked me if I wanted it and I said how much, she told me $3 I politely declined since I didn't know if I'd use it but thought it was neat looking. She said it's worth it and really old. I told her I'm sure it was but I really didn't want it for that amount. She asked me if I liked to cook and I told her I loved to cook. She said would you keep it or sell it if you bought it and I said keep it. She then said give me 50 cent and it's yours. So I did.
• kateq December 2011

  50 cents well spent.
  Have you used it?
  It took a few tries to get the hang of it but I love it.
• southerncooker December 2011

  No I haven't used it. I have it displayed in a prominent place in my kitchen. I should give it a try though.
• Queezle Sister December 2011

  You guys inspire me to be more vigilant in my yard sale perusing! All these pasta-making tools look like fun.
• southerncooker December 2011

  Queezle Sister, I love yard "sailing". I've found some really great things including cookbooks and dishes. You never know what treasures are lurking. I bought a new set of log cabin Christmas dishes a few years ago, wanted two but couldn't afford it. A couple years later I discovered a set exactly like it at a yard sale for $5. Needless to say I snapped it up quickly. Another one of my favorite finds was a pizza stone, brand new still in the box and I got it for a measly $1. My daughter always looks for craft things when she goes. She's gotten some nice things too.
• Cooksbakesbooks February 2012

  I have the old Atlas hand-crank pasta roller and it does a good job. I am getting ready to make pasta again after a long hiatus. I have rolled pasta dough out by hand on a large counter, with a rolling pin and it worked fine, too, really. Fresh pasta is not hard to make and not too bad cleaning up after if you soak or clean immediately anything with flour on it. I think it's worth the effort if you have the time and if you can't get fresh pasta otherwise where you live.
• Cooksbakesbooks February 2012

  BTW, If someone gets a dedicated yard sale thread going, I bet we'd all have a great chat!

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