Sometimes what you envision in your head doesn’t always work out in the final version. Sometimes you need to go back to the drawing board, and sometimes you just need to tweak the great idea you started with. That’s where I am with these pappardelle noodles.

I made them wide and long. I thought that was best. What I didn’t think was how it was going to be eaten, in practical terms. I cooked my first test batch last night and realised there was no way to twirl the long noodles on a fork. None at all. Trust me, I tried!

And for the first time my husband’s suggestion that I wear a white tea towel tucked into the front of my shirt as I ate didn’t offend me. It actually came in quite handy. Instead of stain removing tomato sauce from my laundry tonight, I was able to take the remaining noodles and break them up before I dropped them in the pot. This helped. A lot. I still needed to use the side of my fork to break down large chunks of noodle, but none of it found its way to my clothing. Win!

Plated pappardelli noodles in sauce, topped with fresh pepper and Parmesan shavings.

Anyway, this is the before and after of my pappardelle. I didn’t make anything fancy for this one because it was more about the noodle than the sauce tonight. It still turned out quite tasty, though. You can’t go wrong with a basic Marcella Hazan tomato sauce. You really can’t. All you have to do it top it with fresh pepper and shavings of Parmesan cheese, and you’ll be all set to feast.

Gone, without a trace.