Further.

I am proud to say that I am apprenticing as a pasta maker, at Cafe Lago, www.cafelago.com for the curious.

As with anything, Pasta would appear to be fairly simple, being the combination of flour, salt and water, and/or eggs in amounts that differ greatly not only from recipe to recipe, but person to person, as well as in at least one case I've seen, within the same cookbook. At some point, for my own purposes and to illustrate the vast differences between various dough recipes, I will post what I have available, as well as detailed notes as to what book it came from, and if any history at all is attached to said recipes.

The recipe I have been taught at Lago is one used by Justin Kenney, and I have been told produces a very very consistent pasta. I can confirm this in so much as that I have had the best results using it, as opposed to the other two-four variations in my notebook.

Where this recipe came from, I haven't asked(tisk tisk on me.). But I have been curious for a while, through what I would call a mild form of curious interrogation of many people involved in the history of Cafe Lago, I have ascertained(and can be corrected by either Jordi or Carla, when I ask about it the next time I see them) is that the original recipe came from either one mother or another, or possibly a grandmother. Jordi mentioning that his mother did make pasta when the restaurant had originally opened. Where she got the recipe is another story. I am sure if I ask, the answer will be given to me. 

Going back to my previous point. While Pasta making on paper looks, and I stress looks easy, it is not. The level of nuance and skill required to produce something that is both good, and consistent enough to sell to people requires years of experience. 

It requires humility before it. I was lucky enough to have some idea of the difficulty working with recipes that require feel as well as skill. But regardless. There is a reason good cooks can become obsessed with crafting the perfect noodle, and spend years reaching that zenith, where they know the nuance and have the experience to help young visionary lads such as myself along. 

I am lucky to work with such skilled and talented people. It makes a journey that could be equated to wandering a densely thicketed forest much easier, knowing the hidden, well used paths.