A perfect pot of pasta.

A few weeks ago one of my best friends turned 49 (49!) and to celebrate she invited a wonderful group of friends and family to join her at her house for a festive birthday dinner.  It was a truly lovely evening.  The company was fabulous, the weather was perfect and the children were well-behaved (or, if they weren’t they were smart enough to be badly behaved out of earshot…).

At events like this I usually wind up in the kitchen helping whoever is doing the cooking and generally getting in the way.  At this party, I not only wound up helping, but I was put in charge of two seemingly simple, easy-peasy tasks… cook the pasta and bake the bread.  No problem!  I could handle both tasks blindfolded!!  But guess what?  I managed to screw up both of these assignments!! I was a little bit mortified, but luckily the drinks were flowing and the guests were kind and no one taunted me too much.

How, one might ask, do you screw up pasta?  Apparently if the water isn’t quite hot enough, the pot is a little too small and the pasta is two different varieties you wind up with a glob, a clump, a blob of sticky noodles.   Determined not to let a little bit of flour and water get the best of me, I decided to cook a big pot of pasta for dinner the next night.  This time, however, I did a little bit of research first.  Based on what I read, it seems that the following is the best way to cook a perfect pot of pasta:

 

1. Select the right size pot.  It needs to be large enough to let the pasta move freely as it boils. My box of spaghetti calls for a pot large enough to hold 4 quarts of water.
2. Add approximately 1 tablespoon of salt to the water.  (I think it was Ina Garten who said something to the effect that pasta tastes better in Italy because 1. You’re in Italy and 2. They use more salt.)
3. Don’t add oil to the water.  Oil will coat the pasta as it cooks which will keep the sauce from blanketing the pasta properly.
4. When the water has come to a rolling boil, add the pasta and stir immediately.
5. Set your timer for the recommended cooking time for your particular type of pasta (usually 7 – 11 minutes) and stir the pasta periodically as it cooks.
6. Before draining the pasta, reserve about one cup of the starchy, salty pasta water in case you want to thin your pasta sauce.
7. Drain your pasta in a colander (do not rinse unless you are going to use the pasta in a cold dish) and return it to the warm pot.
8. Toss pasta with your favorite sauce and cook together over a medium low heat for about two minutes.

That’s it.  It wasn’t hard at all, it just took a little bit more attention than I’d given it the night before.  I’ve now cooked pasta three times using this method and it has turned out perfectly each time.

Meanwhile… in a different part of the kitchen:

Charlotte whips up the peanut sauce for the pasta.  It was good, but not great.  We’re still looking for the perfect Thai style peanut sauce.  Any suggestions?

And Penelope serves slushies.  It’s her own personal recipe that she’d be happy to share it if you’d like.  (and yes, that is a dog bowl in the middle of our kitchen floor…)

Have a happy Thursday!