The perfect pasta is a mystery to me!

[Reconciliator]

I drain the pasta using a strainer and when the water is gone I drizzle some oil overtop, then shake the strainer a bit to "toss" the pasta noodles with the oil. Then I set the strainer down and leave it there while I finish making the sauce. Then I return to the noodles 5-15min later when I need to begin plating, and what usually (almost always?) happens is the noodles are stuck together to some degree.

You can't let pasta sit for 5-15 minutes! Get that sauce ready first!

 

[AmtrakQuebec]

You can't let pasta sit for 5-15 minutes! Get that sauce ready first!

Especially if it's thin pasta like Angel Hair... it will be ice cold after 15 minutes.

 

[warpus]

I wish these recipes pointed something like this out. Instead they make you boil the noodles first, before you do anything else, almost as if they want you to mess up.

 

[AmtrakQuebec]

There is one thing I would recommend and that is using semolina pasta. I find though that you need to get one size smaller than usual since it tends to plump up more than regular pasta, at least in my experience, probably because of the egg.

 

[ecuwins]

There is one thing I would recommend and that is using semolina pasta. I find though that you need to get one size smaller than usual since it tends to plump up more than regular pasta, at least in my experience, probably because of the egg.

I noticed this as well. Recently bought some fancy bronze die semolina because it was on sale, it definitely took longer to cook and it seemed a bit thicker.

 

[Takhisis]

I wish these recipes pointed something like this out. Instead they make you boil the noodles first, before you do anything else, almost as if they want you to mess up.

Well, in my case, at least, I actually boil them first to strain them and keep the water. Since the water's salty and I often boil them in some sort of broth/stock I use it to flavour the sauce.

 

[ecuwins]

I wish these recipes pointed something like this out. Instead they make you boil the noodles first, before you do anything else, almost as if they want you to mess up.

A lot of online recipes are crap, unless you are just looking for an ingredient list. I suggest watching YouTube videos for learning techniques - like how to cook noodles.

 

[Sofista]

Put neither oil nor salt to make it not stick.

1.) Increase stove heat to High and boil water in a big pot until it is a roaring boil.
2.) Throw pasta in big pot.
3.) If you have a newer overpowered stove, reduce heat to 7 so it doesn't overboil and spill everywhere/burn. If you have a crappy stove like my old one, then keep heat on High.
4.) Take a large spoon or spatula and stir the pasta around while boiling for a few seconds. This is so it doesn't stick!
5.) Set timer to 8 minutes if you want the pasta to be softer, 7 minutes if you want it el dente style.
6.) Place a big strainer in your kitchen sink.
7.) When the timer goes off dump contents of the big pot into the big strainer waiting in your kitchen sink. Hot water will go down the drain leaving only fresh hot pasta in the strainer! NOTE: You may still have to scrape some pasta that may be stuck to the bottom of the big pot with a spatula. To reduce this from happening try to put less pasta in the pot or otherwise rely on the spatula.
8.) Take pasta out of strainer and onto dish.
9.) Put extra virgin olive oil on pasta.
10.) Take some Romano cheese and shred with a cheese grater onto pasta.
11.) Take some dried oregano, rosemary, and thyme then put onto pasta. You can also buy McCormic "Italian Seasoning" which basically has all those spices I just mentioned all in one and put that on the pasta instead (in fact that is exactly what I do since I don't operate an herb farm).
12.) Take a fork, or whatever utensil you are going to eat the meal with, and mix around the olive oil, cheese, and herbs so it is evenly spread throughout the pasta thus insuring not one inch will be lacking in flavor.
13.) Eat pasta. If still hungry grab more from the sink and repeat steps 9 through 13. Continuously eat servings until full or feel like your becoming fat. I recommend one serving, but I do eat two often and sometimes three if I'm particularly famished.
14.) When finally done, transfer pasta left over in the strainer into a plastic container. Put plastic container in fridge. Pasta stored this way can last up to a week and allows you to eat it the next day. All you have to do when you want to eat it again is take it out of the plastic container, put it onto a dish, through it into the microwave for 1 minute to reheat, and then you can repeat steps 9 through 13 again.

Solid, quality post.
A couple of counterarguments (short of nitpicking):

5) Not all pasta is alike. Any pasta maker worth their salt print exact cooking times on the envelope.
11) Pasta with herbs is great, yet one of the great things about pasta is that it's adaptable! You offered a good recipe, but there are endless possibilities! Meat. Cheeses. Fruits. Seafood.

If I may, there's a youtube channel I'd like to share with you. It has custom-made English subtitles I (mostly) approve of (we're talking about versions from non-native speakers; expect clunkiness at some point, I know, I know; just turn them on), and regularly uses the format of presenting the classical recipe before venturing into a contemporary, gourmet (to me, usually, two thumbs down, Ebert-style) version.

I'm linking three videos here: classic carbonara. Historically the ultimate union of pasta and North American flavors. Of course, good fatty bacon, here like below, can very well sub for guanciale.

Then, penne all'arrabbiata. A vegan-friendly, spicy dish. Most used in the Summertime late at night.

And my personal favorite: l'amatriciana, from a man closer to 90 than to 80.

 

[warpus]

A lot of online recipes are crap, unless you are just looking for an ingredient list. I suggest watching YouTube videos for learning techniques - like how to cook noodles.

All of these recipes I use come from the makegoodfood.com meal prep delivery service. They send me a box with all the ingredients and a printed out recipe. You'd think they would have hired somebody to go over the recipes and make sure that they make sense. They seem to have done that since all the recipes seem very standardized. If one recipe does something a certain way, they will all be like that. They seem to have gotten everything else right as far as I can tell, so how did they get this wrong? Not asking you directly, just wondering out loud really

Since the water's salty and I often boil them in some sort of broth/stock I use it to flavour the sauce.

I do the same thing, although in the recipes it always says that this is done to un-thicken the sauce, or whatever the opposite of thicken is.

 

[AmtrakQuebec]

Thin

 

[GinandTonic]

Balls to water, fish crap in it. Wine will thin, emulsify and deglaze at the same time.

And then you can invoke the chef's privilege.

 

[Joij21]

5) Not all pasta is alike. Any pasta maker worth their salt print exact cooking times on the envelope.
11) Pasta with herbs is great, yet one of the great things about pasta is that it's adaptable! You offered a good recipe, but there are endless possibilities! Meat. Cheeses. Fruits. Seafood.

Yeah I know there are other ways to do it, but the example I used is generally my favorite form. Sometimes I use Mexican shredded cheese instead of the Romano, other times mozzarella, powdered parmesan, or shredded cheddar. If there's no olive oil available in my house (a.k.a. I ran out but am too hungry to go to the store), then I substitute it with vegetable oil (not great, but it's still better than putting butter on my pasta. Although cheese still has lots of cholesterol ). Then sometimes I'll put meatballs without sauce into the mix (cause I don't like tomato sauce with olive oil and cheese, it gets too slimy), however I do put the tomato sauce in only if I'm not using any oil or cheese.

 

[Takhisis]

All of these recipes I use come from the makegoodfood.com meal prep delivery service. They send me a box with all the ingredients and a printed out recipe. You'd think they would have hired somebody to go over the recipes and make sure that they make sense. They seem to have done that since all the recipes seem very standardized. If one recipe does something a certain way, they will all be like that. They seem to have gotten everything else right as far as I can tell, so how did they get this wrong? Not asking you directly, just wondering out loud really

I think that those websites have more or less generic recipes that are safe to use for beginners and safe to experiment with for advanced users.

E.g. I found a cake recipe that was very basic and I immediately knew I had to substitute part of the vegetable oil for butter. And later I replaced some of the ingredients and began doing frostings and so on by myself, but the basic proportions for a fruit cake remain unchanged.

I do the same thing, although in the recipes it always says that this is done to un-thicken the sauce, or whatever the opposite of thicken is.

Balls to water, fish crap in it. Wine will thin, emulsify and deglaze at the same time.

And then you can invoke the chef's privilege.

In this week's iterations of the basic pasta soup, yes, the change was to, after nearly browning the onion, add the usual half-cube of bullion, but with white wine, then when the wine was reduced and the alcohol evaporated I added water and milk to dissolve the powdered soup while the bucattini boiled for 8-9 minutes.

Also I poached an egg, but in a small pan. A centimetre of water, some salt, and then throw in an egg. It's a nice change And then you throw it into the soup; it's better than a hardboiled one, as a certain German CFCer will approve of.

 

[AmtrakQuebec]

On another food front, Mickey D's is bringing back the McRib!!

Reminds me of this...


Link to video.

 

[Samson]

On another food front, Mickey D's is bringing back the McRib!!

Reminds me of this...


Link to video.

I wonder what that is. Surely it is not actually made of prime rib meat, the business model here is to take the bits of meat you would not buy if you knew where they came from, and shape them into something eaten between 2 bits of bread.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I ordered pasta last night, enough for several meals. This particular restaurant didn't include garlic bread with it, but oh well. It was tasty.

It sure made Maddy notice. I could tell that she was really hoping I'd be absent-minded enough to go off somewhere and leave my supper unattended (I didn't).

 

[warpus]

What kind of pasta did you order?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

What kind of pasta did you order?

Nothing fancy. Domino's Italian Sausage Marinara. I ordered 4 of them, to last a few meals. I still have one left in the fridge. I just zap it a few minutes in the microwave to warm it up, add pepper, and eat.

It drives Maddy nuts that I won't share, but I'm not sure what ingredients there might be in it that cats shouldn't have.

 

[Takhisis]

Yes, but the pasta itself, what kind was it?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Yes, but the pasta itself, what kind was it?

Penne.