In my first post, I mentioned Mom's Spaghetti, so I thought I'd start with that recipe but then I got to thinking and decided to go one step simpler and begin at the beginning. After a little lesson on making perfect pasta, we'll then start with one of the first recipes I started making. Since it's not actually spaghetti, we like to call it Noodles and Sauce at our house. The "recipe" was giving to me by my sister, when she was a "poor starving college student". This recipe is cheap and easy; just what people are looking for when they strike out on their own. A word of warning: most people who hear this recipe assume it won't be tasty but I can't really think of anyone who doesn't like it, so don't be afraid! Here we go...
Pasta The holy grail of cheap eats. You can make a million different dishes with pasta, many of them quite inexpensive. Although you can easily make mistakes with pasta, it's also very easy to make it right, which makes it great for beginners. Even with mistakes, it's hard to really ruin pasta, but if you remember these few simple "rules" you can make perfect pasta every time.
Rule one, use a large pot with lots of water. Bigger is definitely better when it comes to pasta pots. A larger pot can hold more water. Pasta releases sticky starch when it cooks, which can cause the pasta to stick to itself in clumps. More water means the pasta has more room to move and lowers the concentration of starch. In a nutshell, more water=less sticky.
Rule two, use lots of salt. Starchy foods like pasta (or potatoes) need to have salt added WHILE they cook. You can salt after cooking, but it just won't taste the same. Salting the cooking water will create a better tasting finished product. Salt is a flavor enhancer and needs to be added during cooking to have the desired effect and not just a "salty" taste. Likely, you need to use more salt. The common saying is to make your cooking water taste like sea water. This is an excellent example...unless you've never tasted sea water. Don't worry people of Kansas! I've got you covered! I honestly don't know a better example than sea water, but I guess I'd say to make the water taste pretty darn salty, like sweat or tears, without being so overpowering that it would make you gag. But really, you need to add more than you'd think. You need to add salt, but better to under-salt than to add too much since there's no way to fix over-salted pasta. It's good to add the salt after the water has gotten hot, to make sure it dissolves right away and doesn't pit the bottom of your cooking pot. I like to use kosher salt, but any salt is fine. Do realize that iodized salt has a much harsher taste than kosher salt and has smaller grains, so you'll use much less.
Rule three, stir. As soon as you add the pasta to the pot, give it a good stir. That first hit of hot water releases a bunch of starch and the individual noodles will quickly glue themselves together into one big clump if you don't stir. Stir occasionally during cooking to prevent sticking. Tasty pasta is NOT clumpy pasta!
Rule four, don't overcook that noodle! Don't blindly follow times on a box and assume that everything will just come hunky-dory. There are way too many variables for that! Trust in yourself, not the box. Pasta changes in appearance as it cooks. It will go from opaque to having a bit of a translucency about it. It'll start at the edges and slowly move inward. Once you notice this (or after a few minutes) it's best to pull out a noodle and give it a taste. Crunchy is an obvious indicator that it's not yet done. Then, it'll develop a chewy-gumminess. I admit, I LOVE a few bites of the pasta at this level of doneness, but it would be rather terrible as part of a meal. Keep doing the occasional stir-check thing until it gets to a point of no gumminess but just a bit of chew left in it. This is what they're talking about when they say "al dente" You'll quickly discover at which level of al dente you like best, but it's a pretty small window. Just watch it carefully at this point, because it can quickly move into the "soggy mess" stage. If the name doesn't say it all, just think of the noodles in canned soup. Ick! All that's left to do is dump it into a colander (strainer) and let it drain. Watch out while dumping! A steamy facial is lovely, but steam burns aren't nearly as much fun. Dump away from you so that splashing water and steam aren't hitting you. Gotta protect that purty face!
Rule five, DO. NOT. RINSE. Okay, if you're going to be using the noodles in a cold application, like a pasta salad, you can rinse it in cold water to stop it from over-cooking, but in warm dishes that you're about to serve, don't rinse. Rinsing will wash off all of the lovely starch that's clinging to the outside of each noodle. That starch combines with your sauce to make it stick, which is good because, let's face it, who wants to spend any time making a lovely sauce just to have it slide off that pasta and back into the bowl?
There you have it. Five simple rules for making perfect pasta! Now how easy was that? But wait...what's this? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No....it's a....... Bonus noodle cooking hint!!!
Yeah, it's no Superman, but I find it to be almost as impressive. I was given this technique waaaay back in the day. So long ago, that I'm not really sure who gave it to me or where we were. All I know is that it was a co-worker and I'm thinking maybe her name was Lori. Sorry I can't give credit where credit is due, but my memory is foggy on this one. Anyhoo...on with the show. The secret recipe from "Lori" is quite simple, but I've never seen any tv chef utilize it, nor have I ever seen it in any cookbook. Perhaps there's a reason I don't know, but it seems to work, so.... This method is simple, start with a pot of nicely salted water and bring it to a boil, just as you would for any pasta. Dump that pasta (and stir) in and bring it back to a boil. Then....gasp!...just turn off the burner and wander off. Maybe give a few stirs, but let it just sit. The residual heat will cook the pasta just as if it were on the burner, just a tad slower. Excellent method for those looking to cut energy bills as much as possible-though you might be eyeballing your microwave if that's the case. Speaking of microwaves...this method is essentially what is used in microwave mac-n-cheese packs and can also be employed using the microwave instead of the stovetop *cough dormmeals cough* Try both ways and see which one floats your goat.
Now let's move ahead and transfer these newly acquired pasta skills to your first pasta dish: Noodles and Sauce. I know, fancy title. But despite its blueblood-sounding title, it's actually quite simple. Once you've mastered the "Noodles" part of Noodles and Sauce, you're more than half way there. Can you believe it gets even easier?!?! "No way, Jose!" you say? Way.
Sauce: As the noodles are cooking, pull out a saucepan and open up a can of tomato soup. We're talking the condensed variety that you might recognize from a red and white can with chubby faced kids, not that brand matters. Go with what you like. Campbell's isn't actually my favorite, but they're all pretty much the same. Dump that can of tomato soup into the saucepan and then put it over medium heat. Then it's time to add the magic ingredient. Are you ready for this? You sure? Okay...I'll take it slow. It's...C H I L I P O W D E R. Can you believe that?!?! Whodathunkit? Just dump in a bit of chili powder-add as much or as little to your liking, remembering that the heat will pick up a bit as you heat it. Since I love the earthy flavor of the cumin (it's what gives chili powder it's unique taste) I sometimes add some ground cumin to the pan in addition to the chili powder. If you don't have cumin, you'll be fine, but if you get the chance, try it with cumin AND chili powder. Delish! Then, just cook and stir until it's hot. It will actually change color as it heats and it tastes best if you let it get to a darker red-stirring almost constantly! This stuff will stick to the bottom of the pan like crazy if you don't stir it. A whisk works nicely for this as it'll do a good job of scraping the stuff off of the bottom of the pan, but a nice silicone spatula or even a spoon is fine. All in your preferences. Now just pop some of those perfectly cooked noodles into a bowl, spoon over some of that tasty sauce and eat like a poor, starving, college student!
Obviously, this "recipe" can be tweaked a bunch. Experiment with different types of noodles (my faves are elbow macaroni and shells) Add more chili powder, add less. Add cumin. Want more heat? Add some cayenne. Heck, add whatever herbs or spices you'd like, though I can't vouch for the results. I know someone who skips the chili powder and just adds bacon. Bacon, I tell you! Food of the gods! How could that not be good?!?!? Do whatever you want and make it yours. That's the way to take charge of the kitchen. Make cooking about YOU, not what everyone says to do-except me. Mom knows best. Just sayin'.
