Today is National Spaghetti Day

Isn't it funny how a dreary Monday can suddenly have an optimistic outlook by simply saying spaghetti.  What is it about this simple dish that seems to have a universal appeal to most everyone.  I think it is the ease and the simplicity of the dish itself, it seems to remind us of a time when we were young and life wasn't so complicated.

Now with that said I think we've all been to a friend's house for dinner to enjoy this simple fare, to only be stranded in an uncomfortable moment when we are faced with a tasteless sticky mess.  Well, been there, done that, in fact any dish is easy to mess up, but with a few simple changes it is also easy to fix. 

First thing to remember is to properly salt your water, pasta by itself has no real flavor, so adding salt will help give it some character, but salt your water liberally, basically you should be able to taste salt in the water.  Now as far as adding oil to the water, don't waste the oil.  People say it helps lubricate the pasta and aids in sticking...ok.  Since water and oil don't mix, all you have is your pasta swimming around in a pot with a bunch of oil blobs, looking like a lava lamp gone horribly wrong.  What make pasta stick is when the gluten in the pasta gets wet it gets sticky, so to prevent this when you add your pasta to the water keep it moving for about a good minute this way water is able to get between ALL your pasta and act as the true barrier, try it you'll see that it works just fine and you'll save your oil for other things, like a dressing to go with the pasta.

Now, the final area that causes some controversy among cooks, and chefs alike is should you rinse your  pasta when it comes out of the water?  Well I say it depends on the application, you'll notice that if you just leave your pasta alone after draining you'll see that it gets sticky again, because of the lack of water or proper lubricant.  Now if you rinse it right away, you'll notice that it doesn't get sticky or gummy on you and it is easy to work with.  There is no right or wrong, like I said earlier it depends on the appliction, if you are just cooking some pasta to have on hand for some quick mid-week meals, then absolutely rinse and then lightly toss in some oil before storing.  If you are going to strain your pasta and then add it right to a dish with some sort of sauce or oil then no rinsing is needed.

Hopefully these few gems are useful and assist you on your quest to becoming a great spaghetti god or goddess to your friends and family.

Manga!!