Cooking is not an inherently hard thing to do, but the planning and proper execution for most people can pose a daunting challenge that causes many people to opt out to get some sort of take out for the night.
If you are a rather inexperienced cook and want to learn more about how to make your home cooked food taste great, then you will love to hear this trick about how to get your pasta tasting professional, and delicious.
Ingredients: A pinch of salt, water and pasta (DO NOT add olive oil or butter)
Restaurant pasta always tastes a little bit different than home cooked pasta, and a big part of this has to do with the way that you bring the pasta to the table rather than the type of pasta you use.
Add a pinch of salt to the water as it is heating. Add your pasta to the water just before it comes to a rolling boil. When most people go to prepare a dish like spaghetti, mostaccioli, ziti, etc. with a meat or cream sauce, they will tend to over-cook the pasta, then drain it in a colander or strainer, let it cool and then add it to sauce after it is done cooking or serve it on the side in a separate dish with the pasta meat sauce that they make. Most pasta packages will give you the amount of time to cook the pasta. Using the package directions will cause it to be over-cooked. Cut the time back by two to three minutes. It may seem like a perfectly logical approach to drain your pasta in a colander; however it is not the proper way to do it and will result in stickier, less creamy pasta.
If you want to do it the correct and professional way to cook your pasta, then there are a few things you need to get ready before start. For starters, make sure that you have the sauce started and completed well before the pasta is done cooking. Keep it warm on the stove top. Also make sure you have some butter on the side, as well as a ladle.
When time comes to drain the pasta, simply scoop it out with a strainer of some sort, and then throw it directly into the pasta sauce pot. This will allow the pasta to soak up all of the rich juices of the pasta sauce. If you rinse the pasta or drain all the water, you will wash out all the starch on the pasta and cause it to be hard and not good for the sauce.
Once your pasta is in the sauce, take a ladle of the water that the pasta cooked in, and then place it inside of the sauce pot as well. This will give it more of that starchy richness. Lastly, cut a tablespoon to 4 tablespoons of butter, depending on how much you want to use, and throw that in the pot as well. Mix everything together, and you will have a nice creamy and rich dish of pasta. Add in herbs last so that they stay fresh.
A properly cooked pasta will cause your friends and family to want your recipe.
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