Okay, so you found the man or woman of your dreams, he or she is a pasta lover and you want to seal the deal by cooking them the Italian meal of their romantic life. Fair enough. You wont be able to seal the deal by sending over an Italian Wine Gift basket This is something that I can relate to. ! I am uniquely qualified to deal with this situation. Because I too am a pasta fanatic, I can tell you exactly what to do and what not to do in order to win over the heart of a fellow pasta freak.
Rule #1 No Fake Stuff In The Sauce
Nothing that doesn’t come from the ground should go in the sauce. Don’t even think about using sauce from a jar. It’s the worst thing you can do. A good healthy pasta dish made from scratch is one of the easiest things to do. It only takes about 20 minutes to make a real pasta dish. You don’t have to stoop that low.
Rule # 2 Don’t Over-Cook The Pasta, But Don’t Under-Cook It Either.
With a little practice, you can master this one. Pasta that is over cooked is simply awful. There is no saving a meal when the pasta arrives tasting like mush.
Conversely, don’t under-cook it either. When I taste pasta that is under-cooked even worse, stuck together and hard, I want to immediately get up and leave. I HATE THAT.
The only way to see if macaroni is cooked is by taste. That is what I still do to this day. I taste and taste it and taste it again until it is cooked to a perfect al dente. Don’t time it, don’t throw it against the wall, don’t do anything other than what I have said. Taste it.
Rule # 3 No Cheese From A Can
It’s just so easy to use pre-grated cheese – I don’t care. The quality is just not there. Just go the extra mile, buy a good quality cheese and do your own grating. The freshly grated cheese will add that extra touch that will say to your perspective mate “He (or she) is the one for me.
Everything I mentioned here today is serious. This is important stuff to the pasta lover. And if you are trying to lure a pasta lover down the aisle, you should listen to my advice. Is this voodoo magic that is guaranteed to work? Not necessarily. Think about it. If you were a pasta lover choosing a mate, who would you pick? A person who throws canned and jarred slop on the table. Or would you rather see the woman (or man)who makes a great dish of perfectly cooked pasta with fresh sauce and wonderful imported grated cheese?
The choice is yours.
