Cooking Basics: Spaghetti

Every college student can make spaghetti and reheat a pizza. Right? It's what they eat.

Yet, when people ask for basic cooking advice, one of the first things they say they don't know w to make well is...spaghetti. 

They all have similar complaints about their attempts. 

1. I always seem to make more than I need
2. It has no flavor
3. It is chewy
4. It is mushy

When I was first learning to cook, my first attempts were with spaghetti (I am Italian, after all) and I had all of the above complaints after I learned to boil water.

So, today, we're going to learn how to make spaghetti. Hang in there...even if you're an experieced cook, there may be a few things you can learn.

1. The first thing to know is that you need to cook the spaghetti in a large pot. Make sure there is plenty of room for the pasta to move around.
2. Use enough water -- 5 or 6 quarts per pound of spaghetti -- to make sure the pasta is submerged while it's cooking.
3. A hand full of spaghetti about the diameter of a quarter is a single serving. A lot of people make the mistake of saying, I can eat a pound of pasta," and cooking a pound of dry spaghetti. When the pasta goes into the water, it absorbs a lot of it. 
4. When you put the pot on the stove to boil, make sure to put the cover almost on the pot. The cover keeps theheat in, but you want to know when it's starting to boil so it doesn't bubble over.
5. Salt the water for good flavor. My grandmother used to say that the water should taste like the ocean. Put at least 2 tablespoons of salt in that pot.
6. Once you slip the spaghetti into the water, bring it back to a full boil. Don't try to rush it. Put the cover back on if you want it to cook faster.
7. As soon as it comes to a full, rolling bubble, take off the cover and stir the spaghetti so it doesn't stick together. Do not add oil at this point. Just stir.
8. Turn the heat to low and let it continue to boil while you continue to stir.
9. Most spaghetti needs to simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes more, but check the package to make sure that's true for the specific pasta you have.
10. A couple of minutes before the call time on the package, check for doneness. Pull a strand of pasta out and test. (My great grandmother used to throw a piece up in the air and if it stuck to the cieling, it was done. I recommend a taste test instead.) Let it cool. Take a bite. If it has a spring to it and no crunchiness at all, it's done.
11. Drain. Don't rinse it, or all that lovely saltiness will be washed away.
12. Sauce it, butter it or top with shaved cheese. However you serve it, enjoy it right away.