Today is National Pasta Day
October 17, 2018
TODAY IS NATIONAL PASTA DAY
What's your favorite pasta dish?
I make a unique, vegetarian type of spaghetti.
I call it Spaghetti with garlic & cheese.
I'm not much of a fan of tomato sauce, so I rarely ever eat spaghetti out.
So I make my spaghetti at home, in a fairly unique way.
First, I buy "Thick Spaghetti" (Barilla brand)
Then, I cook it gently in boiling water, careful not to overcook it.
Then I drain t, getting rid of all the water.
Meanwhile, using a garlic press, I press 4 or 5 large garlic Perles, and let the garlic sit out for about 20 minutes on a plate.
I then spoon out a small amount of marinara sauce [I like "Newman's Owni"] into a saucepan or pot,and put it on low heat.
Then I add the prepared garlic and cook it in the marinara sauce for only a minute or two.
Then, I return the cooked spaghetti to the marinara sauce with garlic in the sauce pan, on low heat, and add about 5 or 6 slices of Muenster cheese, cut up in small pieces, and stir the cheese into the spaghetti & marinara sauce, careful not to "cook it" too much, just heat it up, then I add cut up jumbo black olives, and carefully allow the cheese to melt in with the hot, cooked spaghetti, turn off the burner, and let the whole thing just sit there, careful not to have it become "mushy" from overcooking.
Then I usually eat something else for dinner (or lunch) and let the cooked spaghetti & garlic & cheese just sit out without a lid on the pot, so it stays "dry" as opposed to "mushy"
later, after it's completely cooled, I put the entire pot of cooked spaghetti, garlic & cheese into the refrigerator (or you can put it in Tupperware)
So now I have about 3 or 4 servings of garlic & cheese spaghetti to eat over the next few days (heated up in the microwave)
It's a difficult dish to make because it's easy to either overcook, or put too much marinara sauce in it, or use the wrong type of cheese...all of which can contribute to a "mushy" spaghetti & cheese.
If you're a vegetarian, try it sometime.
Or, even if you're not a vegetarian, but you have a spouse or child who's not too crazy about traditional "Spaghetti with meatballs in tomato sauce", this recipe calls for only about 3 or 4 spoonfuls of marinara sauce, just enough to cook the garlic in and to add "color" to the spaghetti.
I like Muenster cheese because it's not a "sharp" tasting cheese like cheddar, but very mild, and it doesn't tend to "liquefy" when heated, as some cheeses do.
So, again, what's your favorite pasta, and how do you like it cooked?
Happy National Pasta Day!
