Not Your Usual Pasta

With my birthday coming up, I've been thinking of what sort of dishes should I prepare. The first thing that came to my mind is pasta. However, pasta is one of those dishes that are considered as "regulars" during special occasions mainly because they are somewhat easy to prepare (not to mention affordable). And because of that I've been thinking of ways on how to make the "usual" pasta dish into a not-so-usual pasta. Being a techie freak that I am, I did a bit of googling and came up with some tested and proven not-your-usual pasta dishes that I am sure my friends would ravish (or else..).

For my friends that are not too keen on eating meat, seafood pasta would do be just fine. As you have guessed, the main ingredient is of course, seafood. For those who are willing to make this kind of not-your-usual pasta, any kind of seafood will do, just make sure that to inform your friends the type of seafood that you made with the pasta to prevent unwanted allergic episodes. Another type of not-your-usual pasta dish that I have learned is the spicy pasta. Yep, you heard me right. Spicy pasta would surely be a hit to those who love eating with added heat (hehehe.. sorry, couldn't resist). All you have to do in creating this spicy pasta is add some hot sauce and more spices.

The great thing about pasta dishes is that you can cook them the way your palate prefers. To tickle your palate a bit, here is an excerpt of an article about the not-your-usual pasta dish:

"Aren’t you tired of preparing the same ol’ pasta dishes? Spaghetti, rigatoni, macaroni and cheese, these are the common pasta dishes that the lot of pasta lovers has been preparing over time. Sure, these dishes are superb and very tasty. But there is actually something that you can do to spice up these ordinary dishes. And one such way is by dishing up a pasta salad. Here comes the matter of ingredients to include in your pasta salad. The great thing about preparing a pasta salad is that just about anything can be included! Just go through your refrigerator and your cupboard for you will surely find a lot of ingredients that you can include for your dish. Just to name a few, here are some ideal ingredients that you can use."

To read more just click here.

How To Cook Perfect Pasta

Pasta is the most versatile type of food. It can be served on any occasion. Not only that, pasta is also one of the most popular and most favorite foods of today mainly because not only are they delicious, preparing a pasta dish is also quite easy. However, although it is quite easy to cook a pasta dish, it is also quite easy to ruin it. And that is the main reason why the main goal of all pasta lovers is to learn how to cook the perfect pasta. Although pasta has been around for quite some time now, cooking the perfect pasta can be quite elusive for most people. Mainly because some of them disregard the basics in making a perfect pasta dish.

Cooking pasta is done in two categories (you guessed it right, the noodles and the sauce). If one of the two is not done properly, then rest assured that that pasta is a disaster. Basically, the secret in cooking the perfect pasta is that you must cook the sauce and noodles properly. Here's a little appetizer on how to cook perfect pasta that I have read:

"Cook the pasta in a pot that is large enough to allow you to stir the noodles around in the water easily. If the pot is too small it will not hold enough water to cook the pasta, which will leave the noodles sticking to the pot. The pasta may also end up getting burned......"

To read more about the article, just click here.