Quick Pasta

[SobaAddict70]

Ok, I admit it. In a moment of weakness, I bought a jar of Lidia's Puttanesca sauce. And what do you know? It's actually fairly passable. Those big pieces of Kalamata olives in the sauce and those capers really do make a difference in what would be an otherwise mediocre, non-descript sauce.

Ok, so there you have it.

Add this sacrilege to the list of ingredients that I have in my refrig. Right behind the Mrs. Dash.

Soba

[phaelon56]

I liked Classico as a bottled sauce once upon a time until i tried Barilla Tomato and Basil and also their Marinara. Both are among the best bottle sauces I've tried. They were readily available in North Jersey when I was living there but I'm finding them a bit tougher to locate now that I'm in upstate NY. There were some far pricer sauces sold in NJ like Veronica's (about $5 - $6 per jar) and IMHO they were not nearly as good as the Barilla.

I used oil for years in my pasta water but have stopped the practice and see no difference. I have decided to up the amount of salt after seeing so many comments here on that practice.

How much water? Making dinner for myself in a hurry (on lazy night) I will use only four quarts of water but that's only with a half bag of ravioli - cooking a full bag or cooking any amount of pasta dictates six quarts of water for me - always.

Leftover pasta? I put the pasta I'll eat right then in a bowl with the sauce and mix. The remaining amount goes in cold water until the meal is done and is stored in a plastic container with the water loosely drained off - a bot of water still on the noodles is good. I store just enough sauce in a small bowl for the next day also. Reheat the leftover pasta by just throwing it into a small sauce pan of boiling water - the starch was already cooked off and drained the first day but reheating in the microwave just does nto work - I've tried many variations but I still find boiling water to work the best.

Leftover sauce? The jar goes straight into the freezer - I no longer throw away half jars of sauce (but have thrown away many in the pasta).

Cooking with hot water? A fairly generic quotation from one of many municipal and governmental websites

Hot water is more likely to contain rust, copper, and lead from your household plumbing and water heater because these contaminants generally dissolve into hot water from the plumbing faster than into cold water.

It seems to be a prevailing sentiment including from folks like the EPA. They could all be mistaken but for the little bit of effort it taks to boil cold water I'll keep doint it that way.

[sfmiller]

I like Barilla sauces too, for those times when I'm too lazy or don't have the ingredients on hand to make a quick tomato sauce. A couple jars of Marinara and Putanesca in the pantry are good insurance. Work alright as a quickie pizza sauce too.

As to the supposed ill effects of boiling pasta, etc. with hot tap water, I'm skeptical. Granted, it's demonstrated that there's measurably more rust and heavy metals in hot water than cold, all else being equal. But what does that mean in practical terms? How much of that is transferred to food boiled in such water? Has anybody even tried to measure it?

I make coffee and reconstituted juices and such with spring water or filtered cold tap water; it's easy and as fast as using unfiltered tap water and I can often taste the difference. But for boiling potatoes or pasta, I'd like to see the evidence that hot vs cold really matters. Otherwise, I'll continue to use hot tap water (run for a while to clear out pipe debris) when I need a large amount of water for boiling.

[KatieLoeb]

Ah, I got to tell you about my little kid in a fur coat(one of my cats)... green olives drive him absolutely BONZO!!! I always keep some, and my cat Sneaker, will roll on the ground, catch the olive in his mouth, fling it around etc. Has ANYBODY ever seen a cat act like this? Also, both my cats will clean you out of watermelon or cantaloupe, if it's sliced anywhere near them.

My cat Turbo can smell a melon being sliced in the kitchen when he's on the third floor. He'll bolt downstairs and raise hell at my feet until I slice him up his own little serving of honeydew or canteloupe (those are his favorites) . He's a strange one.

My dearly departed Oslowe used to love olives.

[merstar]

When I lived in Manhattan on the Upper West Side, I used to buy Bruno's sauces. Don't know if the store is still there - it used to be on Broadway and 77th or 78th. Now I sometimes use Classico Tomato Basil as a base and then doctor it up. Overall, I tend to stay away from thick red sauces and prefer to make lighter ones with lots of garlic, San Marzano tomatoes, white wine, etc.

[Raynickben]

I freeze leftover sauce in ziploc freezer bags. They can lay flat in the freezer and they thaw quickly.

I have to vote for Rao's vodka sauce. Even at $8 a jar it is really good when you can't make your own.

[Cusina]

I like this thread... very amusing to find an in depth discussion on how to boil water.

[robyn]

I freeze leftover sauce in ziploc freezer bags. They can lay flat in the freezer and they thaw quickly.

I have to vote for Rao's vodka sauce. Even at $8 a jar it is really good when you can't make your own.

I got a jar of Rao's vodka sauce at a Christmas party "grab bag". It was really delicious. Unfortunately - the pasta shaped like little tennis rackets wasn't as successful. Robyn

[lala]

I like the Mario Batalli sauces that I get at Trader Joes. The Fennel and roasted garlic one is great - not all sweet and tomato past-y like most American bottled pasta sauces.

[Basilgirl]

My dearly departed Oslowe used to love olives.

My dearly departed Delilah loved cigarette butts.

Really.

[Basilgirl]

PS - Another vote for Barilla

[hjshorter]

I like the Mario Batalli sauces that I get at Trader Joes. The Fennel and roasted garlic one is great - not all sweet and tomato past-y like most American bottled pasta sauces.

After an unpleasant encounter with Prego, I learned to read the labels before purchase. It never occured to me that something labeled pasta sauce would have sugar in it. Any brand that lists sugar or corn syrup goes back on the shelf.

[Basilgirl]

It never occured to me that something labeled pasta sauce would have sugar in it. Any brand that lists sugar or corn syrup goes back on the shelf.

And the ones without are hard to find.

[lorea]

I have to confess a little secret....I love Prego Mushroom sauce. I know, it's tomato paste-y and has lots of sugar in it, but I think it's because I grow up with it. I typically make my sauce from canned whole tomatoes and fresh herbs, but sometimes I find myself guiltily cooking up a batch of Prego or find myself opening up cans of tomato paste/sauce and adding sugar and spices to make it taste more like Prego. It's sick, I know.

[bloviatrix]

I keep a stock of Barilla on hand for when I'm lazy. In the pantry I have one jar of the Victoria vodka sauce that I haven't gotten around to using yet. I bought it out of shear curiousity.

[Nathan P.]

I will add a second for the Mario Batali Basic tomato sauce at Trader Joes. The ingredients list is: imported italian plum tomatoes, fresh onions, inported italian EVOO, fresh carrots, salt, fresh garlic, and organic thyme. Its hard to find anything as basic as this at the larger grocery stores and since I have been using his recipe when I make my own they are fairly similar. I don't use tomato sauce straight very often, but since this one is so basic I feel comfortable using this to make a quick Amatriciana, or add it to a ragu or braise when I don't have any homemade around. I don't recall the price but it is certainly nowhere near the super premium $8-$10 jars that are in upscale groceries.

Nathan

[robyn]

I have to confess a little secret....I love Prego Mushroom sauce.  I know, it's tomato paste-y and has lots of sugar in it, but I think it's because I grow up with it.  I typically make my sauce from canned whole tomatoes and fresh herbs, but sometimes I find myself guiltily cooking up a batch of Prego or find myself opening up cans of tomato paste/sauce and adding sugar and spices to make it taste more like Prego.  It's sick, I know. 

OK - the food shrink is in .

If you really love Prego mushroom sauce - why do you bother to make sauce yourself?

When I was younger - I always bought sauce in a jar - Ragu Traditional - and I doctored it up with carrots and onions and celery and chopped meat and wine and herbs and a bit more sugar - and I thought it was tastey. Then I got fancy - started making stuff from scratch - got one of those things where you put the tomatoes in on the top - a tomato pulverizer. I thought it was ok - but my husband plain didn't like it. So after a while - I said shoot - why should I waste time making something that I don't care a lot about - and my husband dislikes. So I'm back to my doctored Ragu now.

I happen to prefer another sauce I make - a roasted red pepper cream sauce. And it's really fast because I use roasted red peppers out of a jar. I could spend the extra time roasting the peppers - but the incremental improvement isn't worth the time to me.

So go my child - and eat your Prego Mushroom sauce without guilt . Robyn

[lorea]

What a kind shrink.

Actually, I make it myself because I don't keep any Prego in the house, but I almost always have tomato sauce and paste on hand. I end up doctoring the Prego anyways with garlic, onions, fresh herbs, beef, and vegetables, so it takes the same amount of time for me to make imitation Prego as it does for me to make storebought Prego.

[JennyUptown]

I would love a recipe for brown butter - is it like the one served at Po with the white bean ravioli?

Other uses for fresh sage + pasta would also be welcome.

[JPW]

Jenny,

I know you like prosciutto as well, so try a saltimbocca.

Essentially any meat cutlet (veal, chix breast, whatever). Pound out to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Put a slice of prosciutto and a sage leaf on one side fold over like a sandwich.Secure with a toothpick. Dust with flour and then fry lightly. Before end add shallots and mushrooms. Once these have sweated some add a fruity red wine (something without too much tannin) and stock. Reduce and serve. Others may frown, but I like this with a side of long pasta to help mop up the delicious reduction.

[pattimw]

Barilla again. I love their Spicy Pepper sauce.

[cakewalk]

It never occured to me that something labeled pasta sauce would have sugar in it.  Any brand that lists sugar or corn syrup goes back on the shelf.

And the ones without are hard to find.

That's why I buy Classico, it's just about the only one without sugar or corn syrup. It usually needs a bit of spicing up, but I really can't stand the sugar/corn syrup in the others.

[stephenc]

If I buy bottled Pasta sauce, I swear by Barilla. It's better than the more fancy brands due to its simplicity.

[phaelon56]

That's why I buy Classico, it's just about the only one without sugar or corn syrup.

If I recall correctly.... Barilla, Classico, Five Brothers and Aunt Millie's are all made without added sweeteners. I once switched from prego to Aunt Millie's for that reason but the Millie's was too soupy and had too much tomato paste and water for my liking.

I actually use Barilla Tomato and Basil as a base on the rare occasios that I make my own sauce. One jar of it along with some sweated onions and garlic, healthy doeses of the bottled "fresh" oregano and basil, some sea salt, Marie Sharpe's hjot sauce and a few big cans of plum tomatoes. It's really easy and after a few hours of simmering I have enough to fill three or four empty Barilla jars. I fill them up to about 1" from the top and freeze.

[Jaymes]

That's why I buy Classico, it's just about the only one without sugar or corn syrup.

If I recall correctly.... Barilla, Classico, Five Brothers and Aunt Millie's are all made without added sweeteners.

Neither do Mom's or Timpone's.

Nutin but the good stuff in them.