2BaCook wrote:
> Hi. I have learned a lot from reading the posts on this group. Now I
> thought I throw some specific questions I have.
>n fresh herbs be frozen to use in receipes later?
>

[snip]

> 3. How can I make pasta ahead of time and then keep it to serve later?
> How do I warm it back up? How about leftover pasta, keeping it (with
> or without the sauce) and then best way to warm it up?
>

pasta should be dressed and served immediately after drained, warm and
"al dente" for the best result.

there are very few pasta dishes in italy that we prepare ahead. one for
example the sicilian pasta with cawliflowers that is very good served
lookwarm. pasta dishes that you can prepare ahead are those that you
cook in the oven, like timbale or lasagna. they can even be frozen and
placed in the oven 30-45 minutes before serving time. leftover lasagna
can be warmed up in the oven easily. i don't own a microwave. i don't
need it because i rarely use frozen stuff and in my opinion makes most
of the food worse.

leaving the boiled pasta undressed (for the guests to add sauce on top)
it is not practiced by italians (in italy). if you have leftovers of
just-boiled pasta you can try to revive them, but leftover pasta becomes
generally soggy, and it wouldn't be very good.

generally we try to cook just the quantity we need, but leftovers happen
all the time to us too. if you have leftovers of pasta already dressed
with sauce you can wanrm them up in a skillet with a little bit of
extra-virgin olive oil or butter. many italian (including my husband)
like to "burn" the pasta in the skillet until forms a little crust. you
can even add 1 or 2 beaten eggs and make them into a sort of frittata.

ciao,
anna maria



www.annamariavolpi.com