Even if you're not Italian, I'm pretty sure you've boiled a pot of pasta before. But who would have thought that such an event could jeopardize a marriage....
Situation #1: My husband loves to rinse the pasta after it has drained. I think that is simply sacrilegious. He can't stand the taste of it not rinsed. I can't stand cold pasta that tastes like tap water. If I'm not tossing it in sauce right away (see situation #2), then I at least prefer to toss it in olive oil, without rinsing. I've consulted my cousin (a grad of the Culinary Institute) on this one. He says rinsing is reserved only for those desperate moments where you fear you've overcooked the pasta and must stop the cooking process at all costs. Note the term: "desperate."
Situation #2: My husband does not like his pasta tossed in the sauce. Now this problem, though severe, is not as bad as the first because he has relented many times over the years. Nonetheless I still find myself dishing out a plate of plain pasta for him before I toss the rest.
To me, this is just plain disgusting. Why would you want only some of your pasta to have sauce? You're just going to end up mixing it in your plate anyway....and it's like our parents always told us when we couldn't have foods touch in the plate - it's all going to the same place anyway. So why use it as a topping? You might as well not even call it sauce. It would then have to be classified among things like chocolate syrup and honey. As if sauce was meant to be drizzled slightly over a plate of plain pasta? What nonsense!
So you might have assumed that I prefer to toss my unrinsed pasta in the sauce before serving. That is only normal...which, of course, makes my husband weird. (which is no secret, people)
Needless to say pasta night has turned into a battle in our house. Each of us races to the sink after the pasta has drained. I usually have one of the kids distract him. He usually pretends like he wants to "help me out" by taking over pasta duty. But by now we've learned each other's sneaky tricks.
And although I love my picky, Americanized husband, I must quote Sarah Palin and say, "Never again to his selfish rinsing plot disguised as a help offering. Never again will I be taken advantage of."
