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maleficent · 08-10-2006, 05:07 PM

somewhere on the web, probably your tube, there's a video of proper pasta rolling technique

or maybe charlatan could create one

THE SPOON QUESTION, OR HOW TO EAT PASTA LIKE AN EXPERT

Quote:

Published: May 19, 1982
''Most restaurants (and hostesses) that feature pasta provide guests with a large spoon as well as the knife and fork. The fork is used to spear a few strands of spaghetti, the tips are placed against the spoon, which is held on its side, in the left hand, and the fork is twirled, wrapping the spaghetti around itself as it turns. If no spoon is provided, the tips of the fork may be rested against the curve of the plate.'' ''The New Emily Post's Etiquette,'' Elizabeth L. Post, 1975 By CRAIG CLAIBORNE

WITH America in the throes of what has been called the ''pastarization of the nation,'' when enthusiasm for fusilli and fettuccine, ziti and spaghetti is at an all-time high, it may be time to pause to examine what is right and what is wrong with various techniques for cooking and eating pasta.

For example, is it proper, as Emily Post says, to twirl spaghetti against a spoon? Or, as she also says, with the tips of the fork resting against the curve of the plate? Should bread be served with pasta, another starch? Is it correct to sprinkle cheese on pasta with seafood sauce? When cheese is in order, what is the best cheese? Should strands of long pasta be broken before being tossed into the pot?

The owners of three of the best-known Italian restaurants in Manhattan recently convened to feast on pasta and discuss just how and with what it should be eaten. The diners were Adi Giovanetti, proprietor of Il Nido, and his wife, Rosanna; Sirio Maccioni, owner of Le Cirque, and his wife, Egi, and Luigi Nanni, proprietor and chef of both Nanni's and Il Valetto. The elflike Mr. Nanni cooked, preparing two pastas with sauces, one of which contained Fontina cheese and wild field mushrooms (cultivated mushrooms, he said, could be substituted), and a salsa alla militare or military sauce made with tomatoes, fresh basil and dried hot pepper.

As the meal progressed the discussion became Mount Etna-like in its eruptions. Cheese with seafood pasta? Never! Well, maybe. Both Mr. Giovanetti and Mr. Nanni declared vehemently that cheese with seafood would be as much of a sacrilege as pouring ketchup over carpaccio. Mr. Maccioni, however, the most free-thinking of the group, declared that he did not feel strongly about it, that he at times sprinkled a little freshly grated Parmegiano-Reggiano over his shrimp and squid with linguine or his scampi tagliatelle. As far as he is concerned, it is a question of taste.

Mr. Giovanetti and Mr. Nanni conceded that there just might be one exception to their rule: If the base for the dish was butter rather than oil, one might add a touch of cheese to help bind the sauce. But they weren't enthusiastic about it.

As to the use of a fork plus a spoon for eating pasta, all those at the table were adamant. Spoons are for children, amateurs and people with bad table manners in general.

Egi Maccioni recalled her childhood days of eating pasta. ''My grandparents spent hours teaching me how to eat pasta without using a spoon, how to twirl my fork so that not a strand of spaghetti would be hanging down as I lifted that fork to my mouth.''

''At home,'' she added, ''if I couldn't master the technique, they'd punish me by taking all the food away.'' Is it improper to allow a few strands of pasta to hang down as it is transported to the mouth? ''If the pasta is cooked al dente,'' Mr. Nanni said, ''you are bound to have a few strands hanging.'' If the pasta fits that neatly around the fork, Mr. Giovanetti added, it is overcooked.

Mr. Nanni volunteered one exception to the no-spoon argument: ''If your sauce is very liquid - a juicy primavera, a clam sauce - you might use a spoon to prevent splattering.''

The first bowls of pasta, served with military sauce, were placed before each guest. Mr. Giovanetti forked his way into his bowl and demonstrated that the pasta, perfectly cooked, would not cling wraparound fashion to the fork. He ate with great relish.

It was generally agreed, however, that it is correct to place a spoon at each place setting. ''In Italy it is customary to first place the pasta in a bowl or on a plate,'' Mr. Giovanetti said. ''You then spoon the sauce on top and finally cheese, if you use it at all. You use your fork and spoon to toss the pasta with sauce and cheese, and you then eat it with your fork alone.''

The suggested techniques for using the fork were: Put the fork into a few strands of spaghetti; let the tines of the fork rest against the curve of the bowl or the curved indentation of the plate, while twirling the fork around and giving it brief quick lifts to prevent too much pasta from accumulating. When one discrete mass of pasta can be lifted, hoist away.

As to whether it is best to serve pasta in a bowl or on a plate, most of those present voted for a bowl. But as for the serving of bread with pasta, there were varying opinions. ''I don't believe in it,'' Mr. Nanni said. ''They do that in country homes where there isn't enough money for meat.''

''I know that purists say no,'' Mr. Maccioni said, ''but I think you should serve bread. It is always on the table at the restaurant. In the family one should serve bread to dip in the leftover sauce once the pasta is eaten.''

As for whether strands of pasta should be broken before they are tossed into the boiling kettle, the answer from this gathering was, absolutely not.

''The reason that notion came about,'' Mr. Nanni said, ''is that in Italy when you go to the market, you buy pasta out of a large drawer in which the strands may be a yard long.'' The pasta is broken in half to make it more convenient to carry, he said. In this country, however, pasta is relatively short (about 11 inches) and there is no need to break it. If it doesn't fit in your pot, place the ends in first and push down as the water softens it. Tiny strands of pasta, it was agreed, are for children.

What about the best cheese for pasta? The restaurateurs said that their first choice is imported Parmigiano-Reggiano, which must be at least two years old before it is exported. Pecorino goes especially well with certain sauces, Mr. Giovanetti said, and he named three: carbonara made with pancetta (Italian bacon), eggs and cheese; matriciana (or amatriciana) made with onions, bacon, white wine and tomatoes, and pesto, made with garlic and basil.

Two sauces were made that day by Mr. Nanni and a third by Nico Girolla, a guest at the dinner. His was an excellent sauce made with Gorgonzola cheese, pistachios or walnuts and a touch of Cognac.

Check out the date on the article

How to Eat Pasta

Quote:

HOW TO EAT PASTA
The concept of good manners varies a lot when we compare different cultures, values and ways of living. One good way to figure out the rules is to pay attention, in a discrete way, to the people who are eating close to you. The ideal motto to have is ‘When in Rome do as the Romans do’.
The question here is how to eat spaghetti and other long pastas!
Pasta should be served on a flat plate and not in a soup bowl. Do not pile the plates for the different courses. Pasta is never served directly onto the plates but always served when the guests are seated. The fork for the pasta is of the same size as the fork for main course and is placed on the left-hand side of the plate.
Eating spaghetti can be quite difficult especially for those who are attempting it for the first time. Come to think of it even many Italians are not so good at it. There spaghetti is not served at any official banquet so that no guest will feel embarrassed. Therefore do not feel discouraged and start eating it and enjoying it too. First of all take your fork and turn it as if winding something, using your thumb, forefinger and middle finger. Try the movement a few times on an empty plate. Now wind up a reasonable quantity of spaghetti onto your fork and put them into your mouth quickly using your fork to help push in any spaghetti that remained outside. If at first you wind too many, try again until you get the right amount. There is no need to use the spoon. The spoon is there to help you wind the pasta onto your fork. Twirl the pasta with a fork either by rolling it around in the spoon or just use the fork alone, keeping the fork tip in contact with the plate. Though some would disagree, if necessary, the pasta can be cut before twirling. Slurping pasta is not proper.

How to eat pasta from Get Girls.com

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Dear Friends and Subscribers,

This week I want to focus on table manners while eating Italian food. Believe me, if you're out on a dinner date and you have bad table manners, you're going to make a bad impression on your date.

I know this is not fair, but sometimes when you're out on a first date, especially, and you turn your date off with your bad table manners, she may not even want to date you again. You have been pre-judged as a person that was not raised right, eats like a pig, and a person that shows lack of respect for your date.

I eat a lot of Italian food and I always look around at the guys that are with dates. And sure enough, you will see guys stuffing a fork full of pasta into their mouths and biting off the strands with their teeth and letting the remainder of the pasta fall into their plate.

This makes you look like a pig and turns off your date! Let me tell you the proper way to eat pasta so you don't embarrass yourself and your date. It's called the "Twirling Method" and here's how to do it:

1. Just grab a few strands of your pasta with your fork and twirl the strands using the end of your fork against your plate. This way you will end up with a bite size portion to put into your mouth.

2. This is a variation of the above method using a spoon: Instead of twisting the pasta around your fork against your plate, you put pasta in your spoon you are holding in your left hand, and twirl your fork around the pasta in the spoon and take a bite size portion.

So, the next time you are eating pasta with a date, please remember to use the "Twirling Method" to eat pasta. Also, never wear a white shirt when eating pasta, because it never fails that you will get the sauces on your shirt.