How Do You Eat Spaghetti?



On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 14:46:34 GMT, Monsur Fromage du Pollet wrote:

> Damsel wrote on 27 Jun 2005 in rec.food.cooking
>
> > I've tried that, but I still wind up with stray strands of pasta
> > getting involved with the ones I started out with. :(
> >
> > Carol
> >
>
> You select the 1 or 2 strands you want/like. Pick them up between the
> tines of the fork. The actual lifting of the strands is sort of a
> art...use caution that you lifted no more than 2 strands and that you
> have lifted them somewhat NOT too close to a end of the either of
> the indivdual strands, but not so far from a end that you get the
> dreaded dangler.
>
You have mastered the art of spaghetti twirling, Monsur!

sf
<bowing to The Spaghetti Master>

Shut up Boli!
 
sf wrote:

> On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 12:20:19 -0700, JimLane wrote:
>
>> sf wrote:
>> > On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 23:21:11 -0500, Damsel wrote:
>> >
>> >> How do *you* get 'sketti from the plate to your mouth?
>> >
>> > I twirl it against the plate - spoons are for sissies.
>> >
>> > There are two things I NEVER order in a restaurant:
>> > spaghetti of any kind and chicken with bones in it.
>>
>> No chicken with bones, but ribs with bones? DISCRIMINATION! ;->
>>
> Ribs weren't mentioned.

Chicken ribs are a big treat where I live. Slow-cooked and lightly
seasoned. Takes a very skillful meat cutter to get those little suckers
so theres still enough meat on them in the right place to make it
worthwhile. People here don't use a sauce when they cook them. They
marinate for a couple minutes (hey, these things are *small*) and cook
them over a dying fire, mopping once or twice with a lemon-pepper
marinade. Cook in about 13 minutes and there you go.

Chicken ribs... Nothin like 'em...

No, seriously...

Pastorio
 
"Bob (this one)" <[email protected]> said:

> Chicken ribs... Nothin like 'em...
>
> No, seriously...

You're in rare form tonight, Bob. *g*

Carol

--
Coming at you live, from beautiful Lake Woebegon
 
sf wrote:
> On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 12:20:19 -0700, JimLane wrote:
>
>
>> sf wrote:
>> > On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 23:21:11 -0500, Damsel wrote:
>> >
>> >> How do *you* get 'sketti from the plate to your mouth?
>> >
>> > I twirl it against the plate - spoons are for sissies.
>> >
>> > There are two things I NEVER order in a restaurant:
>> > spaghetti of any kind and chicken with bones in it.
>>
>> No chicken with bones, but ribs with bones? DISCRIMINATION! ;->
>>
>
> Ribs weren't mentioned.

Neither was chicken, until you bought it up, so I leaped and I note that
you didn't comment on ordering ribs for yourself in restaurants. Do you
or don't you? Is it about the bones, or, picking up the pieces and
gnawing on them? Now, about dem ribs?


jim
 
Bob (this one) wrote:
> sf wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 12:20:19 -0700, JimLane wrote:
>>
>>> sf wrote:
>>> > On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 23:21:11 -0500, Damsel wrote:
>>> > >> How do *you* get 'sketti from the plate to your mouth?
>>> > > I twirl it against the plate - spoons are for sissies.
>>> > > There are two things I NEVER order in a restaurant: > spaghetti
>>> of any kind and chicken with bones in it.
>>> No chicken with bones, but ribs with bones? DISCRIMINATION! ;->
>>>
>> Ribs weren't mentioned.
>
>
> Chicken ribs are a big treat where I live. Slow-cooked and lightly
> seasoned. Takes a very skillful meat cutter to get those little suckers
> so theres still enough meat on them in the right place to make it
> worthwhile. People here don't use a sauce when they cook them. They
> marinate for a couple minutes (hey, these things are *small*) and cook
> them over a dying fire, mopping once or twice with a lemon-pepper
> marinade. Cook in about 13 minutes and there you go.
>
> Chicken ribs... Nothin like 'em...
>
> No, seriously...
>
> Pastorio

Well, I don't know about folks like you, Bob, but ribs most everywhere I
have been in the us is about pork or beef rib bones. Nice humor, though.
Or, did you actually need an explanation? ;->


jim
 
then press the fork sideways to cut surplus.

Some years ago, I dated an Italian-American woman for a while. She was
a fantastic cook as was her mother and all of her aunts. Made
unbelieveable zitis, cannolies, etc. Before I knew what a great cook
she was, I made her spagetti one night. From a bottle sauce! She was
polite about the sauce, never said a word. But when I broke the
spagetti noodles in half to cook them, she reacted as if I had broken
the back of a baby! She was horrified. I got almost as strong a
reaction when I cut it with my fork to eat it! I have learned that,
unless you want the mafia hunting you down, never cut a spagetti
noodle!

Rick & Cyndi wrote:
> "Damsel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > "Bob" <virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> said:
> >
> >> I twirl against the plate. This generally results in a ball of pasta
> >> roughly the size of a tennis ball stuck on the end of the fork. I swish
> >> the
> >> ball around in the sauce, then elegantly [HA!] bite pieces off the end of
> >> the fork.
> >
> > Please have someone film this performance, okay? I want to see this!
> >
> >> The trick to twirling against the plate is to start off with the fork at
> >> about a 45-degree angle to the plate, twirl it a few times, then slowly
> >> bring it to a perpendicular position while twirling.
> >
> > I've tried that, but I still wind up with stray strands of pasta getting
> > involved with the ones I started out with. :(
> >
> > Carol
> >
> > --
> > Coming at you live, from beautiful Lake Woebegon
> ==============
>
> Bob and I apparently learned the same way... although I must admit to
> stopping (size-wise) sooner. I wrap until it's the size of a racquet ball
> and then press the fork sideways to cut surplus. YMDV! LOL
>
> Cyndi
 
On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 00:43:09 -0700, JimLane wrote:

> Neither was chicken, until you bought it up, so I leaped and I note that
> you didn't comment on ordering ribs for yourself in restaurants. Do you
> or don't you?

Hmmmm - I DON'T eat ribs eat in a restaurant either. NO BONES for
me.... and no long, fat noodles covered with a red sauce either. <G>
I don't make "spaghetti" at home using spaghetti noodles, either. I
use Angel Hair, Vermacelli, etc. but not spaghetti and NO meatballs
(there's that cutting aversion again). I want my meat evenly
distributed throughout the sauce.

> Is it about the bones, or, picking up the pieces and gnawing on them? Now, about dem ribs?

Bones are not an "eat-in" restaurant item for me.... way too messy.
Take out is fine. As for bone in chicken, I feel like my elbows are
flapping even though they are down by my sides - just like grandma
taught me. I've learned to ALWAYS ask if the chicken is boneless
(when it's not mentioned on the menu). That way I can enjoy my meal
instead of fighting with it.

:)
 
On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 00:43:09 -0700, JimLane wrote:

> Neither was chicken, until you bought it up, so I leaped and I note that
> you didn't comment on ordering ribs for yourself in restaurants. Do you
> or don't you?

Hmmmm - I DON'T eat ribs eat in a restaurant either. NO BONES for
me.... and no long, fat noodles covered with a red sauce either. <G>
I don't make "spaghetti" at home using spaghetti noodles, either. I
use Angel Hair, Vermacelli, etc. but not spaghetti and NO meatballs
(there's that cutting aversion again). I want my meat evenly
distributed throughout the sauce.

> Is it about the bones, or, picking up the pieces and gnawing on them? Now, about dem ribs?

Bones are not an "eat-in" restaurant item for me.... way too messy.
Take out is fine. As for bone in chicken, I feel like my elbows are
flapping even though they are down by my sides - just like grandma
taught me. I've learned to ALWAYS ask if the chicken is boneless
(when it's not mentioned on the menu). That way I can enjoy my meal
instead of fighting with it.

:)
 
sf wrote:
I've learned to ALWAYS ask if the chicken is boneless
> (when it's not mentioned on the menu). That way I can enjoy my meal
> instead of fighting with it.
>
> :)

:-> Let me suggest a knife and a fork.


jim
 
Kate Connally wrote:

> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>
>> On Sun 26 Jun 2005 09:21:11p, Damsel wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>>
>> > When I was a kid, we got boxes of spaghetti that were about 4 inches
>> > square on the ends, and around 3 feet long. The pasta inside was
>> > folded
>> > in half, so you were talking strands at least 5-1/2 feet long. One or
>> > two were all that a fork could hold.
>> >
>> > We twirled the cooked pasta by holding the tines of our forks against a
>> > soup spoon and twirling.
>> >
>> > I die inside, just a little, when I see someone chop their spaghetti
>> > into little pieces. Never could get the hang of twirling against the
>> > plate.
>> >
>> > How do *you* get 'sketti from the plate to your mouth?
>> >
>> > Carol
>> >
>>
>> Like you, fork against spoon.
>
> I'v never understood why some people feel the necessity
> of a spoon. I have no trouble twirling against the plate.
>
> Kate

Using a spoon allows you to more easily adjust the angle of your fork,
preventing the 'sketti from falling off.

I agree with Damsel; I just could not understand my ex-wife's propensity
for dragging a knife through her pile of pasta, reducing it to sub-inch
mini-sketti.

---jkb

--
"No sprinkles! For every sprinkle I find, I shall kill you!"
-- Stewie Griffin
 
Jeff Bienstadt <[email protected]> said:

> I agree with Damsel; I just could not understand my ex-wife's propensity
> for dragging a knife through her pile of pasta, reducing it to sub-inch
> mini-sketti.

Yup, that is surely a sign of mental illness. ;-)

Carol

--
Coming at you live, from beautiful Lake Woebegon
 
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
says...
> Nancy Young wrote:
> > "Monsur Fromage du Pollet" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> >>I just twirl it around my fork, spoon isn't required.
> >
> >
> > I'm with you ... just twirl it on the fork, make sure you get
> > just the right amount and put it in your mouth. One of my
> > favorite dinners, along with meatballs and hot Italian sausage
> > (I usually have one or the other at any given meal).
> >
> > nancy
>
> I'll third that motion. Fork only, no spoon. Long strands. I skeeve
> spa'ghet that's been all broken up. It seems like it is "dumbing it
> down" or something?
> Goomba

I'll fourth it. Never use a spoon to wind spaghetti onto a fork. Even
chopsticks work, in fact I find they work a little better.
 
On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 20:16:55 GMT, Ophelia wrote:

> .. and why is that a problem! Some to the spoon, some to the plate...
> it all gets in the same place:))
>
When digested properly, it comes out the same place too.
<should apologize for that?> Nah, it was too much fun!
 
On 27 Jun 2005 19:29:06 -0700, "Sheldon" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>
>Glitter Ninja wrote:
>>
>> My husband's ceramics professor, a native Italian, used a spoon and
>> fork to eat spaghetti noodles. It was how he was taught.
>
>I don't think Italians can be taught... had to be instinctual.
>
>
>Sheldon
Galileo, Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, Fermi......Try to get the picture,
Sheldon
 
In article <[email protected]>, Arri London <[email protected]>
wrote:

> Damsel wrote:
> >
> > When I was a kid, we got boxes of spaghetti that were about 4 inches square
> > on the ends, and around 3 feet long. The pasta inside was folded in half,
> > so you were talking strands at least 5-1/2 feet long. One or two were all
> > that a fork could hold.
> >
> > We twirled the cooked pasta by holding the tines of our forks against a
> > soup spoon and twirling.
> >
> > I die inside, just a little, when I see someone chop their spaghetti into
> > little pieces. Never could get the hang of twirling against the plate.
> >
> > How do *you* get 'sketti from the plate to your mouth?
> >
> > Carol
>
> Twirling it but not against a spoon. I'd never seen anyone do that until
> I moved to the US.

I twirl spaghetti against my plate. No big deal. I couldn't care less
how other people eat their pasta as long as they do not eject any of it
in my direction! :)
 
Joseph Littleshoes wrote:
>
> Kate Connally wrote:
>
> > Damsel wrote:
> > >
> > > When I was a kid, we got boxes of spaghetti that were about 4 inches
> > square
> > > on the ends, and around 3 feet long. The pasta inside was folded in
> > half,
> > > so you were talking strands at least 5-1/2 feet long. One or two
> > were all
> > > that a fork could hold.
> >
> > Good grief! How did you get them into the pot to
> > cook them if they were that long? Even folded in half
> > they'd be too big for any pot I've ever seen.
>
> Our local Italian deli sells them, one is even a thin tubular, hollow
> spaghetti, not a cannelloni but a long tubular spaghetti. it also sells
> regular solid spaghetti in those lengths that are meant to be broken up,
> but can be cooked whole in a tall stock pot.

Well, Damsel was talking about stuff that was over 2 feet
long after folding in half. I've never seen a 2 1/2-3 foot
high stock pot.

> But even when cooked and
> served whole are usually served with a carving knife and the pasta is
> cut up into manageable pieces as it is served.
>
> > I've been around over 50 years and I've never come across
> > spaghetti that was more than about a foot long.
>
> The Chinese method of making long spaghetti like noodles produces 4 - 5
> foot long strands.

Yeah, I know about that. Not the same thing. I'm talking
regular dried spaghetti in a box.

> > Even
> > foot-long spaghetti is tough to get under the water all
> > at once, so I can't even begin to see how people would
> > manage anything longer. I suspect it was meant to be
> > broken into more manageable lengths when put in the
> > pot.
>
> That is how it is most often cooked but it can be cooked whole in a > tall
> pot. It quickly softens and folds itself into the water.

Not my experience, but it might happen that way with really
fine spaghettini or angel hair. The "regular" size spaghetti,
which is what I prefer, takes forever to soften enough to get it
all under the water. I don't cook mine in a tall stockpot but
in my dutch oven and even the regular foot-long stuff doesn't
go completely under the water until it has softened up enough
to bend.

Kate
 
Kate Connally wrote:
> Joseph Littleshoes wrote:
> >
> > Kate Connally wrote:
> >
> > > Damsel wrote:
> > > >
> > > > When I was a kid, we got boxes of spaghetti that were about 4 inches
> > > square
> > > > on the ends, and around 3 feet long. The pasta inside was folded in
> > > half,
> > > > so you were talking strands at least 5-1/2 feet long. One or two
> > > were all
> > > > that a fork could hold.
> > >
> > > Good grief! How did you get them into the pot to
> > > cook them if they were that long? Even folded in half
> > > they'd be too big for any pot I've ever seen.
> >
> > Our local Italian deli sells them, one is even a thin tubular, hollow
> > spaghetti, not a cannelloni but a long tubular spaghetti. it also sells
> > regular solid spaghetti in those lengths that are meant to be broken up,
> > but can be cooked whole in a tall stock pot.
>
> Well, Damsel was talking about stuff that was over 2 feet
> long after folding in half. I've never seen a 2 1/2-3 foot
> high stock pot.

And you won't. Even with the French style stock pots that are equaly
wide as they are tall, a 2 1/2 foot tall pot would hold some 200
quarts, about 50 gallons... filled with water would weigh nearly 500
pounds, pot alone would weigh some 75 pounds. Who's going to lift
it... even the best commercial stove would likely collapse.

Sheldon
 
Damsel wrote:

> How do *you* get 'sketti from the plate to your mouth?
>

i use two methods of 'sketti transfer from plate to mouth. if i'm eating alone i
generally use the caveman method where by i stick a fork full of spaghetti in my
mouth and bite off any hangers and let them fall back on the plate. then i use
my trusty piece of toasted garlic bread to sop up everything left on the plate.
if i'm eating around others i try to at least appear to be civilized and use the
twirl against the plate method.
 
"A.C." <[email protected]> writes:

[snip]

There's a lot of talk about eating spaghetti noodles, but you are all
forgetting that the noodles are just a vehicle for yummy, yummy sauce!
Forget the noodles, just get a bowl of sauce and some crusty bread. And
a spoon.

Stacia
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom Back