Sure salting pasta water results in tastier pasta, but does it really lead to more efficient cooking? More

I have a confession: Pasta Week is killing me. For medical reasons, I am not eating wheat for 30 days, and unfortunately this is only the third week of the new diet, so mac and cheese, fall vegetable orzo, and — my favorite — pappardelle topped with a rich, meaty tomato sauce are all off-limits. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the same long-simmered sauces I would normally eat over noodles. More

So, pasta is on the menu. Good. Now — what to serve with it? If you're having a rich, creamy pasta, then you probably want something fresh and light to cut through all that richness. Or if you're having a hearty baked pasta, you may want something else roasted as well — cabbage, perhaps? Or carrots? Take a look through 12 of my favorite dishes to accompany pasta. Fennel slaw, a classic Italian iceberg chopped salad, braised romaine and more... More

I don't often stop and admire the pasta shapes on my dinner plate, but I am inspired to change my ways by The Geometry of Pasta, a book that examines the many shapes and sizes of pasta, and offers some recommendations on which sauces pair best with certain shapes. Did you know there is a reason why you might use ruffle-edged lasagne noodles instead of flat-edged? More

Seeing as how I constantly seem to have little containers of leftover pasta living in my fridge, I'm also constantly on the lookout for new ways to use them up. Frittatas and fritters are recurring favorites; here are four new additions to the list. More

Lasagna is the quintessential easy–to–throw–together, comforting, affordable and satisfying dish to serve a crowd. Think of the bubbly cheesiness being cut through by bright tomato sauce and perfectly cooked noodles. It's the perfect food!

This recipe also includes my secret weapon ingredient, which lightens the richness up a smidge and no one will ever know. Can you guess what this mystery item is? Don't knock it till you try it! More

Fact: You can eat pasta out of anything, including the pot you cooked it in.
Fact: Pasta runs away from you on the plate and bowls make it easier to wrangle.
Fact: Although we like the idea of a pasta-specific bowl they just don't seem practical.
What do you think? More

A few years ago, I heard about an unusual method for cooking pasta on The Splendid Table radio program. The guest was Kate Heyhoe, the author of Cooking Green: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint in the Kitchen and she recommended something she called the passive method as a way to use less fuel while cooking pasta to perfect, al dente doneness. What is the passive method and does it work? Read on for my discoveries. More

Homemade ravioli is fantastic stuff, as we discussed this morning. But making it is also pretty darn messy and labor-intensive. Prohibitively so. Is it worth buying a ravioli maker to make life easier on ourselves? More

On Monday, we looked at repurposing pasta sauce jars for storing all sorts of things around the house. Now, here's a look at the inverse: using glass jars for storing pasta: More