We often share food, particularly pasta because it is easy to cook a large amount of it and silly to cook a very small amount. It's pretty much impossible to mess up pasta so for a while I was trying to figure out why something wasn't quite right when he made it. I finally realized it was just a bit too soft, a point he emphasized when he complained to me last week that I hadn't cooked it enough. I argued it was al dente and that's the way it was supposed to be, but he insisted it was undercooked. I suppose it's a matter of taste and what you grew up with. Eating some pasta he cooked tonight reminded me to write about it. We could also argue over sauce, but I admit I'm somewhat of a sauce snob so that's not even worth it.
For those who insist on getting their pasta just right, there's even a device to tell you when time is up. I'm not sure if anyone actually uses this but it's good for a laugh. Apparently this singing al dente timer will play opera for you after 7-9 minutes of cooking your pasta.
Yes, his name is Al and sadly he seems to no longer be available. Sad days.
