What is the best way to prepare a spaghetti meal ahead for a party without it becoming goey or sticky?

Answer 1

Boil the spaghetti for 7-8 minutes or just before it is done.. IE pre-al dente... rinse with cold water, then toss with a small amount of olive oil and cover with plastic wrap in the fridge overnite or while you're waiting for the party to start.. When you are ready to eat, simply boil a pot of water and immerse the noodles in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes to complete the cooking process and warm the noodles.. if you want to, I put my portions in ziploc bags and put those in the water one at a time so that when I have made a big pot of pasta, I can save my leftover pasta for later in the week... Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Cook the pasta slightly firmer than you would otherwise like it. Drain it and rinse it thoroughly, then drain again. When most of the water is gone (3-5 min), place pasta into a gallon zipper bag, press out all air, and store in the refrigerator. When it's time to serve, simply boil some water, and dump your pasta in for 2 minutes then drain.

Don't mix in the pasta sauce. Store this in a separate container till time for the party, then reheat...the idea here is to avoid excess moisture so as to avoid over moisturizing the flour in the pasta.

Enjoy your party!



PS - storing your pasta in oil of any sort is not necessary. When you reheat your pasta, the strands will come unstuck...if any even stick in the first place. I use this storage and reheating technique all the time with outstanding results.

Answer 3

the sauce can be frozen if need be then put into a crock pot for the party. Par cook the pasta then shock it in ice water. keep in mind though that this cooking method for the pasta will not make the sauce stick to it. Use spirals or something with a lot of surface area. then at the party or just ahead of time boil the pasta to finish cooking it. Restaurants usually do this for service.

Answer 4

If you need to have your spaghetti and sauce done ahead of time you have a couple of alternatives. For one, you can blend the two together and reheat when the time comes. For another, you can cook the pasta al dente, rinse, and toss with olive oil. Refrigerate until you need it and then reheat it. For spaghetti sauce, the longer the flavors have to meld the better, so making your sauce a day in advance will only make it more flavorful.

Answer 5

Boil the spaghetti until it's almost done, rinse with cold water, and drain. Place spaghetti in pan and mix with a little olive oil (so it won't stick together), refrigerate until you are ready to use.

When ready - place spaghetti back into boiling water for about a minute and then it's ready to serve.

The sauce can be made days ahead of time and refrigerated, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 6

once the spaghetti cools it becomes sticky and goey...you can prepare the sauce before hand but the spaghetti has to be cooked right before you eat it

Answer 7

Cook the pasta slightly underdone. Then drop it into boiling water for a minute just before serving. (Obviously, don't add the sauce until the last minute.)

Answer 8

make the meat and sauce you can refrigerate it. Then when company comes boil the water and cook the noodles. There really is no other way. Use angel hair pasta it cooks in like 3 minutes.

Answer 9

cook the sauce beforehand. refrigerate and reheat for 20 min at your party. i would just boil and cook pasta at that time--it takes 20 min tops. don't waste your time cooking al dante then having to boil anyway and reheating/cooking thoroughly. Just prep your sauce beforehand and simmer overnite if you want!

Answer 10

PASTA IS THE EASIEST TO DO IN COOKING, THE PASTA MUST BE COOKED AL DENTE. A LITTLE BITE TO IT FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON PACKAGE,,,MAKE TO DIFFRENT SAUCES , LIKE ONE MEAT THE OTHER MARINARA...... WHEN IS TIME TO SERVE HEAT GENTLY THE PASTA AND SAUCES PERFECT...NAMASTE