Pasta Question

[deb415611]

Here's something,  it is four cheese but you could adjust it to whatever cheese(s) you want

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=11559

Knowing your onion issue you could just change step one to melt the butter (leaving out the add shallot, salt).   This is easy and you wouldn't have to spend the money on the jar :D

go to cooksillustrated.com and in the search area at the top choose recipes and then put skillet in the search box,  you will pull up pages of skillet meals including many pasta .   

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Advance warning -- pasta is something about which I can become very snobbish, very quickly.  In this house we make much of our own pasta from Italian pasta flour and eggs.  It's an obsession with me.  I'll try to restrain myself.   

To the original question about baked pasta dishes without first cooking the pasta, there are a few quick one-dish recipes for such concoctions, but I avoid them.  Great pasta dishes, even the baked ones, are based upon bringing together properly cooked pasta with a "sauce" both prepared in a way that allows for what happens when they come together.  Even pasta dishes that are baked to finish, such as Lasagna, begin with cooked pasta, although it will be slightly shy of al dente to allow for the finish in the baking, and the sauce may be a bit wetter to allow for some drying.  The additional cooking of the pasta during baking will be minimal as the temperatures spend little time in the boiling water range.  I don't see how one could reliably prepare a baked pasta dish achieving a quality result by combining uncooked dried pasta with a sauce and then attempting to cook it to proper doneness of the pasta.  I am sure that the components can be combined and baked to get an edible result, but my pasta snobbery would have me gritting my teeth.

BTW, authentic Fettuccine Alfredo contains no cream.  It is a variation of the long-established, simple home dish  Fettuccine al burro, which  uses only butter and Parmigiana Reggiano.  It was brought to the restaurant scene and made popular by Roman restauanteur  Alfredo di Lelio at his restaurant, Alfredo alla Scrofa in 1914 (it's still there).  In his restaurant modification he significantly increased the amount of butter (and probably cheese too) from the norm.  The use of cream instead of butter in a lower cost alternative has also long been popular.  The combined use of butter and cream is likely an American modification that has since become very popular, but is not truly "Alfredo".

Told you I was a pasta snob.

[Tiny Tim]

Thank you everybody for your input.  Still going with my original plan, just to see for myself what happens...I'm stubborn that way. ;D  But, there are also options here for later uses and experiments, that I may try sometime down the road when I'm not so lazy.

[hal4uk]

The combined use of butter and cream is likely an American modification that has since become very popular, but is not truly "Alfredo".

From now on, I'll call mine "Not Truly Fettucine Alfredo", and maybe prefix everything I cook with "Not Truly", except for my rice and tomato gravy, which despite having been passed on to me by 7 generations of my Floridian side of the family, most likely originated on another continent, and may or may not have included tomatoes or rice.   ;D

[BuyLowSellHigh]

The combined use of butter and cream is likely an American modification that has since become very popular, but is not truly "Alfredo".

From now on, I'll call mine "Not Truly Fettucine Alfredo", and maybe prefix everything I cook with "Not Truly", except for my rice and tomato gravy, which despite having been passed on to me by 7 generations of my Floridian side of the family, most likely originated on another continent, and may or may not have included tomatoes or rice.   ;D

FWIW, I have done "authentic" Alfredo many times and and I have used cream many times.  These days I almost always use cream, but I don't call it Alfredo.  It's typically Tagliatelle (or maybe Tagliolini)  with Parmesan, butter and cream.

Tim - if you start with dried pasta, add sauce and bake until the pasta is tender what you will likely get is a pasta texture that, relative to a boiled cooked pasta plus sauce, is soft and somewhat gelatinous, maybe even custard-like. Be prepared to bake it for longer than you typically would bake a cooked pasta version.  You may like it a lot, and it's your food, so I say give it a try and decide for yourself.  Please let us know what you do and how it turns out.

[Tiny Tim]

That's my plan, BLSH. ;D  I'll give as full of a report as I can, good or bad.

[Habanero Smoker]

I've seen some pre-cooked dry pasta, usually lasagna noodles that can be used uncooked, but do require a little extra liquid in the recipe.

If you goal is to save on clean up, then you may be able to cook the pasta in the oven. When I make large batches of rice I will often cook it in the oven. You may be able to do the same with dry pasta, but it will be a two step process. Preheat your oven to 350°F. You will need to bring enough water to a boil to cover the pasta. I would start with 3 times as much water as there is pasta, and may have to add more boiling water to keep it from drying out. So if you have one pound of pasta, add 3 pounds (3 pints) of boiling water.

Since you are using a foil pan, you need to be very care. You will need to place the foil pan on a sheet pan. Place the dry pasta in the foiled pan. When the water is boiling; open the oven and pull out a rack. Place the sheet pan with the pasta on the rack and then add the water. Don't fill it too high, keep it at least 1/2" - 1" inch from the top; if you can't get all the water in add it latter if necessary. Carefully push the rack back into the oven. Be careful not to splash the water as you push in the rack back into the oven. Monitor and stir occasionally, adding a little boiling water if needed, but not too much. You don't want too much water left in the pan when it is finished - it will make it difficult to drain. Continue to cook until the pasta is at your desired texture. Drain off any excess water, and proceed with the rest of your recipe.

[SnellySmokesEm]

I'm with Hal and EZ on this one.  I am not Italian but I love to make Italian dishes.  I used the alfredo sauce in a jar one time several years back.  Wether or not its "authentic" Italian who cares, It's darn good.  Butter, Cream, Parm Cheese, topped with fresh parsley and dont forget the garlic and here's my kicker..... Chicken Broth.  I have made it so many time and its a family favorite...  Anyways just my two cents and a few pics.

[hal4uk]

That looks deeeeeeeelish, Snelly!

[KyNola]

Really seriously good looking stuff Snelly.

Dang, ya'll make some of this way too complicated.  As the late Waylon Jennings said "let's just light 'em up and move along". ;)

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Looks good Snelly!  Good eats is good eats, regardless of what you call it.

KyNola - only us snobby types complicate it.   ;)

[oakville smoker]

Tiny

You made get away with this with home made pasta but you will need a lot of liquid to soften the stuff in the box
Plus you are going to have a ton of starch on your plate, not just the starch in the noodles but the starch that breaks down through the cooking process.  Good luck

[Tiny Tim]

Well, the results are in.  Took a 1# bag of Martha Gooch Elbow mac with the little lines on them, and 2 jars of Bertolli Mushroom Alfredo, mixed together and into a 350* oven for about half an hour (could have probably gone 45 min.), then spread a 2 cup bag of Mozzerella cheese over the top, put back in the oven for another 12 minutes (couldn't wait the 15 I was shooting for).

Gotta say for a trial run it came out pretty good, for my tastes.  The listed fixes will probably make it better, but I have no real problems with it the way it is.  Maybe adding some bigger pieces of mushrooms and some diced chicken breasts, but those are additions, not really corrections.

[deb415611]

That's awesome Tim.  It's just a starting point with what you can do with it.