So how do you kill them now?
I mean, you can buy letter shaped pasta at most groceries. It’s not uncommon. Probably not what they use in Italy, but was there any other evidence it was a can of Campbell’s?
I refuse to use cream-of-anything soup in any recipe. ick.
The only canned veggies I use are diced tomatoes or sliced beets - everything else is fresh or frozen.
No margarine.
Snapping pasta strands in half fits better in the pot. But I prefer to keep them long, so much easier to eat. No spoon needed. Just twist up and go.
Went to Rosebuds in Chicago, ordered the eggplant stack, it’s a a giant caprese salad with fried eggplant. mama Mia! There I was twirling up arugula like it was pasta.
Powdered Parmesan, guess there’s a use for it but I haven’t deigned to buy it in years. 
I have eaten at many Italian restaurants and have cooked a lot of my own pasta, and I have never bought, seen, or eaten letter shaped pasta. Technically, your statement is correct, but the chances of it actually being true at that restaurant are minuscule.
The Mexican restaurants I go to in my neighborhood (actually, now that I think of it it’s a specific restaurant—it was basically a sopa de fideo made with letters) sometimes use it in one of their soups. I also have some of those shapes in my pantry now as I cook it for the kids. Maybe the restaurant thought it was fun.
It honestly can go either way, but I don’t think it’s as unlikely as you do they used pasta shapes like that.
We have renounced chip bowl refills at Mexican/Tex-Mex restaurants.
Well, nearly all the time.
I see nothing shameful about eating pasta boiled in unsalted water. It just doesn’t taste as good.
Here’s what I have in the pantry. I think you’re from my general area; these were both bought at the same Pete’s Market. I’ve seen them at Shop & Save, too. I don’t shop at Jewel, but if they stock Goya pasta, they may have it. There’s also Italian (or at least Italian-named) brands, but they don’t stock those where I shop.
actually, you can buy ABC pasta in a store tho so it might be home made
- Since 2020, no more putting non-stick frying pans in the dishwasher. After destroying two pans in as many years, we’ve realized it’s best to wash them by hand in the sink, and only after they’ve cooled to room temperature.
- Since 2013, no more putting sugar or syrup in our coffee. Now we just add a splash of milk.
- Since 2005, no more using reboiled water for tea, and no steeping for longer than the recommended 2 to 5 minutes (depending on what’s written on the box). Now our tea is always flavourful and non-bitter.
I did this all the time when my kids were small. I bought, cooked, served, and ate letter-shaped pasta. I would find it humorous to find letters in my restaurant soup, and wouldn’t assume it was Campbell’s.
From now on I’m calling honey flower pus.
What difference can it possibly make if the water had been previously boiled?
Well, I guess, “I’ve never seen it”, doesn’t mean, “It’s not there” !
I would never buy it, though. I just can’t take it seriously. LOL
Those are probably the big 3 that I’ve renounced as well.
I’ll happily use canned tomatoes, especially during the winter. Canned beans are also ok.
Another one is minute rice; we got a rice cooker, and now it’s pretty much hands-off perfect rice every time.
Ain’t nobody got time for that. Scanpan makes ones that can handle the dishwasher just fine.
Ours are all at least 5 years old, and they’re going strong, and get cleaned almost exclusively in the dishwasher.
I personally just find it more difficult to eat when it’s broken up. The size of spaghetti is just right for trapping sauce and twirling around a fork (using the edge of the bowl, not another spoon.) I can’t get the spaghetti onto my fork properly with broken pieces. No, it’s not something I discovered or had anyone tell me: it’s from eating a lot of spaghetti. It doesn’t twirl right, and it doesn’t feel right in my mouth otherwise. If it works for you, go for it, of course.
I’m definitely in the no margarine camp with one exception: I use it for Buffalo wings. I find the sauce achieves a better consistency that way and emulsifies better. Supposedly, that’s the way it was originally done, as well, but I don’t do it for that reason but more for pragmatic ones. Butter is so delicious; margarine is just another weird, oily substance that has little to do with butter in terms of flavor.
I almost never wash my rice.
I do like bread dipped in olive oil, though my friend from Naples gives me (a little) shit about it.
Boiling, and the consequent evaporation, decreases the concentration of dissolved gases and increases the concentration of dissolved solids. Changing the concentrations too much can negatively affect the taste of the tea.
That URL returns a 403 error for me. I guess the manufacturer doesn’t want me (and probably everyone else from my geographical area) to buy its products.
Try this one (looks like you’re in Austria from the link in your profile):
Oh, that’s a good one. I also stopped doing this, though it occurs to me that it’s probably not a bad idea to break up spaghetti if you’re serving it only to small children. They don’t know how to twirl and so you’d need to cut it for them anyway before serving.