How you cook pasta depends on how you intend to use it.

One way to fix pasta is to boil thin spaghetti for two minutes or thicker, shorter shapes for three minutes. Then, turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the pan remain on the burner for the indicated cooking time on the package.

Adding salt to water before it begins to boil can cause pitting in some cookware.

The general steps for preparing pasta are:

1. Fill a large pot with water -- at least 4 quarts of water for 1 pound of pasta, 6 quarts if a large enough pot is available.

2. Bring water to a boil and, if not contrary to the advice of your dietician, add 1 teaspoon of kosher or sea salt.

3. Add olive oil or vegetable oil, if desired -- being certain to allow for the Fat Exchange that will result from the pasta absorbing that fat. This helps prevent the water from boiling over. It also helps prevent the past from sticking together.

4. Add the pasta when the water is at a rolling boil -- not before.

5. Stir occasionally to separate the pasta and to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

If you're on a low-salt diet, skip adding salt to the boiling water and substitute some lemon juice and mustard powder instead.

Preparing Pasta to be Used in a Sauced Dish

When cooking pasta to be used in sauced pastas rather than baked dishes, keep these things in mind:

• If using dried or refrigerated pasta, follow the timing directions on the package.

• If using homemade pasta, remember that fresh pasta cooks much faster than does dried pasta. Follow the timing directions in the recipe. Be sure to adjust the timing if you increase or decrease the size of the pasta shape.

• Test the pasta when the end of the cooking time nears to determine if it is done "al dente" (pronounced "all dahn-tay"), which means "to the tooth." Al dente describes pasta that is firm to the bite. It will be chewy rather than soft or mushy. Al dente is the preferred level of doneness for most pasta recipes.

Cooked pasta can be refrigerated in an airtight container for three to five days.

Preparing Pasta to be Used in a Baked Dish

When cooking pasta to be used in baked dishes, undercook it by one or two minutes less than the shortest cooking time given in the package directions. This way the pasta will be the proper consistency after the dish has been baked.

Preparing Pasta for Salads

This is the type of cooking advice that would cause Mario Batali to flip out of his bright orange clogs, but because I cannot use tap water -- and because bottled water is expensive, when I'm fixing a single serving of angel hair pasta, I only use enough boiling water to cover the dry pasta. Angel hair pasta cooks in a few minutes. I keep a close watch on it as it cooks and add a little additional water, if needed. This works especially well when I'll be using the pasta in an Alfredo dish because any starch in the water that clings to the pasta helps thicken the dish.

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