Making large batch of rigatoni the night before?!
Making large batch of rigatoni the night before?
i volunteered to make rigatoni for a retirement party at work. we are having 10 people retire and are expecting 100-150 people. as there will be plenty of other food i am planning on making three 1 lb boxes. what's the best way to make this and store it overnight? im unsure whether to mix the sauce in tonight and leave it in the fridge, or just cook the noodles tonight and refrigerate them and cook the sauce tomorrow at work and add it in then. i have been told to do it both ways. anyone have any experience with this and what works best? im planning on transporting the noodles in freezer size zip lock bags.
Answers:
I would cook the noodles al dente (not too mushy). I would pour some sauce on to turn the noodles slightly red and give them flavor. I would save the rest of the sauce for the party.
If you apply it the night before most of the sauce will soak into the noodles and it won't look like you have much sauce on it.
If you put the sauce in tonight, the noodles will absorb most of it--your dish will be dry and the noodles will be mushy.
Take it all to work & assemble it there.
Stir a tablespoon of oil or two into the noodles after draining them, then put them in the bags. The oil will help keep them from sticking together.
It's best not to mix the sauce and the noodles till the next day. Really the only thing to do the night before is to cook the noodles, rinse in cold water, drizzle with olive oil(keeps them from sticking). The next day make your sauce and pour on top of you noodles. To make it a little tastier get one of the disposable baking containers, put the noodles in there, cover with your sauce, sprinkle on parmesan cheese(generously) and bake at 350 for ten minutes, everything is cooked you just need to warm up the noodles.
There are a number of ways to do this. The easiest and the least amount of hassle would be to do the following.
cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water for about 4-5 minutes. Immediately shock it in ice water to stop the cooking process.
Drain the pasta and add it to your sauce.Add a little extra wine for the cooking process. Place this in a baking dish.
Top with some mozzarella and parmesan. I mix in some large breadcrumbs as well. cover with foil and place in the fridge.
At work, cook your pasta in a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned