I cooked pasta and there's no flavour?!

1. A large (6- to 8-quart) pot
2. Four to six quarts of cold water
3. A healthy dose (1-2 tablespoons) of salt
4. A wooden or long-handled spoon, and
5. A colander for draining the pasta
Boil Water

To cook evenly and prevent it from sticking together, pasta needs "breathing" room. Use a deep saucepan and at least 4 quarts of water per pound of pasta. Salt is added to the cooking water, not to lower the boiling point, but rather to season the pasta. If you don't season the cooking water, the pasta may taste flat--no matter how salty the sauce you dress it in.

* Bring the water to a full, rolling boil. The temperature will drop once you add the pasta, so make sure it's boiling before dropping in the pasta.
* Gently stir short pasta immediately after adding to water; let spaghetti and long strands soften for a minute before stirring. Don't break pasta in half.
* It's not necessary to add oil to the water; you'll just be pouring good olive oil down the drain. Just use plenty of water and stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
* Don't combine two types or sizes of pasta in the same pot of water, as they will finish cooking at different times.

Al Dente

Pasta should be cooked until it's tender but slightly firm to the bite. If it's going to used in a recipe--like baked ziti, macaroni and cheese, or lasagna--it can be even firmer, since it will absorb liquid and cook more in the oven. The longer you cook pasta, the mushier it gets. Don't rely on the clock to evaluate doneness. Use those teeth!

* If you're tossing the pasta with a sauce, reserve a cup or two of the cooking water before you drain the pot. The water can be added to thin out a thick sauce, like pesto, and the starch in the water helps sauces stick to each shape or strand.
* Cook according to package instructions (usually 10 to 12 minutes)
* Drain the pasta in a colander. Rinse with cool water to stop the cooking and help prevent sticking. Return the colander to the pot and cover to keep it warm.
* Pasta should be served immediately in warm bowls. Ladle a scant half cup of sauce in the bottom of each bowl, top with pasta, and add more sauce.

Why did you put milk and butter? Pasta boils perfectly well straight out of the packet. Personally I don't add anything to my pasta but a pinch of vegetable stock. Tastes great to me. For the batch you have now, try to disguise it with plenty of cheese. You can also try making a sauce for it and just drown it in that.

You didn't fail. You learned that something didn't work. Were you trying to recreate a white sauce for the dish? If so you're better off reducing the butter and milk in a pan, then pouring it over the drained pasta after cooking.

Been cooking the stuff for years.

Hi, I can tell you how to cook pasta.. then we'll get to the flavour part.
You cook pasta in water, with a little bit of oil in it. The water should be boiling when you put the pasta in it, and the oil is to keep the pasta from sticking together. Usually it needs to boil for about seven minutes, and you should stir it while it boils.
Once it is boiled and drained, you can add butter, and maybe some spices. The flavours will not disappear if you add them later. Basil, oregano... chopped tomatoes, it's your taste you follow. You can put spaghetti sauce on it if you want. If you want to you can put some chopped green peppers in the pasta while it's cooking, for say the last three minutes.
Another neat trick is to make what's called a rue.. In a separate pan, you melt a couple of tbsp of butter, then add flour, until the mixture is thick. Next, you VERY SLOWLY add milk perhaps 2/3 of a cup, and keep stirring it.. all this time it's over a low heat. Once the milk is added, you can grate some cheese into it, use a med. to strong cheddar if you have it. keep stirring it, and it will become a nice thick creamy sauce, which you can put on the pasta.. I usually add pepper. Parmesan cheese? Great addition.
You can google Epicure and there is a site that will help you with how to cook just about anything.

Good luck with it.

Did you add salt/sauce?

Milk & Butter?!

No,
I think you should make it from scratch...

Just get some raw pasta shell things and put them in a pan.
Add water and a spoon of salt, then put it on the cooker to boil. (Don't boil it for too long, unless you like them soggy)

Now for the sauce...I suggest adding mince meat.

You'll need to buy some pasta sauce from the shops, if you want to make it at home, just gets some tinned tomato cans and cook it. Make sure you add spices though.

Cook the meat and the pasta sauce and mix them both together, making a nice mixture. Once the pasta is done just mix the sauce and the pasta together. Its yummy. :) I even made some yesterday!

nom nom nom :P

PS; You don't have to add mince meat, but I highly recommend it... :)

-Good Luck!

I boil my pasta in water with plenty of salt, to give the noodles themselves flavor.
And for sauces, there are oodles and oodles of great sauce recipes all over the internet, or, if you're not feeling ambitious, you can just buy some from the grocery store. :)

Tomatoes, fresh or canned, are great for pasta. Season it with a dash of salt and ground pepper and add little extras like sausages (cut up, of course). Makes it rather tasty, it does !