So Joe I wonder if you too ever have to explain / describe particular pasta shapes to unknowing non Italians?
growing up I of course learned bout all of them from spaghetti to mostacholi < prolly spelt wrong aka penne , rigatoni etc....

I don't really have a fave I like them all

 

I think different kinds of pasta go together better with certain things like some are good with butter or a cream sauce others are good with ‘gravy’ etc. Some are better than others for pasta salad also.

 

Hey Gina, yeah I definitely did, sometimes I would go out to dinner with my boss and he would ask me what kind of pasta was on the menu., things like parpadelle, etc I pretty much like it all, except the long tubes, they were messy to eat, and the sucking sound when eating was not good, lol. Like Rob said my favourite pasta depends on the sauce being used.

The mostaccioli word you reference is funny. We have a dense chewy snack/sweet that we eat, slightly sweet, I think it is made from chestnut flour, and is made in funny shapes like fish, and trophies, and different objects. We call them a name like Mostacholi, it is a very unique food to our region, I never seen or heard it used among too many Italians outside of our region down south in Italy. We never used it as a reference for pasta though, but I know some pasta is called the same name.

 

yeah I agree w @robb on the depending on the sauce too, I like Pesto now ( wouldn't eat it as a child ) but it to me is best on certain shapes we all have similar pasta memories I bet, gnocchi are also a fave of mine, and I have fond memories of helping my Mom & Aunts produce them @ my Aunt's home, it was like an assembly line mixing dough , rolling out the ropes , cutting then rolling them off a metal colander , they would put them into plastic bags and freeze them.

I do buy the store vac sealed ones sometimes but not quite like home made

OK think I'll be making some sauce aka gravy today

 

Yeah gnocchi are really good , one of my favs, I have found memories of my mother making them with my grandmother. I like a regular spaghetti , but my son likes angel hair - spaghettini . Orecchietti is a favourite with tomato and white bean sauce. A good home-made ravioli which my mother used to make was a favourite, the store bought kind are not anywhere near as good. Rigatoni are good too and fusilli , like penne.

 

Last spaghetti I bought was angel hair. I usually buy regular spaghetti but like angel hair with butter and Parmesan every once in awhile. Like Rigatoni or Ziti or farfalle if making a pasta dish with meat.

 

Didn't get to the sauce making yesterday so gonna today
thinking about trying to make gnocchi sometime may need to wait till were in the house though
limited space and cooking options here in this Apt

 

Had some of a garden salad, lemon chicken soup with orzo, some lemon chicken, button mushrooms, squash, a piece of ham and some macaroni and cheese.

 

Cooked up some sweet sausage threw a big piece of eggplant in with a little before the sausage was done cooking added some sauce and Parmesan/Romano into the pan along with some ziti and when it was all cooked I had it with a nice garden salad.

 

Sheperd's pie and Guinness