How to keep pasta for a buffet.

[gilby]

My daughter wants pasta for her graduation party. I can do the lasagna, but I am worried about spagetti noodles from sticking together, staying warm and not getting soggy, or anything else that would happend to them.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ericandjenng]

Add a little butter/margarine/olive oil after draining the pasta before adding the sauce. A heated glass serving dish (corningware, etc) will help the food retain its heat. Also use a cooking spray such as Pam before putting the pasta in the dish. And keep it covered, air dries out pasta quickly.

 

[jagafen]

Chafing dish/stand with those tin foil inserts. You can find them at wharehouse stores for about $20 each....we do 7 fishes evey Christmas even and have a ton of them for keeping the food warm. Be careful about over oiling the pasta, however, it will prevent the sauce from "sticking" to the noodle like it should. If you have enough sauce, that should be enough to keep the pasta from sticking to itself.

 

[blanq]

I think what I would do is add some sauce to the cooked noodles and mix it together before I added it to the serving/warming dish. Then have additional sauce that people can add on top once they scoop their noodles out. I would definately purchase or rent serving pieces/burners that can keep everything warm or try and rig something up where you can use chafing fuel or gel fuel.

 

[Grandmax3]

Party City usually has the foil dish and frame for around ten dollars this time of the year. The fuel is extra.

 

[mama2girls]

put everything in a crockpot with the sauce. should work great. i use my crock pot probably 3 times a week. its my favorite kitchen item!

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

For pasta with a sauce, I do not like to mix the sauce and the pasta together since as long as the pasta stays hot it keeps cooking and gets way too soft and the pasta tends to absorb the sauce. Here's what I do when we serve pasta at a party (which is often at my house):

Rinse the pasta with cool water to cool it off just a bit (so it will quit cooking). Drain thoroughly and toss with a little bit of the sauce it is to be served with--just enough to coat it lightly. I try to separate out just some of the liquid of the sauce (none of the meat or chunks of anything). Cover the pasta to keep it from drying out, but don't try to keep it warm. Serve the sauce HOT and it will reheat the pasta when it is served.