Interesting PASTAbilities
Hey, I bought another cookbook. Does this mean it’s one that I will use?
Let’s begin at the beginning: The Sporkful.
I may have mentioned it before. It’s a podcast. Dan Pashman, the creator and host says it’s not for foodies—it’s for eaters. He says obsessing about food and cooking is a way to learn more about people; and week in and week out, he delivers. It’s good enough that I listen to it regularly—particularly in the off weeks when there isn’t a new episode of Gastropod. (Another podcast, highly recommended.)
Pashman makes it clear that he’s not a chef—just an avid eater. He brings his family into the show from time to time, his wife Janie and daughters, Becky and Emily, and other family members, as well. His overall goal is to be entertaining while telling good stories related to good food. The podcast started in 2010 and I’ve been a fairly regular listener for about a decade. I recommend it.
Mission: ImPASTAble
In 2021, Pashman began a series of stories under the title Mission: ImPASTAble. As the title suggests, it’s all about pasta. Pashman’s goal for the series: to create a new pasta shape.
Here’s a link for the trailer to the series.
When I listed to the stories, I had lots of “who knew” moments. The exploration of the world of pasta making was enlightening with deep dives into the history of pasta, the ingredients, the manufacturing processes, and the qualities that make a good pasta. Pashman asserts in the first episode, the spaghetti sucks. It’s not a great pasta shape. And after hearing his arguments on the subject, I agree.
At the end of the six-episodes of the initial series (spoiler alert) Pashman does, indeed, “invent” a new pasta shape: cascatelli. Initially it was only available online but now, who can even find it on some supermarket shelves (my Shop-Rite has three shapes on the shelves and, surprising to me, not cascatelli).
As I’m writing this, I see that Pashman has added some additional Mission:ImPASTAble episodes that I haven’t listened to. So there is more. One about gluten-free pastas, others about the new shape and an episode about some additional shapes that his manufacturing partner, Sfoglini, is now manufacturing (interesting old shapes from Italy, I believe.)
And Now: A Cookbook
In four additional Sporkful episodes, Pashman describes the process he when through to create a cookbook. He goes into recipe development, takes a trip to Italy to make interesting discoveries (not just recipes), riffs on the potential of pasta in fusions of various cuisines, and describes the publishing process (fine tuning recipes for home cooks, photographing food, designing a cover, and coming up with the title for the book.
(Spoiler alert) Anything’s Pastable was published in March. It’s available at all the usual online sources and is likely in bookstores as well, since is backed by a major publishing house.
Info-mercials, Much?
Hey, I’m not a dummy. I knew after the second episode of Mission: ImPASTAble that I would be buying a box (or three) of the shape that must inevitably result. It wouldn’t be a very good story if there was no pot of boiling water at the end of the rainbow. And, after binging the Sporkful episodes about creating the cookbook—of course I was going to buy a copy of it. Pashman knew it. HarperCollins knew it. And I knew it, too. Inevitable.
Now that I have the book in hand, I can honestly say that I think it is something special—a cut above most cookbooks. Here’s why:
It is packed with even more information about pasta that I didn’t know. Pashman has done a truly deep dive into the subject and he has unpacked it in a way that is genuinely engaging for a home cook.
It explores new horizons for the use of pasta. Sure, that’s what Pashman said he wanted to do when he was describing his mission. As I began looking through it, I found myself believing that he had succeeded splendidly.
The recipes include a number of vegetarian recipes—an element that’s I short supply in my cooking repertoire. They have a hearty, robust look to them that I think will make a long-term difference in my cookery.
The directions feel like they were written by a home cook; someone who had tried to cook the dish numerous times, made mistakes, and is helping us at home avoid them. Once again, Pashman is doing exactly what he set out to do.
There are two things I don’t like about the book, too.
I don’t love the overall design of the book itself—it feels a little klunky and ungainly. Maybe that’s intentional; a decision not to make it too slick. I don’t know, but it doesn’t impress me the way some books do.
All the recipes call for about a pound of pasta and feed four or more. I’m usually cooking dinner for two. So that makes me wonder about how any of the dishes will do as leftovers. If I make the full recipe, with the leftovers be good after a couple days in the fridge? Can I freeze and reheat it successfully. Any tips from the test kitchen on cooking for two.
And in Conclusion
I’ve been seduced by a lot of cookbooks. Something gets my attention and the pictures are great, and before I know it, I have a new cookbook. And in many instances, it is rarely and barely used. With this book, I have so much advance knowledge, it’s kind of like we are already on very friendly terms. We’re already in a relationship. It could be very rewarding, I think to myself. This one is gonna stick.
Anon.
Ridge