Spaghetti is an ideal meal to make for large groups of people.
Although it is possible to make both the pasta and the spaghetti sauce for 50 people at the same time, making the spaghetti noodles the day before will allow you the freedom of focusing on one element of the meal at a time. Since spaghetti sauce can burn fairly easily, this will help to ensure a delicious outcome.
Instructions
1. Cook the spaghetti noodles the night before. Use either a large stock pot, or multiple smaller stock pots to cook 10 lbs. of spaghetti. Once the spaghetti is cooked, cool it quickly by running it under cold water. Put all the noodles in a large bowl, toss the noodles lightly with olive oil, and place a damp towel over top of the bowl. Then place the bowl in the refrigerator. The olive oil will keep the noodles from sticking together, and the damp towel will keep the noodles from drying out.
2. Make the spaghetti sauce the day of the dinner. You will need 4 to 6 cups of spaghetti sauce. If you are simply heating jarred spaghetti sauce, pour all the sauce in a stock pot and heat it slowly over a low heat. Heat it slowly to prevent the sauce on the bottom from burning before the whole pot is heated through.
3. Bring water to a boil in a large stock pot. Once the water is rapidly boiling, carefully drop the spaghetti you made the night before into the pot of water for approximately 30 seconds. This will reheat the spaghetti noodles without ruining the texture.
4. Pour the stock pot with the spaghetti noodles into a colander in the sink to drain the water out of the noodles. Once the noodles are drained, place them back into the large stockpot.
5. Pour the heated spaghetti sauce into the stock pot with the cooked spaghetti noodles. Use a spaghetti fork to toss the spaghetti. Continue tossing the spaghetti until all the noodles are evenly coated with the spaghetti sauce.
6. Transfer the spaghetti to a serving bowl, and sprinkle shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese over the top.
Tags: spaghetti sauce, spaghetti noodles, damp towel, keep noodles, keep noodles from