A couple months ago, I saw a show on Food Network involving a celebrity cook-off between two teams, one lead by Rachel Ray and the other buy Guy Fieri. One of the dishes they made on the show was a simple tomato and basil pasta. That kind of dish is not original, but what struck me was the pasta one of the constent’s show – Buctani. I had never heard of this pasta before, but I was intrigued by it.
Buctani is a spaghetti style (long string-like) pasta. The name “Buctani” derives from the Italian word “buco” which means hole. The cool thing about is that it has a hole right through the center. This is great for serving with any sauce. I like the texture of the pasta way better than any spaghetti type without a hole. If you want to up the ante of your favorite spaghetti recipe definitely use this pasta.
How Long Does It Take to Cook?
Buctani on average takes about 9 minutes to cook. I boil it in a gallon of salted water. I don’t break the pasta like some people do to fit it in the pan. It only take a few seconds of the pasta is soften enough where you can bend it so it’s completely submerged.
My Favorite Thing to Use it For?
I love using it for a traditional tomato, roasted garlic, and basil sauce. I posted a recipe for this kind of dish earlier.
. You don’t want to use non-stick because you want some brown bites to be stuck to the bottom of the pan. Heat the pan up over medium-high heat with a bit of canola oil or olive oil in the bottom. In the mean time, liberally salt both sides of the chuck roast. When the pan just starts to smoke, place the beef in. Cook until you get a nice brown sear on one side, then flip and repeat. Remove the beef to a slow cooker. Add the chopped garlic, cook just to soften, don’t burn it. Then add the garlic to slow cooker. Now pour in about 1/2 cup of the beef stock and scrab all the brown bites off the bottom of the pan. I like using my tongs that have 
. Add the liquid from the pan as well as the remaining stock to the slow cooker.
– You need something big to bake your ham in and a roasting pan is the perfect vessel. I don’t recommend not stick in this case as I always find that I still end up with burnt sugar in the bottom from my glaze. It’s harder to clean a non-stick pan without scratching it and ruining the non stick. So just go with an stainless steel that you can scrub easier.
– Makes carving the ham a whole lot easier. You don’t need something expense here. A cheap one works just fine.
– Even thought hams come cooked most of the time, you still need to heat it up. Don’t trust the instructions that came with your hand, trust a probe thermometer to get your ham reheated to the properly temperature. I have had ham that has been overcooked, a dry ham is not something you ever want to experience.
