Any "like to cook" foodies here?

[Bob Schroeck]

I used to drizzle a little olive oil on the pasta after draining, but eventually I noticed that while it kept the pasta from sticking to itself, it also kept the sauce from sticking to it, too. Since I boil my pasta in a pot with a lift-out strainer, I leave an inch or so of steaming water in it, put the strainer full of pasta back in, and keep the lid on whenever it's not actively being served. It doesn't do quite as good a job at protecting against sticking as oil, but I also end up with far less sauce puddling at the bottom of my bowl.

The other items... in no particular order: I've never heard the things about salt in eggs or bean water, or chicken-washing; we frequently make or buy fresh bread without preservatives so fridging it is essential to it lasting more than a day or so; I've known about the Maillard reaction for years, and I've never cared if the alcohol cooked off or not. <grin> Not refreezing meat, though, was wisdom learned at my mother's knee, and yeah because it changed the texture and flavor.