Latest news with #spaghetti
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
America's favorite pasta reveals strong regional preferences, study shows
From spaghetti lovers to penne passion, America's pasta preference reveals a carb-loaded culture clash across state lines. A study conducted by Inspired Taste aimed to uncover America's wide range of pasta favorites – namely, each state's favorite pasta shape. In doing so, it found unexpected regional preferences and nationwide outliers. Spaghetti is the national favorite, leading the country with 26% of the overall vote and winning in 20 states, particularly in Mississippi, where 55% of residents favored the classic noodle - the strongest single-state loyalty to any pasta type. Penne trails spaghetti by a thin margin. (See the video at the top of this article for a pasta-making demonstration.) Penne was second with 25% of the vote and was the preferred pasta in 17 states, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. It's the top contender in states like Washington and Oregon. "What surprised me the most was just how close the race was between spaghetti and penne, which only had a 1% difference," Joanne Gallagher, recipe creator and co-founder of Inspired Taste in Walla Walla, Washington, told Fox News Digital. "It shows how deeply people take their pasta choices." The rest of the findings are as twisted as fusilli. Elbows are the outcast. Even though elbows are the fourth-most popular pasta shape nationally, not a single state picked it as its favorite. Arizona stands out as the biggest penne lover, with 50% of residents favoring it – higher than any other state's penne preference. Though not leading nationally, fettuccine dominates California at 33%. Hawaii and New Mexico are the only states to favor angel hair pasta, or capellini. South Dakota, Alaska and Montana are the only states to choose rotini – a swirly, long pasta – as their top choice. For more Lifestyle articles, visit Orzo and angel hair are tied for least-loved, with 18% of respondents calling them their least favorite. "Everyone has a pasta shape that speaks to them, and that's what makes pasta so fun to cook with," Gallagher said.
Times
31-05-2025
- Health
- Times
Three quick spaghetti recipes
When you're looking to make supper in a hurry, there's nothing quite like a good plate of spaghetti. The sauce needn't be anything more complicated than a drizzle of olive oil with some fresh parsley, finely sliced garlic and a little chilli. Plus, of course, heaps of grated parmesan. To get more creative, you can make a decent pasta sauce out of pretty much anything: toss in a tin of tuna and add some olive oil, black olives and chunks of fresh, juicy tomato; or black olives, olive oil and salty capers. For something richer, melt a hunk of gorgonzola (or whatever other cheese you like) with a generous splash of cream over a gentle heat and drizzle it over the pasta so it's swimming in thick, creamy cheesy sauce. The trick to good spaghetti — as with any pasta — is to cook it in very salty water and until al dente: typically that means cooking for less time than it says on the packet, so taste as you go. When you drain the spaghetti, save half a cup or so of the salted cooking water to mix in with the pasta and the sauce: the starch in the water will thicken the sauce to help give it that delectably creamy texture. Spaghetti with leeks, broad beans and courgettes I love all the greens here — the mix of sautéed almost-sweet leeks, the buttery beans and the delicate courgettes. You could swap the veggies: add some frozen petits pois (just toss them in with the broad beans) or thinly sliced fennel, which you can fry in the pan with the leeks and courgettes. For even more flavour, think about tossing in some fresh mint, basil, parsley or finely chopped dill. Serves 4 Ingredients • 130g frozen broad beans • 400g spaghetti • 4 tbsp olive oil • 2 leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced (roughly 220g) • 150g courgettes, diced Method 1. Bring a large pan of well- salted water to the boil. When the water begins to gallop, add the broad beans and simmer for 2-3 min until they float to the surface. Then use a slotted spoon to lift them out of the water and set aside. 2. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook al dente as per the packet instructions. 3. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan. Add the leeks and courgettes, then sauté over a high heat for 2-3 min, until the leeks almost look translucent and the courgettes are nicely coloured. 4. Add the blanched broad beans to the pan together with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook for 1-2 min to bring all the flavours together. 5. Drain the pasta in a colander, reserving a little of the cooking water, and toss the spaghetti into the pan together with the vegetables and water. Give everything a good stir to combine the ingredients, season to taste with salt and black pepper, and serve immediately. Spaghetti with fennel, anchovies and black olives SKYE MCALPINE This has a mix of subtle, sweet flavours from the fennel and mint, with punchy, moreish saltiness from the melted anchovies and pungent olives. You could add some torn fresh basil leaves or a little parsley for a more minerally flavour. Serves 4 Ingredients • 400g spaghetti • 2 medium fennel bulbs (roughly 500g) • 4 tbsp olive oil • 10-12 anchovy fillets • 100g black olives, pitted and roughly torn • A small bunch of fresh mint Method 1. Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil. When it begins to gallop, add the spaghetti and cook al dente, as per the packet instructions. 2. Trim the fennel bulbs, reserving the fronds for garnish, and slice thinly. 3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan, add the anchovies and fry over a medium-high heat for 1-2 min, until the little fillets have broken down and largely melted into the oil. 4. Add the fennel and fry gently over a medium heat for 4-5 min, until softened and almost translucent. 5. Drain the pasta in a colander, reserving a ladleful of the cooking water. Toss the pasta together with the cooking water and the torn black olives into the pan with the fennel. Give it all a good stir to combine the ingredients. 6. Top with a few torn fresh mint leaves and the raw fennel fronds, then serve immediately. Spaghetti alla poverella SKYE MCALPINE You can and should make this sauce in advance so the flavours have time to intermingle and intensify. Once you have your sauce, toss it through the pasta and serve either warm or at room temperature. And if you have any sauce left over, spoon it onto toasted crusty bread for the most delicious bruschetta. Serves 4 Ingredients • 600g baby tomatoes, quartered • 150g flame-roasted peppers from a jar, sliced into thin strips • 1 large celery stick (roughly 80g), thinly sliced • 1 tbsp capers, rinsed • A small bunch of fresh basil, coarsely chopped • 4 tbsp olive oil • 400g spaghetti Method 1. Combine the tomatoes, peppers, celery, capers and basil in a bowl. Add the olive oil and a generous grinding of black pepper, then rest (not in the fridge) overnight or for a couple of hours. 2. Bring a large pan of well- salted water to the boil. When the water begins to gallop, add the spaghetti and cook al dente as per the packet instructions. Drain the pasta in a colander, toss with the sauce, season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
CBC
30-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- CBC
Man visiting all Old Spaghetti Factory locations finally ends the Canadian leg of his tour in Saskatoon
Every time Andrew Mancini does an icebreaker activity, he proudly shares the scripted answer of his life-long goal: visiting all 62 locations of the Old Spaghetti Factory restaurant chain. This ambitious culinary journey has taken him across the United States, Canada, and even to Japan. In all of his visits to the 59 unique locations so far, Mancini always orders the same meal that he first had as a 10-year-old: spaghetti with marinara sauce. "I thought I'd been to enough Old Spaghetti Factories that I had to double down and continue to order what I had as a 10-year-old," the soon-to-be alum of Stanford University in California told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "Still to this day — and it kills all the managers — I'll fly out to Toronto, 2,000 miles away from San Francisco [and] thousands of miles to Japan, and still basically order off the kids' menu." The Old Spaghetti Factory was founded in 1969 by the late Guss and Sally Dussin in Portland, Ore. Since then, the Italian-American-style franchise continues providing its signature three-course meal and charming, old-timey decor. Mancini's 12-year-and-counting love affair with the Old Spaghetti Factory only intensified as he grew up. His devotion centres around fond family memories and creating new fun ones with friends. Origins of this quest At the age of 10, when his family decided to stop at an Old Spaghetti Factory during a vacation in southern California, Mancini had his first meal at the restaurant. It was love at first bite. A month later, in a separate trip, his parents took him on another vacation to Whistler, B.C., where they also ended up at the local Old Spaghetti Factory. This second time around, Mancini noticed how all the chain's global spots were listed in the menu's border. "So 10-year-old me was able to say, 'Hey, in a one-month time span, I've been to two kind of geographically far apart locations,' and I could physically check off the two I'd been to. I saw that there were maybe 40 or 45 others… 10-year-old me said, 'Hey I'm going to try to visit them all.'" Mancini, 22, says he recognizes that it seems like an odd ambition, but that his parents encouraged him to pursue his spaghetti-inspired travel bucket list. "They kind of laughed," he said. "Some people make an effort to get every national park or every state in the U.S. or every major league baseball stadium… and they said, 'Hey, if you want to make this your own version, you know, go for it.' And I don't think they ever really thought I'd make it… but here we are." Takeaways from his pasta-driven travels Thanks to his passion for this restaurant chain's pasta, Mancini has had a blast traveling to places he might never have visited otherwise. The final Canadian location from his Old Spaghetti Factory tour he had to cross off his list brought him to Saskatoon. He says the same meal is "surprisingly" consistent from the U.S. to Canada to Japan. "Down to the pasta sauce, the garlic butter that comes with the bread, the spumoni that they give you for dessert — it's crazy, when you think about it, that two continents apart, they're still providing the same dishes. In Canada, I'll give it, that they serve basil leaves on top of the pasta's marinara sauce, which they don't in Japan or the U.S." Restaurant managers across the United States have also invited him to attend the inauguration of new locations. The latest was to Medford, Ore., in late April, where he even met with the founders' son, Chris Dussin. But Mancini said he'd still be a loyal customer even without the special treatment. Esteban Martinez, the current manager of the Old Spaghetti Factory in Saskatoon, said his team was "very excited" to welcome this super fan and "talk about how much he loves the spaghetti," particularly "his love of the marinara sauce." Andrew Mancini has Italian-American roots, but when his relatives back in Sicily hear about his endeavour, he says they "roll their eyes and not comment on whether or not this restaurant is truly authentic Italian." When he pitches the restaurant to others, Mancini says he's often met with skepticism. But he always has a comeback ready: "Hey, remember, I'm a quarter Italian, so I have a little bit more ability to say this is good Italian food." With only three locations left to visit (Portland, Ore., Seattle, Wa. and Spokane, Wa.), Mancini says he has reflected on nearly completing his feat. "Everyone's been making a joke, 'What happens after I reach the sixty-second? Is life even worth living?'" "But certainly it's been fun memories along the way, and they do continue to expand every year, so even if I make it to 62 by [this] year's end, hopefully next year or the year after, they'll be a new Canadian or American city to go explore."
The Independent
10-02-2025
- The Independent
Father stabbed daughter in kitchen play-fight in ‘flash of anger', judge says
A father who stabbed his 14-year-old daughter in the heart in a 'flash of anger' while they were play-fighting has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years for her murder. The sentencing judge said Simon Vickers' account to the jury about how he accidentally swiped a knife into his daughter Scarlett in the kitchen of their family home was 'unconvincing and wholly implausible'. The 50-year-old defendant had given differing versions of what happened in the seconds before he plunged a kitchen knife 11cm into her chest, through her clothes and into her lung and heart. Her mother, Sarah Hall, was the only other person in the kitchen of their Darlington home at the time and she stood by her partner of 27 years, telling Teesside Crown Court that Vickers loved their only child and would never harm her. But jurors convicted him by a majority of 10-2 last month following a trial last month. Home Office pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton said that the injury must have been caused by a knife held with force and was not accidental. Mr Justice Cotter Sentencing him to life with a minimum term of 15 years, Mr Justice Cotter accepted the defendant was 'devastated', that he was a 'broken man', and that there was no premeditation or intention to kill. The judge said: 'You have lost your only child at your own hand and you will always live with that awful fact.' He added: 'Simon Vickers, only you know precisely what happened in that kitchen on that Friday evening which led to you fatally stabbing your only daughter in what should have been the safety of her own home. 'It was a momentary but devastating act of anger. 'It stole one young, precious life, ruined your life, your wife's life and Scarlett's relatives and friends. 'The clock cannot be turned back and you must now face the consequences that the law intends.' The court heard how Ms Hall was making spaghetti Bolognese on the evening of July 5 and she and her daughter threw grapes at each other in fun. Ms Hall grabbed some tongs and snipped at her partner of 27 years, and when he complained he had been hurt, Scarlett implied her father was being 'wimpy'. Mr Justice Cotter said the version of events that the defendant told the jury – that he had accidentally swiped the knife across the work surface and into his daughter's chest without realising – was 'unconvincing and wholly implausible'. Your beloved daughter deserved that you told the truth, you have not done so Mr Justice Cotter He said: 'You have never accepted exactly what happened, although you have accepted it was your actions that caused her death. 'Your beloved daughter deserved that you told the truth, you have not done so.' He said the offence was aggravated because Scarlett was a child who should have been safe in her own home. Vickers had drunk wine and smoked cannabis that night but the judge was not sure that alcohol had contributed to the offence which he was convinced was caused by 'a flash of anger'. It went from an ordinary, happy family Friday night to tragedy within seconds due to what must have been your loss of temper Mr Justice Cotter He added: 'Scarlett was just 14, a normal, healthy woman with a long life ahead of her when it was cut short by you. 'She died in the kitchen of her own home within minutes of having been stabbed. 'It went from an ordinary, happy family Friday night to tragedy within seconds due to what must have been your loss of temper. 'There is no other plausible explanation. 'You have never given a truthful explanation of what happened.' Each of those left behind by Scarlett have been left serving life sentences of their own from which none of them will ever be free Nicholas Lumley KC, defending Mark McKone KC prosecuting, said Vickers had a previous conviction in 1993, when he was 19, for wounding with intent when he slashed a man in the face with a Stanley knife. Nicholas Lumley KC, defending, said: 'Each of those left behind by Scarlett have been left serving life sentences of their own from which none of them will ever be free.' He added: 'Sarah Hall (Scarlett's mother) remains resolute in her belief that the father of her only child did not intend Scarlett any harm and his parents are of the same view. 'None can believe that he will now be known as Scarlett's murderer.' During the trial, Ms Hall said during the play-fighting, she turned away to serve the family's evening meal and then heard Scarlett say 'ow'. She said she immediately saw that their only child was pouring with blood. Ms Hall made a 999 call and told the operator they had been 'messing about' and that her partner had thrown something at their daughter 'and he didn't realise'. Detective Superintendent Craig Rudd Vickers told a paramedic that his daughter had lunged towards him during a bout of play-fighting, the court heard. Scarlett bled to death at the scene. Outside court, Detective Superintendent Craig Rudd said: 'We may never know precisely what happened in that kitchen, but we can be certain there is no justification for what Simon Vickers did. 'Had he not picked up that knife, Scarlett would still be alive today. 'This has been an incredibly heart-breaking case for everyone involved and our thoughts remain with those who cared about Scarlett.'
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Yahoo
Play-fight claim dad jailed for murdering daughter
A father has been jailed for at least 15 years for murdering his daughter after the jury rejected his claim he had killed her in a play-fight. Scarlett Vickers, 14, bled to death at her home in Darlington after being stabbed deep in the chest with a kitchen knife by her father Simon Vickers, 50, in July. Vickers had claimed the fatal injury was "a freak accident" caused while they were "mucking about", but jurors at Teesside Crown Court found him guilty of murder with a majority verdict. Jailing Vickers for life with a minimum term, Mr Justice Cotter said the killer had never been truthful about the "loss of temper" that turned a "happy family night into tragedy". The court heard Vickers' partner and Scarlett's mother Sarah Hall, who was also present when she was killed, was "resolute" in her belief that he was innocent. Scarlett suffered an 4in-deep (11cm) wound to her heart in the kitchen of her family home on Geneva Road on the evening of 5 July, her murder trial had heard. Both her father and mother claimed the injury was inflicted accidentally but a pathologist said it was "practically impossible" for it to have been caused by anything other other a knife being held firmly in a hand. At the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Mark McKone KC revealed Vickers had a previous conviction from 1993 for wounding with intent after he slashed a man's face with a Stanley knife, for which the then 19-year-old got two years' detention, as well as some dishonesty offences. Mr McKone said Vickers' account of what happened to Scarlett was "inconsistent" with the pathologist's findings. In mitigation, Nicholas Lumley KC said Ms Hall and Vickers' parents remained "resolute in their belief" he "did not intend Scarlett any harm". Mr Lumley said: "None of them can in fact believe he is now to be known as Scarlett's murderer." Ms Hall had previously told jurors she was standing by her partner of 27 years and was adamant he would never have deliberately harmed their daughter. Scarlett's parents had said they were all "mucking about" and throwing grapes at each other in the kitchen while Ms Hall was making spaghetti Bolognese. Ms Hall had told police and paramedics she had got the knife out to cut garlic bread and placed them next to some tongs. Vickers told the court he swiped a pair of tongs towards Scarlett which must have caught a knife, which he had not seen. He said he did not know what had actually happened but thought the knife had got caught against a hot plate and Scarlett had run on to the 8in-long (20cm) blade. Prosecutors said that was extremely unlikely with forensic pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton concluding Vickers would probably have to have been holding the knife in his hand for it to cause the devastating injury to Scarlett. Vickers had said he bore "moral responsibility" for killing his daughter but claimed it had been a "freak accident" in the confines of their small kitchen. Jurors spent more than 13 hours deliberating before reaching a majority agreement, with 10 finding Vickers guilty of murder. Mr Justice Cotter said he had "no doubt" Vickers had been holding the knife and the killer, who was the only person who actually knew what occurred, had "never given a truthful explanation of what happened". The judge said Vickers' account was "unconvincing and wholly implausible", telling him: "Your beloved daughter deserved the truth, you have not given it." Scarlett was a "normal, healthy young girl with a long life ahead of her" which was "cut short" by her father, the judge said, adding: "It went from an ordinary, happy family Friday night into tragedy within seconds due to what must have been [Vickers'] loss of temper." Mr Justice Cotter said there was a "momentary but devastating act of anger" that had "stolen one young, precious life". The court heard Vickers had smoked cannabis and drunk wine during the evening, with police noting he was slurring his speech when they arrived. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas to northeastandcumbria@ HM Courts and Tribunals Service Dad guilty of 14-year-old daughter's murder Murder-accused dad 'had no reason to kill girl' Girl's fatal wound 'impossible' from thrown knife
