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fresh garlic and crushed red pepper flakes infused olive oil and fresh grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese.

Papa Johns has this little seasoning packet that you can get with your pizza, or order extra for .10 a pack, it's really good sprinkled over pasta with some olive oil.

Olive oil, garlic and basil. If I am in a cheesy mood, I may sprinkle some pecorino or asiago on top, but I don't have to.

Now, if it's stuffed pasta we're talking about, I'll definitely want some Alfredo sauce to go with it.

These are all classics, and I'm a huge fan of the olive oil/garlic/parmesan combo with loads of black pepper.

If I have bacon and eggs--which I usually do--carbonara is a nice treat. Black pepper is a must here.

If it's idiosyncratic creations you seek, I used to dress my fettuccine with butter, Dijon mustard, parmesan cheese, and maybe a splash of balsamic. Plus loads of black pepper.

Fat and black pepper, basically.

lil bit of butter or olive oil, salt, black pepper, and whatever cheese we happen to have atm.

Whatever kind of fat I may have, but fat is the only mandatory ingredient for me: butter, olive oil, schmaltz, duck fat, bacon fat, pancetta fat. I have used them all in combination or by themselves. (Yes, sometimes I might have duck fat but no butter, or olive oil. It happens.)

I usually keep a can of double concentrated tomato paste on hand. Canned San Marzano or other plum tomatoes with basil too. I am not ashamed to admit I have enjoyed ketchup on pasta. An egg yolk is good with ground black and white pepper, especially if you have a little cheese to shave or crumble over it. Parm, cheddar, mimolette, goat, gorgonzola are what I might have on hand and are great with just a fat. My favorite all time is butter, tomato paste and parm.

Toasting up some shallots and/or garlic gently in some fat and red pepper flakes is also great. I toss in some fresh herbs if I have them. Again, combination of or solo: basil, marjoram, sage, tarragon, thyme, rosemary, parsley, lemongrass, ginger...

If I have some some shrimp shells in the freezer, a little lemon juice, some vinegar or better yet a splash of white wine, I simmer them for a few minutes with salt, a dash of old bay and some smoked paprika. Strain, reduce, whisk in the cold butter over low heat until it thickens and gets silky. A dollop of tomato concentrate at the beginning is the deluxe version. Mini bisque sauce, very tasty, quick, easy and cheap.

The beauty with pasta is it can equally delicious when extravagant, refined, luxurious, with lots of rich ingredients and elaborate long simmered sauces, as it is when it's completely bare bones. It's the best of peasant food. I have thoroughly enjoyed pasta with just butter and salt.

A quick tomato sauce w/olive oil, garlic, onions, red pepper flakes, oregano, a little red wine and canned tomato (whole, diced, crushed - whatever I have on hand). Additions could be artichoke hearts, mushrooms, leftover meat. Sprinkle with basil & parm cheese.

I also usually have the elements for scampi - so quick and easy and delicious enough to serve to guests. Same goes for carbonara.

Alfredo sauces are also easy, but I don't always have the ingredients, so I guess that one wouldn't count?

One of my family's favorites is "crummy noodles". Crush half a bag of saltines. Add to melted butter so they are moist, not wet. Add to cooked egg noodles and grind some black pepper. Divine! Only cook what you can eat. Doesn't reheat well..

I have a large jar of marinated artichoke hearts in the fridge which get chopped and tossed with pasta and a bit of the marinade for pasta emergencies. Fresh ground pepper and freshly grated Pam makes this even better.

Garlic, slivered kalamata olives, olive oil, crushed red pepper, chopped parsley, a splash of lemon juice. So very good.

Aw man, I think this will be my dinner tonight.

My new favorite is whole wheat penne tossed with infused olive oil, sundried tomatoes, caramelized onions, mushrooms, spinach, feta and pine nuts.

@bess ~ Do you self medicate?

will I get sent to the pokey if I say that i would rather starve than eat pasta?

I know...I know!

Tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella cubes, spinach, garlic, chicken, heavy cream.

@ Heart: one of my favorite things about being a grown up is that I can use as much bubble bath as I want. I'm no longer limited to a capful.

Re: pasta
If I'm hung over, I can often be found eating my noodles with butter, salt, and cold cottage cheese.

@cyber ~ Good one!!!!!!!

jarred sundried tomatoes heated up with a bit of the oil and tossed with pasta and parm. so good.

Butter, salt, and pepper. Alternately, shred some cheddar over the top of that and have a bare-bones cheese-topped pasta.

My all-time worst pasta nightmare: when my mom used to go on business trips, my dad was ever so proud of his "Eggs 'n' Noodles", scrambled eggs mixed with egg noodles and as much ketchup as he could squeeze on there.
And my stepdad once put ketchup in my leftover spaghetti sauce to stretch it for the family. I could taste it. It was nasty. I almost cried.

Pasta is my very favorite food -- any size and shape. And an entire volume could be written about how to sauce it. But what kills me, is when I spend hours making a delicious tomato sauce from the best ingredients, and my grandchildren come over and say "Savta, I just want it with ketchup." Obviously they didn't inherit my foodie gene.

@Heart ~ once used a little itsy bitsy teeny weeny tiny bottle of hotel shampoo in the jacuzzi in our hotel room and the bubbles made it to the ceiling and the door. Romance flies out the window when you're laughing that hard. Actually, "I" didn't put it in and we bought bubbles the next day. Great memory!

I can't imagine not liking pasta. Guessing you had a bad experience? Overcooked is horrid. I'm so lucky my mother and grandmother were such great cooks. Anyway, this thread has inspired me to make a quick pasta dish for dinner. I have a can of red salmon and plan to incorporate it. Not sure yet what else I have in the fridge besides artichoke hearts, but I'm getting hungry and it will be good - I can nearly taste the garlic.

Yeah, Perky, I'm sorry but pasta doesn't do anything for me--sorry. And I have had really good pasta, at very fine restaurants. Heck, I live near where the "Sopranos" was shot--plenty of good Italian food to be eatin'. I'm just more of a bread, potato, muffin, and cookie type person. I don't like bubble baths either, I prefer showers. I'm weird, I know.

Good ol' garlic and onion Prego. With Sarvecchio Parmesan grated on top. YUM!

Oh, and romano cheese!

@LaDivina, I was hoping someone would rep us veg-heads in here! A little white wine, some cashew butter thinned out with water and fresh garlic, along with some decent olive oil, oil cured olives, shallots, sea salt and a healthy pinch of nutritional yeast to give it that cheesey flavor (a vegan staple, trust me) and whatever kind of leafy green I happen to have in the 'fridge, quickly pan seared in a smoking hot cast iron skillet.

Folks at my restaurant like when do penne with a west african theme a la sauteed red 'chard cooked in palm oil, plenty garlic and fresh ginger, some crushed tomato and black olives tossed in for good measure.

I had one of these nights not too long ago. I made pasta with a mix of vegetables, garlic, and italian dressing. It was horrible. So bad that I took a few bites and couldnt eat it anymore. I think I'll stick to the good old garlic and oil.

try sauteeing some diced tomatoes with garlic, then add clam juice and after a few minutes, add the chopped or minced clams. before serving, add some chopped cilantro. exceptional!

We usually make pasta with meat sauce or take a jar of pasta sauce and add fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, basil or whatever sounds good to put in it!

Hillary
Chew on That

EVO, garlic and Chavrie goat cheese....hmmmmm! OOh and some red pepper flakes for a kick!

Olive oil, sauteed onions, and whatever sort of fresh vegetable I've got (usually in season). Last weekend I threw some sauteed squash, garlic, and crushed red pepper.

Yum

Put me in the olive oil, garlic, and anchovy camp. Lotsa pepper. If I'm slightly less lazy, bacon, canned tomato, and onion. Maybe some balsamic or capers.

The classic quickie will involve anchovies, tomatoes, canned tuna, olive oil and some spiciness from whatever I have at hand.

butter and freshly grated Parmagianno-Reg cheese.

Olive oil, cheese, black pepper, and garlic. As long as I have garlic, it's all good. Oh and whatever vegetable I happen to have.

XO sauce! Loosened with a little olive oil, and some of the pasta's cooking water.

That would be sundried tomatoes in olive oil, olives, anchovies, chillies.

@cybercita LOL that's funny. Coffee + Pasta? haaha

I actually love that cheese powder stuff on popcorn!

I eat variations of this about once a week- olive oil, garlic, onion, garbanzo beans, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers or sun dried tomatoes, plus whatever cheese is in the fridge (Parmesan, chevre, fontina, feta, mozzarella). I'll usually throw in another veggie like broccoli or spinach but in a pinch, it's good without too. You've got all your food groups!

I was craving comfort food tonight. So I put on some water to boil. I threw in some egg noodles, cooked them, and drained most of the water. Then I mixed in some sea salt, black pepper, and some shredded colby jack cheese. It hit the spot like almost nothing else. I absolutely love pasta.

I chop up an onion or a shallot, saute in a bit of butter, add some breadcrumbs and toast that for a few minutes, then I add some frozen peas, cook another minute or two, throw in some parmesan and throw that on some buttered pasta with a bit more cheese and hot peppers.

Yum

If it is comfort food (AKA a "don't-talk-to-me-don't-even-look-at-me" day), I boil it up al dente and toss it with liberal amounts of crisply fried bacon or ham if it's available, whatever cheese is available and a dose of cream or whole milk and a dash or two of pepper sauce. If I am fixing supper, I love to make a tetrazzini or mushroom and cream sauce with plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Cut broccolini (aspiration) into 1-1/2 inch pieces. Saute broccolini in olive oil and lots of garlic until crisp-tender, with some red pepper flakes to taste. Add some pasta water if you want more of a sauce. Pour over penne (regular or whole wheat). Sprinkle with parmesan. Lots of texture and plenty of flavor.

Another quickie: place a can of Italian tuna packed in olive oil, oil and all, into a pan. Add several anchovy filets (to taste), 1 TBS capers, fresh black pepper. Warm through until anchovies are dissolved. Finish with a TBS of butter. Best with capellini or linguini. Green salad...perfection.

This is nice and spicy. You can hold back on the chipotles if you're frightened by spicy food.

Spaghetti Inferno

5 slices peppered slab bacon, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 seven-ounce can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1/2 cup marsala wine, or dry white vermouth
2 tablespoons tomato paste, or ketchup
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 pound spaghetti
Lots of freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente, about 11 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the bacon wedges until they render some fat, then add the diced onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until the bacon is browned and the onion is translucent.

And meanwhile, in a mini-processor, pulse the chipotles and their sauce with the wine and tomato paste until fairly smooth, but not completely pureed. Deglaze the skillet with a little wine or water, add the chipotle mixture and the pine nuts to the skillet, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook the mixture until heated through, about 10 minutes.

Drain the spaghetti and toss with the sauce. Serve with plenty of grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

Yield: 4 servings

Meatballs! Or onions or mushrooms or red pepper flakes...

I use either garlic and oil with the pasta cooked in chicken broth (an adaptation of the Silver Palate version which we adore) OR roasted tomatoes with olive oil and garlic. I also love anchovies and garlic in the oil. Sometimes I infuse it, sometimes not. I also love butter and parmesan.

It must be served with some homemade garlic bread too. A must.

Nattou... Nattou spaghetti is an amazing way to use nattou in a cooked dish as much of it's usage is just a topping for rice or alone.
I recommend some red chilis, butter and shoyu. You can even dot it with parsley at the end and cook it with some onion or shallots.