From macaroni to manicotti, penne to pastina, pasta has always been a part of my life. I know it sounds really strange, but coming from an Italian family, I’ve always had a love of food—especially pasta. There’s just so many pasta-bilities with all the different shapes and sizes. So, as we near the end of senior year, I’ve decided to reflect on some of my most prominent pasta memories over my last 17 years of life.

Spaghetti

My grandma was watching me for a day, and decided it was about time for eight month old me to have my very first traditional Italian dish: spaghetti and red sauce. I had just recently been introduced to solid foods, and it was apparently much too early for me to have tomatoes, but I very clearly loved them. Spaghetti is arguably one of the most classic pasta shapes, so I find it fitting that it was my first.

Manicotti

Manicotti has been my family’s Christmas Eve tradition for as long as I can remember. I would mix the ricotta mozzarella mixture while my mom sauteed mushrooms and boiled the pasta. We would always start the night this way, with the two of us in the kitchen making dinner. Then, every member of the family gets to open one present. Manicotti is essentially lasagna, but instead of flat noodles sandwiched with toppings, it’s super-sized rigatoni stuffed with all the classic lasagna toppings.

Egg noodles

Though not technically a pasta, the Hungarian in me could not live without egg noodles. They’re the main carb in stroganoff, my ultimate comfort dish. Beef stroganoff used to be a staple in my house – my dad would make it at least once a week when I was younger, so it’s a nostalgic meal for me. For a long time it was my favorite meal, and I would have been perfectly happy having it for lunch and dinner multiple days in a row. Creamy, mushroomy sauce with tender bites of steak spooned on top of egg noodles with a nice heaping scoop of sour cream on top—just the best.

Fettucini

Fettucini has recently become my go-to pasta shape–it just feels more elevated, more mature; and as the responsibility of making dinner has shifted onto me, it has become a staple in my pantry. It holds sauce a little better than spaghetti, and is the easiest to make cacio e pepe or aglio e olio with. Cacio e pepe literally translated means “cheese and pepper,” and that’s essentially what it is—parmigiano reggiano, pasta water and lots and lots of toasted black pepper. Aglio e olio is pretty self explanatory too: “garlic and oil” made with olive oil, pasta water, garlic and chili (I like to add a bit of lemon). These two dishes have become my go-to for an easy dinner, and I’m sure I’ll continue to reach for the fettucini in the future.

Penne

Last but definitely not least: penne. My fondest memory of penne is making about five boxes of it and two jars of vodka sauce to feed the Evanstonian for layout one night. We had had a vote the day prior as to what pasta shape I should make, and penne was the clear winner (and, of course, the only correct shape for penne alla vodka). I’m sure this will always be a core memory for me—getting to share my food with the people I care about, inviting others to join us for dinner and seeing everyone’s faces when they tried my food.

Food is my way of creating family—feeding people, nourishing them both physically and mentally through food, it’s the most rewarding thing for me. There’s nothing better than a home cooked meal—and pasta from an Italian is the best of the best.