Here are some tips for cooking the perfect pot of pasta.

- The key time to stir is when you first add the past to boiling water. Stirring often during the first minute will keep pasta from sticking to the pan and to each other.

- Cover the pot with a lid when bringing the water to a boil. This will bring the water to a boil quicker. Once the pasta is added, do not cover the pot.

- Place a wooden kitchen implement (spoon, fork, stirrer, etc) across the top of the pot when the pasta is cooking. This will keep the water from boiling over the pot and down the sides (which always makes a nice mess).

- Do not cook different types of pasta in the same pan. Different pastas have different cooking times, and you will not be able to get all of the pasta cooked correctly if there are dissimilar types in the same pan.

- To see if the pasta is done, taste it. Bite through a noodle. Does it taste done, does it look done or is there still uncooked pasta in the middle?

- Once the pasta is drained, rinse it thoroughly with cold water. If you do not do this, the pasta will continue to cook and you will end up with overdone pasta.