The latter. From rolling boil cook for two minutes then drain, shock in ice water, drain, stir in just enough olive oil to coat, put in fridge until needed. Supposedly can be held for up to six hours, but I've never gone that long. It can cook more quickly than expected after that, so start checking after a minute or two.

Another method which I've never tried is a cold soak. Soak the pasta in cold water anywhere from 1.5 to 4 hours, pull it out and cook as needed. Supposedly this pasta only takes a minute to cook.

Are you anticipating cooking individual servings as the guests arrive? That's the only reason I'd see for using either of these methods. Either way you have to boil the pasta, so unless you want to feed them the moment they walk in the door what does it matter if the pasta takes one minute to cook or twelve? If it's a sit-down dinner I'd just have a big pot of water waiting at barely a simmer so that you can bring it to a boil quickly when needed.

It depends on the pasta.

Experiment. Cook a handful of the same pasta to less than fully done, keep time exactly, reheat as per FOAS.

Once you have the timing exact, use the same timing for the final pasta.

Have fun!

dcarch

I do as kiseiverd does. I always have leftover frozen plain pasta in the freezer. Takes just a few minutes to re-heat.

I wouldn't let it sit in the hot water at all. Cook and keep in the frig for a fast re-heat.

Depending on your pasta package instructions, usually the cooking time is 8-12 minutes.
Just use the method mentioned above...heat your water ahead of time to a simmer and turn off. Turn back on close to serving time and cook it fresh. Or, like mentioned, keep it at a simmer. If left in hot cooking water it will continue to cook and be mush.
If a guest is going to be 1/2-1 hour late, you could use the restaurant method foas mentioned.

...", shock in ice water, drain, stir in just enough olive oil to coat, put in fridge until needed."

I use that method for any soups that have noodles. Add the cooled cooked noodles just before serving so they don't overcook in the soup's broth.

Always check the cooking times on the package. Some processing/drying methods require as little as 4minutes. Fresh pasta as quick as 2-3min.

Do the cook, cool and reheat routine, but note that angel hair pasta will be overcooked, so use something a bit heavier.

Apparently it also depends on if the pasta is made from durum semolina or just plain wheat. Melinda Lee, a local chef who has a radio program was discussing this last week and she highly recommended buying pasta made from durum semolina so that it doesn't get sticky.

(Dictated--all errors belong to Siri)

The problem is, if you oil the pasta to stop it sticking (which you would need to do if you pre-cooked it) the sauce won't stick well to the pasta either.
I'd boil the water and then either turn it down (with a lid on) or turn it off (again with a lid on), then once everyone's arrived, bring it back to a rolling boil and toss in the pasta. I doubt anyone would mind chatting for the maybe 15 minutes tops it would take to cook.

Thanks everyone!

Lots of good suggestions and input--I think my best bet is to do FOAS's input of "have a big pot of water waiting at barely a simmer so that you can bring it to a boil quickly when needed."

Smiles,
Sooz