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.

Oh, no, dirtgirl, I don't mean undercooked!! I know what that is (had an Aunt you don't want to know about)! The "wet" taste thing is more about it being very moist without the roasty flavor. Or maybe it's without the wine flavor--this is all memory. I haven't taste tested or anything. Though to be sure I should try both water poached and wine poached. I think the chicken breasts I have for tomorrow are going to be breaded and baked, however, not sent to the test kitchen. ;) The ch'ck'n'd'mplns (bad dialect, but it's not "chicken and dumplings" all spelled out) I was talking about is a stewing chicken served in gravy with softball sized dough balls. The d'mplns are pretty good, and the gravy is very chickeny and great (though could use some seasoning), but the chicken tastes...wet. It's cooked. Actually, I think my grandmother's boiled chicken was similar in texture, but it was very salty so wet wasn't the dominant impression. None of this matters. I'm just talking about one dish made by one person that I don't like. Okay, please understand that the bad chicken cooking is from the other side of the family!! ROTFL!!

You really don't need to cut the "yellow stuff" (probably bits of fat) or the "white stuff" (probably bits of tendon or skin) off. There's nothing wrong with it. Remember, if you eat whole roast or fried chicken, all of that stuff is in the meat. In the breast, under the long, thin piece on the inside that separates from the rest of the breast easily, there is a tendon that sticks out from one side. It's not poisonous or nasty, but it can be tough. You can grab it with your thumbnail against the counter and push the meat away from it with the back of your knife, by holding the knife against your thumbnail, and sliding it away from you, while pressing hard on the knife against the cutting board. But again, it won't hurt you or anything, so it might not be worth the bother. The white "skin" is just a membrane that often occurs between muscles. It is harmless, and in chicken it shouldn't be tough once it is cooked. A similar membrane can be tough on some cuts of beef, pork or lamb, and if you are not long cooking the meat, it helps with tenderness to remove it. Never put anything hot in your fridge or freezer. Cool things to room temp before doing so. The residual warmth from hot items can reduce the quality and shelf life of other items. If you simply must put something in the fridge before it is completely cool, rearrange your fridge contents so that the top most shelf is bare (or contains non perishables that you like to keep cold, like sodas) and place the warm item on that shelf, covered with a damp towel or plastic wrap in which you have poked holes. Heat rises, and this should keep it from affecting other foods. But the heat needs to be able to escape the item quickly, hence the cloth or holes.

I will only buy organic chicken livers anymore. I like to dredge them in a mix of flour and sesame seeds and either grace with some oil and put into the oven or fry in a bit of butter. Add in some onions somewhere Wanna' hear what I like that sounds gross? I will add in some full fat yogurt and make a sauce around them. Yougurt and liver? Gross worthy, on the mention, of course. You could use a sour cream if the thought of yougurt seems repulsive. The yogurt breaks out into a thinner sauce as it cooks just a bit. A friend introduced me to this many years ago and it has been a favorite of ours for a long time. We like it with brown rice. I know. It sounds highly suspect on the surface of being cringe worthy. Liver----you either love it or hate it, like cilantro. I love both of those things. Haven't bought other types of liver in many decades. But, chichken livers do get high marks at my table. I used to work at a medical facility a long time ago and the ladies back in the kitchen did some real old school cooking for the residents------- real, real old school!!! They made the best chicken fried liver! Not chicken liver----chicken fried liver. Darned that was good!