Paul Tripicano called me soon after my article on meatballs and we reminisced for more than half an hour, first about a variation his mother used in her braciole. She would use sliced Genoa salami and then a hard boiled egg on top before rolling it up — I tried it and not only does it look great when you slice into one — it tasted even better. Then we talked like old friends, even though we have never met and I know nothing about him except, as with most Italians, we share a fascination and a passion for good food. He said my articles, especially the first one, took him back to his childhood growing up with immigrant parents of modest means and the wonderful foods his mother cooked on a daily basis. Thank you, Paul. I hope we can meet next summer after I get back from Florida.

The interesting thing is, no matter the heritage of the people I meet — German, Polish, English, Australian, Jewish, Brazilian or any other nationality — we always end up talking about the foods we ate as children. They particularly enjoyed visiting the homes of their Italian friends because of the cuisine prepared. Call me prejudiced, but in my mind there is no better food in the world than Italian. I have a running mock battle with my French-born sister-in-law about which country has the best food. I know it’s Italy. She thinks it’s France. I’m only half kidding when we discuss the issues. Well, it usually is not really a discussion. It is more like a friendly verbal dagger-throwing competition.

Before I move on to foods that are not Italian, I am duty-bound to devote this column to the most popular of all dishes — pasta. What would life be like without macaroni, spaghetti, ravioli, gnocchi and the multitude of individual types such as fettuccini, rigatoni, penne, fuselli, angle hair, linguini capellini, papperdelle, etc? It certainly is one of the most versatile foods in the world. It can be combined with literally hundreds of sauces, vegetables, meats and assorted herbs. Store-bought or homemade, it can contain a variety of ingredients. But, it must be cooked only one way — and that is the subject of this article. How to cook pasta.

I know you can bake it for some dishes, but first you must cook it in boiling water. Sounds simple enough, but it never ceases to amaze me how many ways people find to mess it up.

Here are some do’s and don’ts of cooking pasta.

You should always:

- Use cold water (hot is not fresh — it’s stored in a hot water heater so you never use hot tap water in any cooking — in a sufficient amount — roughly one gallon per pound.

- Always put salt in the cooking water — approximately 2 tablespoons per gallon. Pasta will be bland if there is no salt in the cooking water. And you can’t add salt after it is cooked — it will never taste the same.

- Use a pot large enough to cook the pasta. Don’t try to cook 4 pounds of pasta in a 2 gallon pot.

- Use a lid on the pot to bring the cold water to a rolling boil. Then add the salt. Then add the pasta and cook from that point on, uncovered, stirring from the bottom with a wood spoon every couple of minutes.

- Make sure the sauce is completely ready before you start cooking the pasta. As soon as the pasta is cooked, it must be sauced and immediately served.

- Make extra sauce. It freezes well and it’s a shame to dirty all those pots and pans without making enough for at least three or four meals. It only takes minutes to cook pasta — it sometimes takes hours to make the sauce.

- Have your preferred grated or ready to grate cheese directly on the pasta. Also, make sure you have extra cheese on the table to add to individual dishes.

- Have a colander ready to drain the pasta sitting in a clean sink. Have a bowl for the pasta ready and sitting close by on the kitchen counter. Timing is everything when cooking any pasta dish. Seconds count. You may taste it two or three times before it is done, but when ready, remove the pot from the stove, pour it into the waiting colander, give it a couple of shakes, put it into the serving bowl, sauce it, put on the cheese and serve — immediately.

You should never:

- Let pasta sit in the colander after cooking. It will never stick together if you put the sauce on immediately and mix the sauce into the bowl full of pasta. It will always stick if you leave it sitting in the colander, even for a few minutes without pouring on sauce and mixing it so it is all coated. Have everything ready and follow directions.

- Put oil in the cooking water. It makes the pasta slippery and the sauce will not stick to the noodles. People say it keeps the pasta from sticking together. That may be true, but it also keeps the sauce from sticking to it as well. If you put the sauce on immediately it will not stick together and will taste much better — it actually acts like a sponge and soaks up the sauce as soon as you put in the noodles.

- Rinse pasta. People try to tell me it stops the cooking. That may be true, but it also washes away the taste, flavor and nutrients. They go right down the drain with the water. Simply focus on the pasta while it is cooking and taste it every 30 seconds when it is close to being done. Then take it off as soon as it is “al dente.”

- Throw away all the cooking water. Always reserve a little water from the pot — especially for white sauces so you can add a little to the sauce if it is too thick or oily. The water contains rich flavor picked up from the pasta while it was cooking — it’s like potato water. It really improves the sauce you’re making. For example, I use potato water to deglaze the pan after cooking meat and it improves the quality of whatever sauce you are making, giving it a much thicker texture than plain water, wine or vinegar.

- Overcook the pasta — it should always be “al dente.” The only way to tell if the pasta is done is to taste it — which you should start doing a couple of minutes before the end of the suggested cooking time.

- Lose track of how much time the pasta has been in the water. Forget about doing anything else once the pasta is put into boiling water to cook. Homemade pasta cooks in three to five minutes. Store-bought pastas cook in 3 to 15 minutes. Thin pasta, like angel hair cooks in about three minutes; thick, like rigatoni takes maybe 12 to 15 minutes so don’t walk away. The only task you should possibly be doing while the pasta is cooking is to perhaps open a bottle of wine. Remember, timing is everything.

And finally, I have actually heard people seriously say that you should throw some pasta up against the wall and if it sticks, it’s done.

Please. Never throw pasta up against the wall, unless you’re 19, living in a frat house and starting a food fight — if that’s the case, yes, go for it. Life gets serious too soon. Before you know it you’ll be 40 with a mortgage, kids to put through college, credit card bills, two car payments and maybe a few coupons still left in your student loan book.

Bob Leonardi, of Auburn, ran a successful restaurant business, catering, and gourmet food store in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for 15 years