I remember growing up in the eighties that pasta essentially meant macaroni or spaghetti in the Netherlands; occasionally lasagne. Most pasta dishes cooked were

I remember growing up in the eighties that pasta essentially meant macaroni or spaghetti in the Netherlands; occasionally lasagne. Most pasta dishes cooked were those bludgeoned into Dutch submission (i.e., sauces made from a packet, and invariably with meat) those days sucked; I'm glad my mother had a fairly decent pasta sauce recipe though. Nowadays I'm partial to linguini or orecchiette (I suspect my parents still think that's fancy). Of course once you actually visit Italy or otherwise eat in a restaurant serving actual Italian pasta, your views on what pasta is all about tend to change.