Pastalaya question

There are some good instructions in the jambalya calculator in the in the stickied thread up top.

I follow the instructions there...

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Once you get the meat and vegetables cooked down, fill the pot with water according to how many pounds of pasta you intend to use., Skim off any fat or grease. Get it seasoned the way you want it then add pasta. Stir occaisionally to prevent pasta for sticking. The pictures show 1 pound of spaghetti in a 6 gallon pot.

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Pasta should start to soften after several minutes of boiling. I boil it around 12 min or so and it should look like this. Notice there is still water showing.

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Cover and turn heat to low. Let it sit 20 minutes or so then check it. It should be getting just about right. Taste-test some of the pasta to check its firmness. Cook a little more if needed. If you find the pasts is cooked to your liking, but there is still more water in the pot than you want, you can spoon some of it out. Don't take it all because that cast pot is hot and it will evaporate that water. Also the pasta continues to absorb some moisture as it sits. I like a moist pastalaya. When finished, it should look like the pastalaya in the large picture.

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I recommend adding ~1qt water/lb of pasta roughly. Get it to a boil and add the pasta stirring so it doesn't stick, and just cook until the pasta is almost done ("al dente"). Don't be afraid to add water bit by bit if you feel like it needs more. Then you can kill the fire and let it sit for about 20min, and it should be good.

Don't be worried about putting the exact right amount of water. It is not nearly as important when cooking pasta vs rice.