Only a few lights remain on, but your appetite won’t go off.
Maybe you are still typing on your laptop or writing in your favorite notebook; this might as well be the best time to put work into your words.
Or perhaps you are in a moment of break between intimate, private plays.
Something else is calling for action, another craving for the night: food, perhaps?
Only a few ingredients in the kitchen: some spaghetti, garlic, olive oil, and chili pepper. Huh, look at that, some parsley too. They will do.
While the pot filled with water is heating up, put abundant olive oil in a pan.
A little more.
A tiny bit more.
Perfect.
Crush one or two garlic cloves and put them in the pan with the peel on (“in camicia” – shirt on).
Garlic looks good with the shirt on, while others look better with shirt off.
Add one or two dried chili peppers.
You are an artist; put some more chilies, because you are spicy.
Fry them for a while, making sure they don’t burn. If there must be a smoking hot one tonight, that’s gotta be you.
Once they are golden, take them out of the pan and turn off the heat (under the pan, not the pot).
Chop the parsley in fine pieces. Rip it with your bare hands for bonus sexy points.
The water should be boiling by now: put salt and then spaghetti, let them cook and take them out. Very much al dente.
Drop them in the pan like they are hot.
Well, they are hot. Handle ‘em carefully.
Safe word: pasta, but you must hold the pinched hand when you say it.
Make sure that the oil is coating them well, like the legs of a lover around your waist.
Heat up the pan again, make the spaghetti flip in the pan and mix them up. This display works better than a pick-up line, way better.
Turn off the heat, and put the parsley in. Serve in a plate: this will turn the heat on in the room again.
Method two: the modern/international way, aka the “I guess that’s how they do it now” way.
Same as before, but different: this time, chop a ton of garlic and chilies, very finely.
More.
Come on, we went through this before. More garlic and more chilies.
Go ahead. Do I need to hold your hand?
Alright, that’s good.
Oil goes in the pan, heat it up, add garlic and chilies and let them sizzle for a few seconds, then turn off the heat. Don’t make ‘em burn.
Cook the spaghetti as before but take them out earlier then al dente. We are going to toss them in the pan, baby. And preserve some of the cooking water.
Put the spaghetti in the pan and turn on the heat again. Add the pasta water and get them wet.
Finish cooking them up in the pan.
Add parsley. Done.
So much tension before they reach your mouth.
The result was worth the wait, though.
By yourself, or with someone at your side. Or some more, depending on how many you like at the same time.
Before I leave you to it, one word of advice: do not add cheese.
You worked so hard to make them spicy, why would you tame their intense flavor right at the end?
Add some chili flakes instead. You’ll thank me later.
I’ll take my leave now.
Time to set your night on fire.