Pasta, the food that kills

When my six-year-old daughter Catherine is acting up, all I have to say is “Knock it off, or Daddy’s gonna make pasta!” She actually likes pasta. (Other than peanut butter and jelly or bologna and cheese, it’s the only food she will eat.) It’s my making it that scares her.

It started a few months ago, when we ordered a new pasta maker. We’ve had them in the past, mostly ordered off of Saturday infomercials, but they have always burned out after a couple of months. This time, my wife ordered a brand of pasta maker from Italy at the recommendation of an Italian friend. This woman...