As an Emmy-winning television host, cookbook author, restaurateur, and Italian-American nonna, Lidia Bastianich is a fountain of cooking knowledge. Bastianich is particularly well-known for her pasta-cooking and -serving advice, and this is why she always serves pasta in a bowl, never on a plate.

In today's Instagram-obsessed world, you might be tempted to serve your pasta on a pretty-looking plate, but a reliable bowl from your pantry is a better choice. Bastianich explains, "If you use a wide plate and spread it out, your pasta will be cold and that’s the end of it."

Bastianich recommends scooping freshly prepared pasta into a pre-warmed bowl, which will keep the pasta hot, not cool it down. She also recommends shaping the pasta into a mound in the center of the bowl to trap in the heat, keeping your pasta warm and delicious as you eat.