For Mark Consuelos, the pasta-Options for a last meal are endless – or, if you ask Kelly Ripa, “ever-changing.”
The Live with Kelly and Mark The co-host duo discussed on Friday’s pre-recorded episode that pasta is “scientifically linked to increased happiness,” and both agreed. While Ripa emphasized that “some of their favorite meals together” involved pasta, Consuelos delved into his ideal “last meal,” which Ripa said is “constantly changing.”
“Our kids always ask us that,” Ripa explained. “They ask, ‘What’s your death row food?’ And I ask, ‘Why are we on death row?’ I ask, ‘Why are you putting us on death row?'”
Nevertheless, Consuelos took a moment to describe his perfect last meal.
“Rigatoni. Al dente. Almost half-cooked, but just not quite cooked,” he said, and Ripa called it “Italian al dente.”
Consuelos continued, “The big rigatoni. Not the little baby rigatoni. I like the big ones, right? And then when you take it out of the water and strain it, I like to have a little bit of butter in it. Just mix it with butter and let the butter melt all over it.”
“Then you put it back in, put some rigatoni bolognese on the rigatoni and sprinkle some parmesan on top, and then I’m happy,” he said. “And then when some of the bolognese meat gets into the pasta, I love that. That’s my death dish.”
After the studio audience applauded Consuelos, Ripa intervened and revealed the origins of this recipe.
“So you assume your mother is the cook at Alcatraz?” she joked.
While Consuelos teased, “That’s true,” Ripa added, “I mean, wherever there’s a death row prison, does your mother make (pasta) for you there?”
Consuelos stressed that “pasta makes (him) happy,” to which Ripa replied, “Yes, but I know it’s your mother’s rigatoni.”
“The way she makes it,” she added with a giggle. “And the way she grates the cheese very finely.”
However, Ripa disagreed with Consuelos regarding the rigatoni and preferred a “long pasta”.
“Give me spaghetti, give me fettuccine,” she said.
Live with Kelly and Mark is broadcast on weekdays. You can find your local program on the website.
