Let’s face it, navigating the world of pasta and sauces can be downright confusing when you have an endless resource like Google at your fingertips. Recipes vary and opinions differ when it comes to what makes a good pasta sauce, sometimes even regionally! Who should you trust, the big California Food Network star promising the “perfect Italian recipes,” or the DIY Jersey dude filming a sauce tutorial of a recipe passed down from his great grandmother?

The problem with online recipes though, is you can’t ask them any questions. So instead of relying on an endless clip of YouTube tutorials and contradicting online recipes, I decided my best bet (on behalf of you, dear reader!) was to take it to a professional. I asked Italian Pasta chef Michela Tartaglia, chef, founder, and co-owner of Seattle-staple Pasta Casalinga, for some beginner’s pasta-making tips.