Pasta serves as the basis for several hearty, economical meals suitable for feeding a crowd. Estimate needing 1 pound of pasta for every four to six guests. Match the pasta shape with the sauce you intend to serve over it. Flat pastas like fettuccini are suited for thin sauces while chunky pastas with nooks and crannies can catch the pieces of chunkier sauces. Ideally, you should prepare pasta just before serving it, but there may be instances when you want to make warm pasta available during an extended period.