Italian serving small soft crackers at eight (9)
I believe the answer is:
spaghetti
'italian serving' is the definition.
(type of pasta)
'small soft crackers at eight' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'soft' becomes 'p' (musical abbreviation for 'piano').
'crackers' is an anagram indicator (informal term for mad).
'at'+'eight'='ateight'
'ateight' anagrammed gives 'aghetti'.
's'+'p'+'aghetti'='SPAGHETTI'
(Other definitions for spaghetti that I've seen before include "complex interchange just before junction" , "Type of cheaply made western" , "Solid strings of pasta" , "Long thing pasta" , "Pasta made from tight peas" .)