Free pasta recipes -- while you're helping others

Posted by Dana McMahan

Download an enticing Italian cookbook free from Barilla and help others at the same time. You’ve only got a few days left, so go to www.celebrityitaliantable.com now. For the month of February
when you download a copy of The Celebrity Italian Table Cookbook, Barilla will donate $1, up to $100,000, to America's Second Harvest, a national charity that secures and distributes more than two billion pounds of food products annually.

I downloaded mine today and have been practically licking the screen. Barilla pulled ideas for special pasta dishes from several celebrities then worked with chef Mario Batali and entertaining expert David Tutera to create menus and more -- the result is a book loaded with tempting recipes and delicious photos. You'll be dying to throw a dinner party after you devour this book.

Besides the luscious-sounding recipes, the cookbook suggests ideas for the ambiance of the meal as well. I especially liked the Celebratory Feast inspired by Debra Messing, with Mozzarella Sandwiches, Penne In A Creamy Tomato Sauce and Chocolate Hazelnut Fritters. The book recommends the following ideas for your pleasure while dining on this particular menu:

Theme: Inspired by the endless hills of Tuscany filled
with fields of grape vines and sunflowers,
Sound: Andrea Boccelli’s Cieli di Toscana CD.
Lighting: Cover clear glass votive candle holders in copper
leaf
Décor: … a Tuscan-inspired table fi lled with life, color and
texture. Mature grape vines were “planted” into terracotta pots
and tied together with thin copper wire. For an added vineyard
touch, mounds of plump grapes were lined down the center of
the table and accented with corks from wine bottles.
Plating … select plates with
metallic or earth tones … try using a simple
brown tablecloth to add warmth.
Special Touches: … place fresh, flush-cut sunflower heads at each setting and accent them with a small bumble bee decoration.

The 32-page book includes six menus, complete with lavish photos. Besides the yummy sounding celebratory feast, I also definitely want to try the Rigatoni with Basil and Gorgonzola and Fettuccine with
Pumpkin and Bread Crumbs.

TAGS: Cookbook, Pasta
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[ READER COMMENTS ]

1

Holly said:

OMG! I just downloaded my book. The finished meals from these recipes are incredible looking. I love the interaction with famous chefs and even more so the fact that Barilla donates the $1 to Second Harvest. I'm slowly but surely becoming more conscious of the amount of food wasted by Americans. Thanks passing along the info.

Posted at 10:55 PM, on February 27 2008

2

Carol Finnegan said:

This is a great thing, trying to help others. I also am becoming more aware of the food that is wasted. Yesterday Oprah had on people who are called "Freegans". They actually go to cafe's, grocery stores, etc. and go through their dumpsters for the food because there is so much wasted. These are people who make good money, one was even a doctor, another a civil engineer. Maybe there should be some kind of law about throwing things away, in other words, we shouldn't.

Posted at 08:01 AM, on February 28 2008

Free pasta recipes -- while you're helping others

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