The following article was written by Eden Litt. Monique gave Eden 5 bags of pasta and this was the result:

An Italian, a Portuguese, and an Iranian walk into a roomโ€ฆSounds like the start of a really bad joke. Itโ€™s not, but it was the start of a beautiful fun-filled Al Dente pasta party evening hosted by moi.

The night started off frantically, as this was a spontaneous ideaโ€”What should I wear? Do we have enough plates? Where is everyone going to sit? How many people are actually coming?โ€”The party was called for 7:45 pm. I began to cook at 7:30 pm (I couldnโ€™t have been more thankful that Al Denteโ€™s flavorful pasta only takes 3-4 minutes to cook!). By 8:15, all 12 of my guests had shown up for a tantalizing evening. Although it was not required, each guest brought a treat of their own to add to the dinner table: from Samโ€™s homemade garlic bread and hot buns to Azzurraโ€™s Parmesan cheese imported from Italy to Marinaโ€™s delicious veggie dip and vegetables to Farzinโ€™s irresistible upside-down apple pieโ€ฆjust to name a few of the items off of our delectable menu. The night wouldnโ€™t have been complete without all of these additions; however, the spotlight was on our five Fettuccine flavors of Al Dente pasta: Lemon Chive, Wild Mushroom, Red Chili Pepper, Whole Wheat and Garlic Parsley. In just 10 minutes [and two stove tops], we had ALL five bags of pasta cooked. After an introduction to each distinctive pasta variety, sprinkled with my gratefulness to my friends and their contributions, we dug inโ€ฆand dug in hard.

A taste of our dinner table talk:

โ€œI like the Red Chili Pepper pasta. It has a nice kick.โ€โ€”Bryan

โ€œThank heavens for Monique!โ€ โ€“Hugo

โ€œI would totally buy thisโ€ฆit takes no time to cook, yet tastes super fancy. Will you be mad if I steal your idea and have my own pasta party with this stuff?โ€โ€”Erika

โ€œWait, this is good for me? Impossible. This tastes way too good.โ€ Marina commenting on the Whole Wheat pasta with added flax

โ€œWhenever I went to the grocery store I always bought ‘pasta’, which consisted solely of macaroni noodles, but this has honestly changed the way I think about pasta, and what I would consider to buy the next time ‘pasta’ is on my grocery list.โ€ โ€“Farzin

โ€œI strongly like the Lemon Chive and Chili flavors the best. Surprisingly I can actually taste a difference.โ€ โ€“Tammy

โ€œI am so full, but I donโ€™t want to stop eating.โ€โ€”Me

โ€œPlease tell me there are going to be leftovers in the house.โ€ โ€“David

The compliments started rolling in before I even needed to ask. However, one of my guests remained silent. I was nervous to call her out and ask her opinion, but I just had to. After all her opinion was sacredโ€ฆshe was Italian. I crossed my fingers, wiped the sweat from my brow, perked open my ears and politely asked for her thoughts. โ€œThis tastes the same as a real Italian dish,โ€ she expressed boldly.

And so there it wasโ€ฆthe perfect pasta partyโ€”15 empty stomachs turned full, two mouth-watering homemade sauces, a showcase of delicious side dishes, the lovely ambience of good music, good laughs, good company, and good food…and lastly, but least forgetfully the tasting of the fastest-cooking, healthiest, and most gourmet pasta everโ€”Al Denteโ€™s.

Surprisingly I learned a lot that evening, like the fact that I sometimes donโ€™t add enough water when boiling noodles, or the fact that you can add shaved lemon peels to Alfredo sauce. However, the most valuable lesson learned that night was if you canโ€™t afford an Italian cook to slave over the stove for your upcoming dinner party, purchase the next best thingโ€”a bag of Al Dente Pasta!

Below youโ€™ll find the recipes to our homemade sauces (Tomato and Alfredo). I tried to get Sam to post his recipe on how to make his hot buns, but he respectfully declined exposing his familyโ€™s secrets.

Recipes:

Eden and Davidโ€™s Infamous Homemade Tomato Sauce
(Serves ~15 people)
Ingredients
1 14.5 oz can of Tomato Paste
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
3-5 cloves of minced garlic
A package of mushrooms
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1.5 packages of Feta Cheese
2 teaspoons Oregano

On low heat, pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a small saucepan. Add mushrooms, and cook until they brown. In a larger saucepan, add the rest of the olive oil and garlic. Cook for 5-10 minutes, and then add the tomato paste and can of diced tomatoes. Slowly mix in the mushrooms (and leftover olive oil), oregano, and Feta cheese. Stir. Let simmer for 20-25 minutes over low heat while stirring frequently.

Homemade Alfredo Sauce
(Serves ~15 people)
Ingredients
2 pints of heavy whipping cream
2 cups of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 sticks of melted butter
Grated lemon peel (optional)

In a large and deep saucepan, heat up at low heat 2 pints of heavy whipping cream and melted butter. Slowly add in the cheese allowing it to melt. Stir often. The grated lemon peel is optional and can be added after the sauce is madeโ€”this was an added tip by our Italian guest.

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