Friday, March 2, 2012

Presto Pasta Party - We're Five Years Old!


It's really hard to believe that we're celebrating five years of weekly Presto Pasta Night Roundups.  I started it on a lark in March, 2007.  I thought it might be fun then and here's my first entry (actually two) Crab, Ricotta & Spinach Cannelloni
and a simple Fettuccine with Olive Oil, Basil & Garlic.
I never imagined it would survive ... and thrive... for five years!  I want to thank everyone for sharing in the pleasure of pasta - the feasting and the hosting parts.  Lots of the guests below have been loyal PPNers for ages and others are new to the family.  All of them add their own spin on traditional pastas and creativity in inventing new choices from around the world.   But enough talk.... let's dig in to this week's awesome entries.

Joanne who always Eats Well With Others and is a frequent PPNer, shared a truly gorgeous and inspired Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs & Blue Cheese for our party (which sort of coincides with her own birthday - so Happy Birthday Joanne).
Katie has a new look to her blog - Feeding Boys & a Fire Fighter and a great vegetarian dish of Creme Fraiche, Lemon, Peas & Soya Meatball Pasta that looks great even for a carnivore like me.
Tigerfish of Teczcape is another awesome PPN regular.  She shares this Gourmet Singapore Laksa that takes quick to spectacular in minutes.
Katie over at Thyme for Cooking hasn't been around for a while.  Her hubby has T1 Diabetes and can't tolerate pasta very well.  She still made a wonderful dish of Teryaki Meatballs which she'll have over pasta and perhaps he could have over rice.
Jamie of Cookin' With Moxie made a very special Fettuccine Marinara with Two Ricottas.   I've been meaning to try ricotta salata and this recipe will definitely have me hunting for some.
Alisha of Cook.Craft.Enjoy remembers her first PPN entry - Pad Thai and this time around returns to Thailand for Thai Pork & Noodles that looks equally delicious.
Mary of One Perfect Bite (although, really... how could one stop at just ONE  perfect bite?) made this wonderful dish of Pasta with Cabbage, Pancetta & Cheese and I will need more than just one bite for sure!
Tandy of Lavender and Lime is a frequent PPN contributor and host and this week she brings a lovely Baked Three Cheese Chicken Alfredo.  What a delightful way to celebrate.
Kirsten, of From Kirsten's Kitchen to Yours decided to remind me of all the events that have taken place over the last five years.  Good thing she also shared a mouth-watering plate of Fusilli Putanesca.  It's been quite the ride!
Abby of Eat the Right Stuff made me blush with her kind words.... and totally drool with this awesome Orecchiette with Aubergine & Caramelized Onions.  My favorite ingredients all in one dish!
Juli of Pictures of All My Princesses made a very unique and delicious Artichoke & Bruschetta Pasta that is perfect for a party.
Gilllian of So So Simple Food lives totally on the other side of the planet from me... New Zealand is definitely south and definitely in summer rather than winter.   So I love the Orzo Summer Salad.  It's the antidote for blustery, stormy, grey winter weather we're experiencing here at the moment.
Simona of Briciole gives a great pesto lesson - and pesto being one of my favorite things (always some in my freezer) I love a new tip.  I'd never heard of Pesto Secco and now we are all the wiser.  And next week, Simona will be hosting PPN for the fourth time, no less!
Nic of Lemon & Cheese sneaked in under the wire with this Smoked Mackerel Spaghetti Frittata... my kind of dish especially for the morning after lots of revelry.
Oops I almost missed HoneyB of Life & Loves of Grumpy's HoneyBunch.  She's guest hosting for a friend (you have got to read the post!) but did find the time to share this Peppery Cod with Lemon Garlic Linguine.  Glad I caught it in time to share.

Of course I've been so busy all week drooling over these pastas as they came in, that I didn't come up with anything interesting of my own.  No time to make anything more complicated than using the last container of my Lazy Bones Marinara hiding in my freezer.  It was one of the first pasta sauces I wrote about on my blog back in 2005 and always a staple in my fridge or freezer ever since.
Next week, the lovely Simona of Briciole will be hosting Presto Pasta Nights as we head into year number six.   It's Simona's fourth time and you can send your entries to simosite (at) mac (dot) com and cc ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com by Thursday March 8

If you'd like to host a PPN Roundup. Just drop me a line to pick a date. March 23rd and beyond are available.  It's never to early to sign up!



7 comments:

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Five years of jaw-dropping, mouthwatering recipes Ruth. Congratulations!!!

tigerfish said...

Happy 5th anniversary to PPN! To-date, one of my favorite blog events :)

Thanks for the round-up, Ruth.

Joanne said...

Happy birthday PPN!! What a beautiful celebration. We PPN'ers really know how to party.

Simona Carini said...

That is some party, Ruth! And nobody would miss dessert, I am sure. Thank you so much for the lovely roundup.

abby said...

great round up ruth! happy anniversary.

Johanna GGG said...

congratulations ruth - I haven't had much interesting pasta lately so haven't been taking part for far too long but have put in something this week and was sorry to see I missed the birthday bash but glad to see the event still going strong and providing lots of inspiration

Ruth Daniels said...

Thanks all.... Couldn't have done it without you. Johanna glad to see you "back on the horse"...pasta horse that is.