Friday, November 16, 2012

Presto Pasta Night Grand Finale Roundup

Probably the best part of creating Presto Pasta Nights and nurturing it all these many weeks later  (290 to be exact), is... GASP... not the pasta, which is always great, don't get me wrong.  It's the fantastic bloggers I've met and followed over the years.  It's been a blast, a pleasure and a privilege to have gotten to know you all. So, because I hate "good byes", I'll just move along to fantastic bloggers and their delicious entries this week...

Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe has been sharing her droolingly delicious pasta recipes since the beginning.  She was first in this week with another wonderful choice - Pasta with Chickpeas, Spinach and Sundried Tomatoes.
Janet of The Taste Space (PPN host #173) and frequent PPNer, shares this stunning Veggie Noodly Salad with the Ultimate Peanut Sauce.
Joanne, who Eats Well with Others is one of my very favorite bloggers.  I love her photos, her recipes that always have me drooling - even if she is... dare I say it... a vegetarian.   This time around she shares a Roasted Red Pepper Goat Cheese Alfredo that shows you exactly what I mean.
Three Cookies from Easily Good Eats shares a dish with an ingredient not easily found outside of the UK apparently - vegemite.  I, of course love a challenge and will be on the hunt for some.   Vegemite Garlic Spaghetti has intrigued me to find out if I'm a lover or hater.
Another PPN regular, Graziana of Erbe in Cucina is back with a very interesting Pesto without Garlic Pasta. Lover of garlic that I am, it does sound fantastic.
Alicia, AKA Foodie Cat has been sharing pasta recipes with us since last year and  I will get over my fear of making gnocchi and try these mouthwatering, stunning Goat Cheese Gnocchi.
Haalo of Cooks Almost Anything was at the first roundup (with stuffed conchiglioni) and, including this time, it makes 76!  If it's possible her camera skills are even better and have me drooling with her Pappardelle with Oxtail Ragu.
Tigerfish of Teczcape is another long-time PPNer and she often brings a delightful Asian flavor to our party. This Vegetable Mung Bean Noodle Soup, looks heavenly and is absolutely perfect for my chilly weather.
Simona of Briciole wins the pasta prize for the most guest hosts - nine times in all!  Her last entry is another of her terrific homemade pastas, this time it's Strozzapreti, which even sounds delightful.
Gilli of So So Simple Food made a unique and gluten-free dish of Polenta Lasagna. It's been a while since she's made it to the party, so I'm glad she made it to this one.
Kirsten, of From Kirsten's Kitchen to Yours is another awesome regular, amazing contributor and gracious host who shares a Morrocan Lentil Stew over Couscous
Couscous is one of those little black dress pastas that can be dressed up or down.... seasoned up or just plain to sop up flavorful stews...which leads me to my dish and another little black pasta dress.. orzo.

I wanted to do a spectacular dish for the grand finale, but life... as usual... got in the way.  So instead of mashed potatoes or rice to sop up the heavenly gravy, I went with orzo as a base for the Lemon, Rosemary, Balsamic and More Roasted Chicken.
And now it's time to call it a day.   I'm not one for saying goodbye, so I'll just say a HUGE  "thank you"  to everyone who's shared their passion for pasta over the years and I'm sure to keep up our friendships even if there's no Presto Pasta Night to come to every Friday.    And for everyone who needs a little pasta inspiration now and then, please take a walk through the PPN index of 290 roundups, and close to 4500 dishes!!!   If that's not enough of a choice, you can join my Pinterest Pining for Pasta Board.  

16 comments:

Kirsten Lindquist said...

Great Roundup Ruth! Nice to hear about each blogger's involvement with PPN. I'm looking forward to hours of fun browsing the index! Hugs!

Simona said...

Thanks to YOU, dear Ruth, for creating the event and keeping it going for so many years, bringing around the table food bloggers from all over the world. Arrivederci a presto, as we say in Italy.

Bergamot said...

A wonderful roundup. I love to participate whenever I made a pasta dish and this was one of my fav sites to visit. Gonna miss it.

tigerfish said...

So good to "see" so many here once again! Thanks for the round up. Good luck for the next project :)

Joanne said...

Such a lovely roundup for PPN's swan song! You've done such an amazing job with this event Ruth and I really will be sad to see it go!

Alicia Foodycat said...

What a lovely way to end. Thank you.

Graziana said...

PPN really pushed me to create new pasta recipes for my family and to post it on my blog, I will miss it. Thank you Ruth for this amazing experience!

Ruth Daniels said...

Thanks so much for all the kind words and more importantly, for your great recipes and friendship over the years. PPN may be done but we'll stay in touch with other dishes and stories.

janet @ the taste space said...

Thank you Ruth for keeping PPN going for so long. There is no way I would have been inspired to share my pasta eats if it weren't for you.

Ruth Daniels said...

Then i'm glad i did and hope you keep on sharing. Thanks for playing.

PG said...

Congratulations on such a successfully weekly event! 290 weeks is amazing -- such dedication.

Johanna GGG said...

Sad to read the last one - have discovered so many great blogs on PPN - will look forward to seeing your next project

A Scientist in the Kitchen said...

Thanks for the pasta memories Ruth. Look forward to your next project. This was one of my earliest foray into food blogging. I'm glad I had the chance to host a few round-ups.

Gay

Three-Cookies said...

You did a great job starting this and maintaining it - 290 weeks and close to 4500 dishes is an accomplishment.
The ingredient I used is 'rare'. Vegemite is from Australia, the British (and New Zealand) equivalent is marmite. There must be a reason why its not common globally:)

Dharm said...

Awwww! Didnt realise PPN had shut down till I wanted to send in a post for PPN. Thanks for the great fun Ruth and most importantly, if not for PPN, we wouldnt have met across all these miles!!

Ruth Daniels said...

Thanks all, it was great fun to get to know all of you through your delicious pastas. Not to mention an introduction to all your awesome blogs.