The Pasta Friday Cookbook: Let's Eat Together

Pasta Friday may be a weekly pasta tradition that turns neighbors into friends, and friends into family. Restaurateur and food writer Allison Arevalo shows you ways to start out your own tradition by cooking comforting, delicious pasta dishes to feed your family on a busy weeknight, or for a crowd on the weekend.It’s not about entertaining, but sitting down with family and friends to eat together, and connect over big bowls of cannolicchi with red Poivrade , pappardelle with slow-cooked pork ragu, trofie with pesto, and more.Find the proper dish for any week of the year from the 52 comforting pasta dishes and 16 creative salads, organized by season. And, make certain to sprinkle in some extras like crispy, spicy prosciutto, lemon breadcrumbs. Each recipe uses a special pasta shape, so you'll celebrate experimenting with calamarata, gnocchetti, paccheri, and mafalda, or just using traditional spaghetti. There are many tips for scaling the recipes up for a crowd, shopping on a budget, and finding time to cook, along side wine pairings, and lovely photography. You'll fall crazy with the Pasta Friday tradition, and begin hosting your own before you recognize it

About the Author
Allison Arevalo is a restaurateur, chef, and food writer. She co-founded Homeroom restaurant in Oakland, California and co-authored the best-selling Mac and Cheese Cookbook. Allison has made numerous TV appearances on the Travel Channel, the Cooking Channel, and others, and she’s been featured on local and national news outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and the Restaurant Unstoppable podcast.

Allison lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Alejandro, and their two sons, Nico and Luca, where she is preparing to open a new restaurant focused on fresh pasta and seasonal sauces.

Allison Arevalo has created a community filled with friends and family, with neighbors and school mates, and with pasta lovers of all ages. She and her family host a weekly pasta dinner, and she wants you to do it too. In her new cookbook, The Pasta Friday Cookbook, she walks about how she is able to pull off a weekly gathering of friends and family and then shares 52 different pasta recipes that you can use to start your own Pasta Fridays. First of all, Arevalo sets rules. She makes a pasta dish and a salad, and that’s it. No appetizers, no desserts (although she does get popsicles for the kids). She doesn’t cater to special diets—anyone who wants to eat gluten-free or vegetarian/vegan can bring their own meals. She does make a big pot of pasta with butter for the kids, but she also encourages them to try the “adult” pasta as well. The clean up all gets done Friday night, so Saturday isn’t spent cleaning up the kitchen. And all the adults bring 2 bottles of wine, and everyone eats and talks and laughs and drinks together.-Jill Nicely

I'm not the only pasta lover in my house who's excited by the arrival of our Pasta Friday cookbook! I strongly urge everyone to grab a copy of this book. Ms. Arevalo is an amazing chef and writer. Her recipes, along with the concept of gathering every Friday with friends and family for pasta dinner, are nothing short of brilliant. I particularly love the advice she imparts from her own mistakes, her wine pairings, conversions and very down-to-earth, warm style of writing. The recipes are mouth-watering and I can't wait to make them all. -Stuff31