Hosting has to be one of my natural talents, I say its natural but coming up to the actual day, you will see a not so natural side of me pulling out my hair in order to get things right. Get things Perfectly right. Get things perfect.
I love organising, I love arranging, I love taking control. Until I actually do it.
Then I hate it, and I cry and I get anxiety and cry a little more. Until the actual day. That’s when a different side of M11bna comes into play and it all get’s done. Perfectly.
So once again whilst I was sitting bored at home one day, I fired out a text and invited a group of my ladies to join me at home for tea and biscuits and a catch up.
Read here: Pancakes and Pyjamas Party
How it turned into a full on Party and Baby shower in between- I really don’t know?! But it did.
See I told you, its a Natural talent.
And so easily done too. Obviously I’m going to say that now that its over, but hey honestly it was quick, it was fun and really honestly it was so easy.
So Let me help you out in organising your next Pasta Bar Party.
Dishes, Dishes, Dishes
Dishes guys are so important, they are the final look of the whole event. Work out how many you need. I always try and sort that out first in my head. I like to set up my bar/party area before I start on the food. I sometimes do this a day earlier if possible, so that I can visualise how it will look.
I also like to add depth as this makes the table look more creative. For this party I used crates of different sizes to give a high/low effect. Keeping the high at the back and lows at the front so that its easier when dishing out.
Pasta
Listen right- I may claim to be a genius in the kitchen, but really I’m not. But I am that person that chooses quick and easy fixes to life, and so for my pasta bar I used the Quick Cook Pasta from my local Lidl store in 3 different shapes. Penne, Conchiglie and famous old spaghetti
Why 3 different shapes? Well its more fun, its more interesting and really why not?
Cook the Pasta according to the cooking instructions. After draining it, add a little olive oil and give it a toss. This will ensure that the pasta does not get sticky. Dish them out in super cool dishes! I used my set from Dunelm and I placed them at different levels on the serving ‘bar’.
Next Up: The Sauces
Once again I’m a Cheat and Lazy (shhhh! Don’t give me a bad name!) I bought the Ragu Original Chunky Bolognese sauce with chunky tomato pieces. Its just divine, and I also bought (shhhhhh *dont roll your eyes at me!*)Dolmio Lasagne White sauce, and store bought Pesto (*covers face*). I served these up in dishes.
That’s the Sauces sorted.
Toppings
Toppings are entirely your choice. I shallow fried some chicken fillets which I had the meat shop cut into pastry pieces (yup that is my level of laziness, I’m not even going to defend myself any more) with a little salt and pepper.
Another option would be shrimps- but I only thought of that right now! That would have been awesome. Jotted down for the next party.
Wanting to keep things simple and easy- (Obviously) I choose the easy options, so I chopped up some peppers, baby sweetcorn, mushrooms, green beans.
I also added a large bowl of salad- and popped some garlic bread in the Oven.
But- How does it stay warm?
Guys I got it covered. Chill. I set up a heating station.
I have a portable electric hob at home (which we normally use for the coals for shisha) and I left a bottle of olive oil, and salt and pepper on the side.
So How does it work?
Choose your pasta, add your sauce, add your toppings, and pop it all into the heated pot with a little olive oil. Add your salt and pepper and give it a little shake, and then pop it back into your bowl. Top up with cheese and there you have it. Your pipping hot delicious Pasta.
Finishing Touches
To finish off the look of the Pasta bar add a few props- it just helps create a distinctive look- and so great for photos too. I had a quirky message set up and a few jars of pasta. Trust me detailing is important.
Read Here- My top tips in creating a Waffle Bar.
Did it Work Well?
The pasta bar is fun, its creative, whether your guests are aged 5 or 50- everyone loves pasta (obviously heating up will need to be supervised with 5 year old’s). Its also very engaging. With a Pasta Bar- you don’t need to engage your guests- the pasta bar does all the hard work for you.
With the Pasta bar- you can be as creative as you want to be- add in, shrimps, meat, olives, jalapeno’s or whatever you fancy. Whatever your budget. And everyone is free to add on and choose how they want to build their pasta.
It was definitely a success in my home, I was the first to show my guests how it works and then I sat down and had my warm pasta whilst they entertained themselves with the bar.
Perfect and Perfect. Wouldn’t you say?
Will you be giving the pasta bar a try?
Love and regards
M11bna
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