The first thing that strikes you are the beautiful colour photographs.
I loved the explanation & history of "Pasta Friday" - such a personal, heart-warming introduction into an even more amazing book. That first chapter has a whole bag of useful tips and tricks.
I love the idea of "building a community" through the simple act of cooking - THAT'S what food is all about.
The recipes are well laid-out. I especially like the fact that they are divided into seasons - very handy as you utilize in season produce but also use the weather to influence your choice of dish - hearty or light.
The "Wine Pairings"; "Pasta Shapes" and "Serve With" are a nifty addition too.
I had to Google quite a few of the pastas and some of the ingredients as they are not so well known here in South Africa and a lot of the pasta is not available locally. But the addition of the "Pasta Shapes" with alternative pastas for each recipe becomes very useful in adapting the recipes to suit what's available.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to read this book.

I received this arc from NetGalley for an honest review. Great pasta recipes for big family gatherings along with salad and other dishes. Looking forward to my next pasta night.

There is surprisingly a lot to say about The Pasta Friday Cookbook. First of all what attracted me to this cookbook is pasta of course! I absolutely love pasta and salad. When I saw the description boast of including 52 pasta recipes and 16 salad recipes I knew I was in! I liked how they are separated into seasons and that each recipe includes alternative pasta shapes and wine pairings. It also was nice that the wine pairings included a selection for both red and white. No matter how well it may pair, some people just do not like certain wines so it is nice to have a second option. Last but not least I enjoyed that there were lots of gorgeous photos of the food, pasta types, and people.

There were some things I was not as crazy about. Since the book not only has recipes, but also talks about trying to create weekly "Pasta Friday" gatherings I assumed the recipes would be fairly simple (since you would be cooking these every Friday). Some of the recipes were a bit out of my skill range and some of the ingredients tended to have names I have never heard of before. One such recipe states green beans in the title yet I did not see them listed as an ingredient. Upon further inspection after not recognizing one of the ingredients listed as 'haricot verts" I looked it up and found out that it was in fact the "green beans".

Overall this cookbook was both a hit and miss for me, While I did find several yummy recipes I'd love to try, I will probably steer clear of anything too complicated or with ingredient names I would have to look up.

I am a pasta addict to say the least. I eat some form of spaghetti or penne 3-4 times a week depending on how much I am exercising/dieting. There are a ton of recipes in here that I am dying to try. I loved how it was divided into seasons. Highly recommend.

*Thanks so much to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you love pasta and really wanna try some new recipes and new way to do it, this book is perfect for you. I def got some cooking inspiration while reading it and the pictures are really nice. Everything looks so delicious, I wish it would just magically appear on my plate.

There are also some great salad recipes in here and with every recipe comes a suggested wine paring, which I love, cause I never know what wine to pair with anything. The only thing I would have loved was to have a picture for every single dish, but that's just my personal preference.

Nice book with pasta recipes that aren't too work intensive, with few exceptions. There aren't any recipes that stray too far from Italian influence, but tomatoes are mainly used fresh in recipes.

Lovely photographs, but. I'd prefer to see more food and less people- but only because there aren't photos for many recipes. Drawings or photos of less common pasta would have been helpful.

I plan on crisping up leftover pasta soon.

This book is great! I flipped through and can't wait to try some of these recipes myself. My family is Italian and I am always looking for great and easy meals to feed a crowd. I am a firm believer that every cookbook should have pictures because people eat with their eyes and this book has so many stunning and delicious photos, often full page, that caught my eye. The recipes are laid out very clearly and seem very easy to follow and most of the recipes don't have an overwhelming number of ingredient or use ingredient that would be very hard for me to find. I also really enjoyed all the informative recipe notes and the suggestion of wine pairings.

Allison Arevalo’s The Pasta Friday Cookbook is a delicious book filled with easy-to-follow recipes, bright pictures, and great tips for creating a new and fun tradition.

I love eating pasta so this cookbook is right up my alley! I had no idea that pasta could be so exciting! Did you know that there are pastas made with strawberries? And that there are balsamic pearls for your salad? I didn’t!

This original cookbook is more than just a great collection of pasta and salad recipes. Arevalo includes helpful tips on creating fuss-free Pasta Friday dinners which combines food, friends, and family into a wonderful tradition. I appreciate her tips on scaling up the recipes as well as her suggestions on pasta essentials like cheese and tomatoes. I love the inclusion of wine pairings as well as options to change the pasta.

Most of the recipes begin with great and succinct anecdotes. Arevalo’s writing style is simple and approachable. The recipes are clear and easy-to-follow. They range from simple fare to complicated dishes featuring numerous specialty ingredients. However, Arevalo offers many substitutes for hard to find items to help make your pasta adventures as uncomplicated as possible. I haven’t made anything yet but I can’t wait to hover over the pot devouring Bavette with Fiery Shrimp or try to impress my friends with Stefania’s Paccheri Fragola with Mozzarella and Crispy Basil.

Sara Remington’s lovely pictures nicely fit the book. I like that there are both food pictures and pictures of happy guests at Arevalo’s dinners. However, I wish the pictures were more interesting. Pictures of the more unusual pastas like strozzapreti and casarecce would nicely enhance this book. I also wish that the page design was livelier and warmer considering the book’s focus on family, friendship, and togetherness.

The Pasta Friday Cookbook is perfect for those who love eating and entertaining and anyone who’s looking to start a new tradition.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for this book in exchange for an honest review.




🍝 🍝 🍝 🍝 bowls of pasta out of 5!

What a truly beautiful colourful Pasta cookbook. Pasta and salads for every season and so simple. Definitely not your average Pasta cookbook with many different types of Pasta that are unheard of to me but what I will try to source as they appeal to not just me but my family too.

If you want to surprise family or guests with a Pasta/Salad meal that is a bit different, then this book will suit you to a "T".

After thoroughly reading the recipes and the lovely stories that go with them, I will say that this book is not for a beginner cook, some of the recipes take hours to cook while others which are not as in depth and take minimal time and preparation.

You will be delighted with the wonderful family and friends pictures as well as the beautiful presentation photos of all the delicious food on display. Love the Extras section also.

Thanks to NetGalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing and Allison Arevalo for a beautiful book to read and review.

Allison Arevalso hosts weekly pasta Fridays, and everyone is invited to relax and socialize. During these events, she serves only pasta and salads. The guests bring the wine. Included in this book are 52 pastas and 16 seasonal salads. They are concise, easy to follow, and comprehensive. The layout is easy to follow, and the pictures are enticing. Included is something for everyone’s palette. Readers who like pasta, want ideas for hosting parties, wish they knew how to make different pasta dishes, or who just want some new recipes to enjoy will appreciate this cookbook.

I love the idea behind "Pasta Friday" - Arevalo and her family invite dozens of friends and neighbors over every Friday for a big dinner of pasta, salad, and community-building. This book is filled with pictures of not only the pasta dishes but of the events themselves, and they, along with Arevalo's anecdotes about her Italian family meals and travels compliment the recipes nicely. The recipes themselves sound delicious (everything from classics like Zia Bruna's Spaghetti with Meatballs to unique ideas like Radiatore with Crispy Chicken, Carrots and Sage) and incorporate 52 different types of pasta - one for each week.

The Pasta Friday Cookbook contains terrific recipes, all of which look easy enough to do. I must admit that many of these pasta shapes are hard to come by near me; however, finding substitutions shouldn't be too difficult. The photographs are great, and the overall concept is well thought out and something I think many people could gravitate towards doing. I come from a big family, so this is easily an achievable feat; actually, we already do this in many respects. I like her honest approach, mainly when she addresses the need for excellent communication with guests about what to bring, what to expect, and when to leave. This book would make a great gift and an even better New Year's resolution for many who strive to spend more time with friends and family.

Thanks for the copy. I attempted to download the book but it was all blank. I was really looking forward to finding some new pasta recipes! Bummed out this didn’t upload.

Cannolicchi Pasta

Calamarata pasta

Malloreddus sardinian gnocchi

Mafalda pasta

Casarecce

Pasta with Peaches

Ziti with Mozzarella

Balsamic butter

So many fancy pastas to last a year if you start the Pasta Friday. Its all about keeping things simple and meeting friends and they dont have to worry about making dinner.

Pasta Friday is an excellent idea to get everyone together to gossip and appreciate their time together while enjoying meals that everyone will love. I've yet to meet anyone who did not have at least one pasta dish on their list of favorites. Plus Allison Arevalo gives us many new, and different types of pasta and then uses them in a dish sure to please even the person who thinks macaroni and cheese is the height of pasta cuisine. My friends and family have already put together a calendar of gatherings to try her recipes and her excellent suggestions for quality time together.

We love pasta and love new recipes. Though this book is built around food gatherings, it is an excellent book with many new and easy to make salad and pasta dishes. I especially like all the beautiful pictures to see what the food should look like.

The Pasta Friday Cookbook offers over 70 recipes and tips on starting your own Pasta Friday tradition including how to send out invites and setting a limit of people, Setting the tone of the gathering — casual, setting a weekly budget, and overall appearance of your home.

Ingredients used in Preparing for Pasta Friday include Dried Pasta, Olive Oil, Salt and Spices( Black Pepper, fresh herbs, chiles), Cheese, and Canned tomatoes.

Another section shows you how to use these recipes and scale up for the crowd. The author offers a variety of pasta shapes and presents guidelines for the reader to follow.

For the 52 dinners in this book, the author presents 52 different recipes that call for 52 pasta shapes. She encourages the reader to use these recipes for friends and family gatherings. She also recommends three kinds of sauces to accompany the pasta— Tomato-Based Sauces, Meat-Based Sauces, and Cream-Based Sauces.

The recipes are categorized according to the four seasons of the years. Summer pasta recipes include Bucatini with summer corn and Pancetta, Crispy Casarecce with Tuna, Tomatoes, and Arugula. Each recipe is accompanied by the pasta shapes, wine pairing suggestion, and a side dish.

Also included in this book are extras such as Homemade Breadcrumbs, Homemade Croutons, and Salsa Verde.
This cookbook has a great selection of recipes with ingredients that are easy to find.

Thank you to Allison Arevalo, NetGalley, and Andrews McMeel Publishing for an ARC of this book.

There are so many types of pasta, and this cookbook makes me want to try them all! It makes it easy to get the kids involved in trying something new. I doubt that I'll end up cooking pasta for a huge crowd, but if I need to, this book will help. In the meantime, though, we'll cook pasta for the family with it.

The Pasta Friday Cookbook was a really fun cookbook, especially if one loves pasta. It's divided into sections based on seasons and there's a bunch of recipes I would love to try, such as Duck Lasagne with Roasted Carrots. I think this book is a must-have for pasta lovers.

Pasta Friday is a concise, yet cohesive cookbook for group dinners. Arevalo’s recipes look amazing, and the concept seems great. Her rules make sense and seem reasonable. I particularly like “no accommodations for food allergies/tastes”, and “always clean up the night before”. Although I’m not sure I agree with “No desserts”. But that’s the beauty of this cookbook, it has plenty of room to make it your own.

The recipe section of the book is perfectly broken down by season, with a variety of pasta dishes and salad recipes for each season. I can’t wait to try some of the recipes and host a Pasta Friday of my own.