The Celebrity Pasta Lovers' Cookbook

[Ace]

Photo: Barilla Introduces 'The Celebrity Pasta Lovers' Cookbook' and Calls On Pasta Lovers Everywhere to Help Fight Hunger

Celebrities and Star Chefs Team Up with Barilla to Raise Money for
America's Second Harvest

BANNOCKBURN, Ill., Jan. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Barilla, the world's number
one pasta maker, in partnership with ten Hollywood celebrities and renowned
chefs Mario Batali and Giada De Laurentiis, are introducing a new, free
cookbook that shares favorite celebrity pasta dishes to benefit America's
Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network, the nation's largest
hunger-relief organization.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to:
www.prnewswire.com/mnr/barilla/26618/
From February 1-28, 2007, "The Celebrity Pasta Lovers'

Cookbook" will be available online at no charge at www.CelebrityPastaLovers.com.

For every person who downloads the cookbook, Barilla will donate $1 to America's Second Harvest, up to $100,000.

"Pasta is a favorite food among Americans, and celebrities are no
exception," said Giada De Laurentiis, best-selling cookbook author and host of Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash on The Food Network. "Italian food represents a celebration of life, family, friends and tradition -- aspects that are prominent themes in Barilla's new Celebrity Pasta Lovers' Cookbook."

Ten notable celebrities from film, television and fashion shared their
favorite pasta dishes for the cookbook, which served as the inspiration for
the cookbook's delicious new recipes created by guest editors Batali and De
Laurentiis. Contributing celebrities include Kristin Davis, Harrison Ford,
Pierce Brosnan, Melinda Clarke, Faith Ford, Sela Ward, Tyson Beckford,
Ashley Judd, Tony Danza, and Annabella Sciorra. A $90,000 donation was made

by Barilla in the celebrities' names for participation in the project.
All recipes are accompanied by personal stories and anecdotes from the
celebrities, along with pasta preparation tips from Barilla, Batali, and De
Laurentiis. Some of the mouthwatering recipes include Pumpkin Sage Butter
Tortellini, inspired by Ashley Judd; Linguine with Eggplant and Sun-Dried
Tomatoes, inspired by Sela Ward; and Spaghetti with Spicy Tomato Sauce,
inspired by Harrison Ford.

Barilla has been a supporter of America's Second Harvest since 1997,
through the donation of their products. Over the past nine years, since
Barilla entered the U.S. market, they have donated over 5 million pounds of
pasta to America's Second Harvest for distribution among more than 200
member food banks serving all 50 states, the District of Colombia and
Puerto Rico.

"Hunger relief in America is a challenge that requires constant
attention and support, and who better to help address the issue than food
producers and chefs?" said Mario Batali, a long-time supporter of America's
Second Harvest and the Food Bank For New York City. "Barilla's Celebrity
Pasta Lovers' Cookbook is a simple way to raise awareness and involve the
public in supporting a very effective national cause that will help provide
food assistance for people who need it while also providing delicious
Italian recipes that everyone can enjoy."

[respectanimals]

Cool find ACE! If I could cook I would definitely give these a try. Tony Danza's Ziti especially sounds tasty. Unfortunately the one vegetable I hate most in this world is Zucchini/Squash, so Pierce's favorite is out of the question for me, I'm afraid. LOL!

Ellen

[Ace]

I guess you could substitute another vegetable like eggplant. Of course I don't like squash or eggplant.

[sparklingblue]

Zucchini or eggplant, bring it on! LOL I love them all. If there's anything I can't stand it's fennel and celery. Yuck!

I always love to try out new recipes. Even better if it's for a good cause.

[Yuliya]

The great thing about those is that for the good cause I don't have to try any of those. I downloaded the book (thus making Barilla donate $1 for me,) but most, if all the recipes don't seem like something I will cook. I like Italian food, but usually go for more meaty-seafoody things.

[Ace]

From Barilla:

The Celebrity Pasta Lovers' Cookbook is available here, free of charge, through February 2007. For each person who downloads a copy of the cookbook, Barilla will donate $1 to America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Food Bank Network, with a total donation up to $100,000.

We are so pleased to report that due to the overwhelming response to the cookbook, we reached our $100,000 goal by the 9th day into the campaign. Thank you to all of our friends for supporting this endeavor.

Although our goal has been met, the cookbook will remain available for download for the remainder of the month of February. We hope you enjoy the recipes.

[londonstreet]

I don't like pasta very much, I usually eat it only in some special versions and rarely with tomato sauce.......but when I buy it, it's almost always Barilla. So I tried the Pierce's recipe......but I didn't find the orzo pasta , I wonder if it's sold here.....next time I go shopping I must look better because I have the doubt it's a kind of pasta we usually use either with soup or vegetable soup.
Anyway Pierce's receipe is very good

[Ace]

Is that legal? I mean being Italian and not liking pasta that much?

I'm impressed you tried the recipe! And it probably can easily be made with different kinds of pasta so I'm sure it all worked out well.

[londonstreet]

ROFL....perhaps it's not quite legal and it's also a strange thing here, but I guess it's what could happen when you grow up eating it almost everyday , given that there are so many recipes for pasta but always pasta is, and then when you haven't so much time it's always with tomato sauce and basil.

I'm impressed you tried the recipe! And it probably can easily be made with different kinds of pasta so I'm sure it all worked out well. [/quote]

Actually I hadn't yellow summer squash and I was not sure about what Italian or Provence herbs were, so I added some toasted pine-seeds instead. And yes, one can usually interchange the different kinds of pasta.....of course there are some recipes that are better with a type, but even if you use another one you don't miss so much.

[londonstreet]

I'm curious, is Barilla a famous brand in USA?

[sparklingblue]

londonstreet said:

I was not sure about what Italian or Provence herbs were

I hope the entry below from Wikipedia helps.

Herbes de Provence (Provençal herbs) is a mix of aromatic plants, typically, but not always, dried. These herbs are native to and have their origins in the Provence region of southern France. It is often sold in considerably larger bags, of two or three litres size, than the typical herb sale of a few millilitres. The price in Provence is also considerably lower than for typical herb sales in the Western world.

The mixture traditionally contains rosemary, marjoram, basil, bay leaf and thyme. Sometimes lavender flowers are included in the mix. The proportion of each herb varies depending on the manufacturer, and additional aromatic plants are occasionally added. Typically thyme dominates the taste produced by the herb mixture.

It is mostly used to flavour grilled foods such as fish and meat, as well as vegetable stews. The mixture can be added to foods before or during cooking or mixed with cooking oil prior to cooking so as to infuse the flavour into the cooked food. It is rarely added after cooking is complete.

They are also often mixed with cottage cheese and rice.

I have no idea in what way Italian herbs would be that much different from Provencal herbs. I suppose you can experiment with whatever herbs you like. Rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano and sage are herbs I often found in Italian recipes (though of course you will know better about this that I). Of course, using all of them together at once might not always produce an enjoyable result.

I can't imagine not liking pasta, but I guess it really depends on what you grow up on. I'm not too fond of most of the German cuisine either.