For a long time I have wanted to be the kind of person who could have people over for dinner at a moment’s notice. I have wanted to be spontaneous with my hospitality. But to be honest, this goes against the core of who I am in one way: a planner. I meal plan and write grocery lists every week. I can’t function without it. So if I want to be spontaneous with my hospitality, it requires of reworking of my meal planning logistics, and rearranging of menu, and inevitably a quick stop by the store.
But a few weeks ago, the magic happened. A few weeks ago, we were having friends over for dessert and drinks, and some of the friends that were coming over asked us if we wanted to go to dinner beforehand. We didn’t really want to; it was supposed to be a kid-free evening, but we didn’t have a sitter for Evelyn since she’d be going to bed about the time everyone arrived, and to be honest we had spent too much money going out to eat in recent weeks. So I said the magical words, “We’re having pasta, so why don’t you just come over for dinner and I’ll throw some extra noodles in the pot.” They brought over some roasted vegetables, and what resulted was a spontaneous dinner with friends that required no extra effort on my part.
That is one of the best things about pasta: that you can adjust your amounts so easily. I think the actual best thing about pasta might be the cheese, or in this case it might be the bacon. Or actually, let me rescind all statements and say this: the best thing about pasta is how easily it can come together, and how, with the right recipe, you can spend about 15 minutes at the stove and sit down feeling like you could be in Italy.
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