Tag Archives: pasta

Manini’s Gluten-Free Pasta Review

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manini's gluten-fre pasta with pesto and sundried tomatoes

The boyfriend and I were craving pasta somethin’ fierce the other day, so we headed over to the trusty local Central Market to find some things to throw together in a carb-y pile of delicious. We were so pleasantly surprised to see Manini’s Gluten-Free pasta in the refrigerated gourmet Italian section! Apparently we really are lucky, as their website states that their fresh line of pasta is only available in select grocery stores in the Northwest at this time. Sometimes (OK, usually) I really do love living here!

manini's gluten-free pasta in container

There were several flavors available, such as lemon-thyme, or the roasted garlic that we decided to try. There were also little flat squares for making homemade ravioli, lasagna noodles, spaghetti, and tri-colored rigatoni.

We got some pesto and sun-dried tomatoes from the olive bar section (Central Market really is an awesome grocery store), grabbed a good-looking (on sale, of course) bottle of wine, some cured meat and cheeses from the cuttings basket, and hurried home to toss together our Italian Feast.

This pasta cooks really fast. I kept checking it to make sure I didn’t over-cook it. The package said to cook it for about three minutes in salted water with olive oil in it. I think I cooked it for about 4 minutes, but I think I like my pasta a bit more cooked than most people do. While the water was coming to a boil, I arranged the cheese and meat (coppa, my favorite!) on a plate. While pasta was boiling, I warmed the pesto and sun-dried tomatoes in a little pan. Then, I drained the pasta, tossed the sauce in, then put it on two plates and crushed some black pepper and scattered some crushed red pepper over the tops. A basil leaf garnish, and we were ready for some back deck fine dining!

This pasta has that delicious, fresh home-made pasta texture that I remember my parents making with one of those pasta cranks that seemed to be really popular in the nineties (any one else know what I’m talking about? I used to love turning that thing for them when I was little!). It really elevated the sauce to something special. I don’t think I would choose the roasted garlic flavor again for pesto, though. It made the overall taste thick and heavy, and it was a bit of a relief whenever I came across a sun-dried tomato. I would certainly use this pasta again, but with a light, chunky tomato or marinara-style sauce. All told, this meal took a maximum of fifteen minutes to make, and it was SO tasty. Of course, eating outside makes everything taste better!

Happy Eating!

Gluten-Free Dining at Olive Garden

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Gluten-Free Penne Rigate Pomodoro at Olive Garden

I recently learned that Olive Garden has added some gluten-free options to their menu. I was not in Seattle yesterday, and so my gluten-free restaurant options were a bit more limited than usual. Lunchtime was nigh and I was hungry, so my boyfriend and I decided to give the gluten-free menu at Olive Garden a try.

I asked our hostess for the gluten-free menu before we were shown to our table. This can help gluten-free dining to go more smoothly as it saves the wait staff or host a trip, and it gives the host a chance to alert your server that at least one of your party is of gluten-free status before they even get to your table and introduce themselves. It also gives them the option, if they choose, of assigning your table to someone more experienced or well-versed in the gluten-free options on the menu.

Their Gluten-Free menu was not huge, but there were enough choices available that I did not feel limited. It also had a lot of choices for those of you that are dairy-free as well. I chose the Penne Rigate Pomodoro, and my boyfriend went with the Herb-Grilled Salmon.

The hard copy of the menu we were given listed the salmon as herb-crusted, just like the “regular” menu. The online description, “brushed with Italian herbs” is more accurate. The Boyfriend still thought it was good, but it wasn’t quite what he was expecting.

I went with pasta, mostly because I was curious about what type they would use and whether the texture would be up to par. There were two pasta options on the gluten-free menu, I went with the one that sounded like it had the chunkier sauce. It was actually pretty good. I believe they used a corn-based pasta. The texture was not as good as some of the brands I cook at home, but it was certainly passable and it was fun to order pasta in a restaurant.

Of course we had to order the salad (I mean really, why else does anyone even go to Olive Garden?), we simply had it without croutons and I ate my usual embarrassingly large amount of it. As in, more than one serving-bowlful. I didn’t even miss the croutons.

We also took advantage of a new wine serving size they offer (don’t judge us, it was a snow day!). It’s called the Quartino, and it’s basically a glass and a half of wine for only 2-3 dollars more than the glass price. We split two of those, so we didn’t have to get an entire bottle, and we also saved some cash.

Overall, eating there was a good experience. They seemed well-prepared for gluten-free patrons (and believe me, in the town I was in that is definitely not always the case!), I felt safe simply ordering from the gluten-free menu, and I left full of decently tasty food and wine. It’s always nice to have a few chain restaurants in my mental gluten-free restaurant inventory for times when I am not in a region that has fully embraced the fact that gluten-free diners are here to stay. I would definitely go to Olive Garden again in the future.

Tupperware is Your Friend! Or Not Feeling Jealous at Parties

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Something I learned that helps to take some of the potential left-out feelings of a gluten free diet at parties and events, and I know the host or hostess well enough, is to have a very close substitute along with me. Just a little bit of prior knowledge about the menu can help one to join in on the fun.

For example, if your host or hostess will be serving pasta, you can bring some pre-cooked gluten-free pasta along with you. I like Tinkyada Pasta (Ignore the strange translations on the web site, it’s really good, I promise, and they are sold in most grocery stores). For tacos: corn tortillas (check the Hispanic aisle) and on and on. Sometimes you will need a lot of substitutions, sometimes just a few. Maybe you’ll choose not to bring anything at all.  But if you find yourself looking longingly at your fellow revelers’ plates, and it’s taking away from your enjoyment of the party, consider taking steps next time so your mind can be free to have fun!