Buitoni Riserva Pasta & Culinary Cory Style: A Perfect Combo

Life is better when I’m surrounded by good friends and great food. That’s especially true when my friends are eating the food I’ve created. So when the folks at Foodbuzz invited me to host a dinner party featuring Buitoni Riserva Frozen Meals along with my own side dish creations, I jumped at the chance to throw a pasta event Culinary Cory style.

My original plans were to host the festivities in the backyard of my modest Pittsburgh home. I had grand visions of creating a Tuscan experience using rustic place settings, sunflowers and ambient candle light. However, Mother Nature had different plans for my party. It reached nearly 92 degrees and large puddles of sweat gathered on my brow with every move that day. Thankfully my central air conditioning was ready and willing to take on the challenge of keeping my house a perfect 72 degrees during the festivities. The decision was clear I needed to move everything inside.

The party concept was simple. “Showcase the satisfyingly comfortable flavors of the Buitoni Riserva Frozen Meals with a variety of my favorite side dish recipes.” I seized the opportunity to “road test” several new recipes on my friends including a creative use of wontons baked into golden edible cups. This created the perfect serving vessel for Mini Caesar Salads. I will make sure to share with you my happy discovery while testing the concept prior to the event in a future post. I loved seeing people marvel at the small endive cups of Chicken Salad with Pear & Traverse City Cherries that were adorably lined on a glass platter. Even a creative use of leftover corn during a recent family visit turned into Roasted Corn Salad received rave reviews that evening.

Of course, Buitoni was the “supper star” of the evening….and I truly mean supper star. I decided to purchase four main varieties of the pasta meals to give my guests the chance to sample a wide selection of options. The Four Cheese & Spinach Ravioli and Grilled Chicken & Spinach Cannelloni received positive reviews. It was much to my surprise the Chicken & Mushroom Ravioli was, by far, the favorite of the group. The Shrimp & Lobster Ravioli was a close second.

It was the world of beverages where the unique humor of my friendship circle really shined. I have a philosophy that everyone wants to bring something to a party no matter how much you insist it’s not needed. We all know I have the food side covered. So I typically encourage people to bring their favorite beverages to share. It’s a great ice breaker as most selections typically come with a story. I’ve recently discovered my friend Jonathan has a mixology streak with a flavor for fine liquors. True to his passion, he arrived with a vintage make-up case filled with assorted instruments ready and waiting to be part of the cocktail making experience. It certainly made for a great conversation piece all night.

I can honestly say this event blew my expectations out of the water. It’s been fun to see the status updates and photos about the party appearing on Facebook. My favorite was when my friend Chad posted a picture of the buffet table and tagged each guest as an entrée. A debate even occurred between two guests who wanted to be tagged the same Buitoni dish.

Authors Note: I received free Buitoni pasta and a small stipend to host this event. The explanations of the event are a true recount of the party. Would I buy Buitoni Riserva Frozen Meals again? Absolutely!

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