A pasta bar can make everyone happy

Whether planning a dinner party or a workplace lunch, a pasta bar can offer all the right choices. Pasta or spaghetti itself is a popular dish, but differing tastes can make it difficult to satisfy everybody at the same time. However, participants can avoid foods they dislike or indulge in their spicy favorites to their heart's content when ingredients are set up for the diners to combine themselves.

A cook can use his or her favorite sauce, either made from scratch or out of a jar, but cooking it for several hours on the stove or in a crock pot, will remove the acid from the tomatoes for those whose stomachs are sensitive to it. A three cheese blend of parmesan, Romano and asiago cheeses for topping the pasta can mellow the sauce too.

To give more choices, a variety of sauces and pasta can be offered: a white sauce or pesto sauce along with spaghetti, penne, linguini, shells, etc., or just one or two to choose from (maybe even a gluten-free kind) will do.

Meatballs and/or Italian sausage are a must, just be sure to identify any spicy ingredients. A variety of vegetables to also add to one's plate may include zucchini; a blend of red, orange and yellow peppers; and mushrooms, sautéed in olive oil of course. Any other vegetables one can think of may be added to the menu.

A green salad complements pasta and, to keep it simple, make it a Caesar salad; croutons, dressing and shredded parmesan cheese are the only toppings needed for crisp Romaine lettuce.

A nice crusty loaf of Italian or French bread will be appreciated by those guests not counting carbohydrates. For dessert, a light cake or spumoni ice cream will satisfy the craving for sweets after the meal.