Pasta Menu


Pasta Dinners 2011

Staples Girls Swim and Dive Team

Questions? Contact the team’s pasta dinner coordinator Linda Abel.

If you volunteer to host a pasta dinner, you will feed about 50 people.*

The athletes and coaches will start to arrive at the host’s house around 5:45 PM. They generally stay no more than 60-75 minutes.

Volunteers

The host provides the house and the pasta and sauce (see below). Volunteers provide everything else, including:

  • 4 large (long) loaves of garlic bread – the girls like the ready to bake garlic bread that comes in the foil package ready to go in the oven.  The bread should be delivered before the start of the dinner (donor should call host to arrange time).
  • 2 bins of salad. The bins should be about 8 x 10 inches each. The salad should be tossed with dressing and it should be delivered to host before the start of the dinner.
  • One fruit and one baked dessert.
  • 1 case water bottles and 5 quarts of chocolate milk (3) and juice (2). Donor should provide a selection of water (no flavored waters please), chocolate milk (no high fructose corn syrup please) and/or real fruit juice.   Please, no soda or anything containing high fructose corn syrup should be served to our athletes. (Water bottles don’t have to be provided as the host probably has perfectly good tap water.) The drinks should be delivered to the host before the start of the dinner.
  • About 50 sturdy plates, 50 forks, 75 napkins, drink cups

Host

The host provides a variety of pasta to feed 50 people, most of whom will have just finished swim practice before attending the pasta dinner. You are asked to provide the following:

  • 2 large aluminum pans (12×20 x3) of pasta with red sauce
  • 1 small pan for mac and cheese or plain pasta with olive oil (if wanted)
  • 2-3 tubs, or shakers, of grated cheese on the serving table
  • You also might put balloons on your mailbox, or something else to make your house easily identifiable
  • Sturdy garbage bags

Proportions

  • Cook about  8 lbs of dry pasta (Ziti works well)
  • Prepare 20 lb. of tomato sauce to add to the pasta with red sauce
  • After making the pasta, add the red sauce and keep warm in the oven in aluminum pans (see above)
  • Cook approx. 9 lb (~200) frozen meatballs in some sauce and serve in a separate pan

The above amounts are approximate. Some days the girls eat less and some days they want more. Many people prefer to order the pasta from a local deli. If you do so, the deli can help you determine what to purchase. But if you cook the dinner yourself, you should consider recruiting other parents to help you in the kitchen. Volunteers will provide garlic bread, salad, paper products, utensils and drinks (see above), but it is your responsibility to coordinate delivery.

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* Because of homework and other commitments, the entire swim team never attends a pasta dinner.