Diary of a Picky Eater: Barilla’s Mini Farfalle in Mac and Cheese

The Home Marketplace (Miles Kimball Company)

Posted by: Ashtyn

June 15, 2008

Barilla Piccolini When it comes to food, I have a few weaknesses. One of them is Italian food, primarily pasta. While I’m not in love with traditional spaghetti, feel free to bring on the lasagna, the ziti and definitely the macaroni and cheese. I’m picky about my mac. Big surprise there, right? I will tolerate (though rarely) eating the Velvetta Shells and Cheese from the box, but anything else just isn’t quite as good. I like my Mac and Cheese homemade (by Ashtyn). Sometimes I liked it baked, but I always like it extra creamy.

I’m not sure what Ashtyn did cheese wise with the Mini Farfalle, but the shape made it ideal for absorbing cheese. Every bite was filled with massive amounts of cheesy goodness. This was one of my favorite mac and cheese dishes she has made and boy was I clamoring for seconds! The right blend of cheeses and the unique twisting shape of this mini pasta by Barilla make this a favorite dish of kids (big and small). I know I’m a fan and I am already asking for more of this.

The Mini Farfalle pasta by Barilla is made of wheat. It’s shaped like a bowtie or a butterfly as the Barilla website suggests. The pasta is delicate, with the curved edges capturing all of the delicious, sticky sauce of your choice (in this case, a melody of delicious cheeses) within its crevices. The miniature pasta shapes make sure you get more sauce, more pasta and more for your buck in every bite.

I don’t do the cooking in the house, so I don’t typically do the shopping. What this means is that I’m not positive of the exact price you’d pay for a box of Mini Farfalle. From what Ashtyn has told me, Barilla is relatively inexpensive and one box goes a long way making a few meals for 2-3 people. You’ll also be able to switch it up. While I’ve had two different meals with gooey, delectable cheese, I decided to have a third meal with the mini farfalle coated in traditional tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese. This meal wasn’t quite as good as with the cheese, but I’m biased in the fact that I’m a Mac and Cheese fanatic.

Barilla has several different types of pasta that have been released in their mini line of pastas. These pastas are all a part of the Barilla Piccolini line. Besides Mini Farfalle, there is Mini Fusilli, which is spiral-shaped pasta, Mini Penne Regate and Mini Tortiglioni, which are cylindrical shaped pastas. Large families will probably use one whole box, but since pasta is affordable, a box can feed an entire family (or a smaller family multiple meals).

While I am a biased fan of Italian food I can’t recommend the Piccolini line of pastas any more highly than I have. You can purchase all of Barilla’s Piccolini pastas at your local grocers.

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