Meet your pasta fantasy (recipe for lemon spaghetti included)

Yesterday, I got to attend Casa Barilla, the culmination of the Summer of Italy program. It's taking place in Central Park under a gigantic tent, and it is fascinating and fun and filled with pasta, pasta, pasta!

The event features four days of cooking and culture workshops and demonstrations by top chefs. Interactive classes include Italian Pasta Classics and Italian Coastal Pasta; I particularly liked Simply Healthy Italian Pasta with Chef Ivan Beacco, in which a group watched him make Gnochetti Sardi alla Nuorese (pasta with olives, salami, white wine, shallots and ricotta salata). I didn't have the heart to ask how to convince Max to try other pastas beyond spaghetti (spaghetti all the time is getting a little old for us, but not for Max), though I did ask him how to prevent pasta from sticking. "A little stirring, that's it," he said. Revelatory: He cooked the pasta with a steel colander in the pot. I am so getting one.

There are tasting stations...

...including one just for Parmigiano Reggiano, imported from Italy. One word: OMG.

The dining area

The Piccolini zone, where tots could make pasta and play games.

The humongous coffee bar. I love caffe macchiato, espresso with a splash of steamed milk. True story: I studied in Italy as a junior in college, and at first didn't realize that when you made a pot of espresso, you were supposed to drink a teeny cup of the stuff—not a gigantic mug of it. I was wired for weeks.

You can also pick up pasta, sauces, vinegars and cool retro tins in a shop.

This is exactly what's missing from Max's room: a pole filled with pasta.

Casa Barilla is happening through Friday September 16. The entry fee, $5 per adult, along with a portion of merchandise sold benefits the Food Bank for New York City. Check it all out (and register for classes) here.

Meanwhile, I snagged this genius spaghetti recipe, good for grownups and kids. Hopefully, it will help us break out of our spaghetti-and-sauce rut!

Barilla Lemon Spaghetti

Ingredients

1 box Barilla spaghetti

4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

1/3 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)

3/4 tsp. salt, plus more to taste

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1 tbsp. marjoram, packed

1 tbsp. grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)

The how-tos

• Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add salt (optional).

• Whisk the oil, grated cheeses, lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl to blend.

• Set the lemon sauce aside. (The sauce can be made up to 8 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using.)

• Cook the spaghetti, stirring occasionally, until tender yet al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

• Add the spaghetti to the lemon sauce, and toss with the marjoram and lemon zest.

• Toss the pasta with enough reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, to moisten.

• Season the pasta with more salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to bowls. Serve.

Grazie to Barilla for sponsoring Casa Barilla, and this post.

One spaghetti-tastic day

Let's say you have a son who is obsessed with spaghetti. Ob-sessed. And Barilla finds out. They're doing a Summer of Italy tour, a six-week celebration of Italian food and culture, and would you like to attend some pasta-centric events? They will even pay you a fee for your efforts.

Mamma mia!

Your first mission, because of course you have chosen to accept it: Head off to experience Meal For A Meal, taking place through Thursday in spots around New York. Barilla is handing out 20,000 free pasta dinner kits from food trucks, 5000 a day. That's a lotta pasta. Wait, it gets better: For every Spaghetatta To-Go meal Barilla gives out, the company donates $1 to the Food Bank For New York City. That adds up to 100,000 meals for the needy. And they'll toss in an extra $1 donation for anyone who gets their photo taken for their Facebook page.

You look up "spaghettata" and find out it's Italian for an impromptu, spaghetti-based meal in which friends, family and fun are just as key as the pasta. You've been enjoying spaghettatas all year long and didn't even know it!

You tell your son that you're off to get him some spaghetti. He is a little skeptical of your pasta sensibilities because this week, you tried to make him some purple spaghetti using beet juice. Two problems: Beet juice actually makes spaghetti pink and also, it smells kind of nasty.

Your son stared dubiously at the pink-not-purple spaghetti. Then he caught a whiff and said, "NOOOOOOOOOOOO."

Off to the food truck you go to make amends! When you arrive you see the line and realize that there are a whole lot of spaghetti-loving people out there. Hey! Maybe someday, your son can help run a spaghetti lovers convention (assuming he doesn't switch to lasagna or ziti, that is).

You get your dinner kit and sure enough it contains a box of Barilla spaghetti (score!) along with a jar of Barilla sauce, a container of fresh greens, and packets of Barilla olive oil and vinegar. All this and money goes to the needy. Nice!

You bring your haul home proudly, as if you've been out hunting and caught a box of spaghetti. Your child is asleep by then but you lean down and whisper in his ear, "Max, I got you some more spaghetti!" And he sort of smiles and goes back to dreaming. Probably about spaghetti.

Live in New York? On Wednesday the Barilla food truck will be on East 59th between Lexington and 3rd; on Thursday, it will be on Broadway between 58th Street and Columbus Circle. Oh, and next week, I get to give away a bag of Barilla foods (please don't tell Max I'm giving pasta away!), and two pairs of VIP tickets to a special Summer of Italy concert.

What shape of pasta is your child's favorite?

Photo/DaGoaty