Put down the gift card and pick up a thoughtful gift for the foodie in your life.
At Dagostino’s, we know the perfect food gifts, and we know where to get them.
Check out this gift guide for pasta lovers to get some inspiration.
Wine
Wine is a well-received gift globally, but instead of picking blindly from the wine list, you can find specific wines that complement certain dishes for pasta lovers!
For example, pasta that is heavy and creamy pairs better with wines that are considered light-bodied. If your pasta lover is a big fan of alfredo we would recommend a Chardonnay or a Chardonnay blend.
For lighter pasta dishes that are oil-based, Sauvignon Blanc is a great wine to pair. This type of wine is typically crisp and light, and compliments dishes like Agelio e Olio and Spaghetti Carbonara really well.
For tomato sauce pasta dishes that include rich meats or creams the best wine to pair it with is a full-bodied wine, think of wines similar to a Cabernet Sauvignon.
And of course, any seafood pasta dish should be paired with something light and bubbly like an Italian Prosecco.
Read more about pasta and wine pairings in our blog here.
Cooking Class
A great gift for the foodie in your life is a cooking class! Cooking classes are a great way to enjoy a gift together and provide a great opportunity to make memories that last a lifetime.
You can find cooking classes near your local area and join a group experience, or another option is to hire a private chef to teach you how to make your favorite dishes in the comfort of your own home. The costs of cooking classes range greatly, so just investigate the best option for you!
Specialty Pasta
Pasta lovers love specialty pasta, duh! However, there are so many different types of specialty pasta that it can be hard to choose just one. Some specialty pasta is made with special ingredients like vegetables or even squid ink!
Other types of specialty pasta are cut into very traditional, but uncommon shapes, like mafaldine pasta.
The best types of specialty pasta are those made into unique shapes. This type of pasta is less traditional but definitely impresses pasta lovers everywhere.
You can find creatively shaped pasta everywhere, but you don't have to look too far.
Dagostino Pasta creates three specialty-shaped kinds of pasta that make a great gift for any occasion.
Our alligator, crawfish, and fleur de lis shaped pasta now come together in one bundle!
Authentic Pasta
Authentic pasta is also a great gift for your culinary inclined friends and family. And by authentic pasta, we mean the type of pasta that originated in Italy, Semolina pasta.
Semolina flour is the best ingredient for pasta because it makes our pasta taste fresh, tender, and delicious. When you make pasta using semolina flour, this ingredient prevents the pasta from falling apart, separating, or becoming too soft. This will result in the perfect al dente pasta, truly tasting the difference between semolina and other types of pasta.
Authentic pasta shapes are spaghetti, lasagna, fettuccine, and angel hair. These long pasta strands are what you’ll typically see in a traditional Italian dish, and when you use Semolina pasta in these dishes, it will elevate the dish.
At Dagostino’s, we’ve bundled three of our favorite authentic semolina pasta, perfect for gift giving or for simply restocking your pantry.
Traditional Pasta Sauce
Traditional pasta sauces to compliment authentic pasta or even a pasta maker is a great gift idea. There are many options for dinner-ready sauces at your local grocery store, but a real authentic sauce may be harder to find. When you think of a traditional pasta sauce, you may think of alfredo or pesto. Both of these sauces are amazing for gifts and you can find authentic ones fairly easily.
However, nothing steals the show quite like pasta lover tomato sauce. Tomato sauce is a staple in Italian cuisine. The use of tomato sauce dates back to Italy in the 1700s and has been enjoyed around the world since then.
Pasta lovers appreciate a real slow-cooked tomato sauce, and at Dagostino’s, that is one of our specialties.
Our three tomato sauces have all the flavors of authentic Italian cuisine plus all the convenience of a store-bought jarred sauce. Not only do we have all the flavor of simmering tomatoes for hours, but our ingredients make it taste just as fresh as home cooking. Honey brings depth to the sauce while also balancing the acidity of the Stanislaus. We use the Stanislaus tomatoes instead of typical grocery tomatoes to keep our sauce tasting fresh.
Read more about our tomato sauces here!
Pasta Gift Box
If you can’t choose what kind of gift to give your pasta lover out of the options we listed, no worries! This holiday season, Dagostino’s is offering several kinds of pasta gift box options.
These gift boxes include sauces, oils, bottles of vinegar, and of course traditional and specialty pasta.
You can find the perfect gift ready to ship at our Pasta Gift Box page.