A spaghetti noodle, much like a swimming-pool noodle, maintains its shape until it's exposed to boiling water or sat on by children. Savor pasta's forced flexibility with today's Groupon to Grecco's in St. Croix Falls. Choose between the following options:

• For $20, you get $40 worth of global fare.
• For $59, you get a home-delivered Grecco's Chef in a Box meal for four (a $200 value).
  
  

Executive chef Justin Grecco draws from his world travels to craft Grecco's menus of internationally influenced dishes that rotate weekly. Asian techniques conjure the crab cream-cheese wontons ($9) as well as the pepper and mango salsa and sweat-and-sour sauce that bridge disparate flavors. Spoons scoop up loads of the mushroom risotto ($18) seasoned with applewood-smoked bacon, fresh herbs, and garlic, or hearty tureens of cioppino ($23) stewing with salmon, halibut, and jealousy over not getting to be a first course. Carnivorous creations such as the bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin ($24) provide protein-packed energy for muscle-craving forks, and freshly prepped salads ($7–8) challenge munchers to crunch through crispy veggies and ripe greens.

Grounded gourmets on house arrest can try their hands at crafting restaurant-style dishes from the comfort of their own kitchens with Grecco’s Chef in a Box. Loaded with enough fresh, uncooked ingredients to feed four people, each home-delivered meal arrives at doorsteps accompanied by easy-to-follow cooking directions. Home chefs can choose from a variety of meal options such as filet mignon, lobster gnocchi, or combo boxes that pack multiple entrees. Additionally, step-by-step online videos are available to help during meal preparation and teach hip chef lingo to impress time travelers from a future where food no longer exists.