Dec 06 2008
Giadas Kitchen New Italian Favorites
Giadas Kitchen New Italian Favorites
She’s taught us every facet of Italian cooking—from traditional and regional to seasonal and contemporary. She even made us fall in love with pasta again by opening us up to lighter, healthier versions that don’t weigh us down. Now the Food Network star and bestselling author of Everyday Pasta, Giada De Laurentiis, takes us down a new path, sharing her love of food with clean, vibrant, simple flavors and bursts of bright colors that look as beautiful on the plate as they are delicious.
Yes, you will still find those fabulous recipes she remembers so fondly from family meals, but you’ll also find updated twists on classic trattoria favorites—California-inflected, hearty but not overwhelming, and with the perfect balance of healthfulness and terrific flavor. Wouldn’t you love a faster, lighter take on osso buco (here made with turkey instead of veal), a salad with real substance (like one of cantaloupe, red onion, and walnuts), and fish that gets an Italian makeover by way of lots of fresh veggies and accents such as fennel and grapefruit salsa? And let’s not forget dessert. After all, what’s not to adore about little doughnuts dipped in chocolate sauce?
Ranging from soups and snacks to easy entrées and elegant dinner-party fare, Giada’s recipes are perfect for any day of the week. And for the first time, she includes a full section of dishes that the little ones will love making as much as they love eating (like mini chicken meatballs). With something to please everyone at your table, Giada’s Kitchen deliciously demonstrates why Giada De Laurentiis has become America’s best-loved Italian cook.
Italy meets California In Giada De Laurentiis’s collection of 100 new recipes, she focuses on fresh ingredients, simple preparation, and bright flavors. Anyone who wants to indulge in the pleasures of Italian food without feeling weighed down will find inspiration for delicious, hearty yet healthy weekday meals. Giada’s recipes satisfy both our desire to eat with gusto and to feel good about what we eat.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Nice!
I am looking forward to trying some of her recipes in this book. I have her others so was happy to get this one.
5 Stars Giada does it again
I am a huge fan of Giada’s. This book is definitely my favorite of hers so far, in that the recipies are less intimidating, and in my opinion more appealing. She provides great ideas for entertaining and moves away from strictly Italian offerings. A wonderful and useful cookbook!
5 Stars Great book!
I am a big fan of Giada and this is actually my first book from her. I love this book. I live in CA but I am originally from France. It has been so long since I am in the US eating crap (sorry for using this word but this the truth, nobody pushed me to do it anyway!)… I have been watching her show and decided to give it a try, it is a success! Thank you Giada. First, she pushes me to cook and secondly, I feel like I am eating healthy again, like my mom used to cook and teach me how to cook healthy meals. Her book is easy to understand, and most of her recipes are easy to make. Everybody can give it a try… this is a great buy! I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to eat like Europeans people do it, good for you and yummy!
5 Stars Lovely Gift
Lovely book, pictures, and recipes sound delicious. I gave it to my daughter as a gift, she hasn’t tried any yet but they look wonderful.
5 Stars Good addition to the kichen library
I have earlier acquired and used one of Giada De Laurentiis’ cookbooks, “Everyday Pasta,” which was jammed with good pasta recipes. None that I ever tried turned out to be a dud. So, I took a look at another of her books, “Giada’s Kitchen.” Again, this is a fine resource.
She begins be speaking to her approach (Page 10): “These days, my palate responds most to clean, vibrant, simple flavors, and my eyes can’t resist the undeniable freshness of great ingredients and bursts of bright colors.” So, presentation of dishes is an element in her selection of recipes for this volume. And, indeed, the pictures of the finished product are mouth-watering and aesthetically appealing!
I married into an Italian family, and one of the benefits is my introduction to dishes such as stuffed mushrooms. Giada presents a recipe for Tuscan Mushrooms as an appetizer. Not quite the same as my family recipe, but a filling of red bell peppers, olives, cheese, and scallions spooned into mushroom caps sounds awfully appetizing.
A very attractive dish (see the photo on page 79) is simple to make–Asparagus and Zucchini Crudi. A couple zucchini (shaved) and a bunch of asparagus (trimmed and sliced into small pieces), tossed with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. After tossing, shave some Pecorino Romano cheese and sprinkle over the vegetables. Like I said, both simple AND tasty.
Pasta? Take a look at the photo on page 104 and the recipe for Asparagus Lasagna on page 105. Instead of using tomato sauce as the basis for the lasagna, she suggests sun-dried tomatoes. I have not yet made this, but it is on my list to try out in the very near future.
I made my first risotto yesterday (featuring mushrooms), and was well pleased with the results (I can’t say that every dish I try comes out wonderfully!). The Lemon Risotto presented here is another approach. Arborio rice, chicken broth, lemon juice, shallots, white wine, grated Parmesan cheese etc. One thing that I learned when making my first risotto is also emphasized by de Laurentiis: one must stir pretty much constantly as you add the broth bit by bit to the cooking rice.
One nice feature comes at the end of this book–recipes that kids can help out with. The author says that (Page 203): “. . .my hope is that these recipes will help kids be more comfortable in the kitchen and give them the confidence to try new foods and to ultimately create their own dishes.”
To conclude, this is a very nice cookbook, filled with recipes that are (and promise to be) tasty. The recipes are, for the most part, accessible to the amateur chef, not so fancy that you need a sous chef to help out! And the photos are attractive indeed.
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[...] She’s taught us every facet of Italian cooking —from traditional and regional to seasonal and contemporary. She even made us fall in love with pasta again by opening us up to lighter, healthier versions that don’t weigh us down. .. More [...]