With its hot pink title and binding, one might worry that celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis’ new cookbook has ditched Italian heritage for SoCal style low-carb diet meals. Luckily, when flipping through the pages of Giada at Home: Family Recipes from Italy and California, it is evident that she’s still the same old Giada.
De Laurentiis, who has made her name on the Food Network with her shows Giada at Home and Everyday Italian, has become a fan favorite over the years for her restaurant-quality dishes with easy execution. Her new book doesn’t stray far from this tradition, providing dishes like pea pesto crostini, which comes together in minutes and provides an eye-popping lime color that would liven up any cocktail party.
Even the book’s form stays true to De Laurentiis’ hybrid of Italian heritage and Californian upbringing. Each recipe is color coordinated to designate whether it is a traditional Italian recipe: in orange (often inherited from her childhood), or a modern, updated dish in bright green.
Among her green recipes, you can find innovative ideas like fusilli with spicy pesto, which is made from arugula, spinach, and jalapeño instead of the classic basil and pine nut combination. In the orange category, De Laurentiis perfects classics like the chianti marinated beef stew, which utilizes simple flavors of rosemary, olives and wine that nearly waft off the page.
Between recipes, the book provides educational sections on the differences between Italian and American cuisines. Often, De Laurentiis discloses that “Italian” dishes seen in America, like pasta salad, rarely appear in Italy. She also provides the reader insight on traditional Italian dishes, like the differences between crostini and bruschetta (thicker bread for bruschetta, lighter toppings for crostini), as well as the real definitions of prosciutto and pancetta.
One addition that her new book includes that her older works left out is a section devoted to brunch food. A recipe for an egg white frittata with lox and arugula pops off the page with its vibrant pinks and greens, and for those who crave salty-sweet dishes, there is a recipe for pancetta and cinnamon waffles. Some recipes, like the waffles, rely on premade mixes for fast cooking, while others, like the crispy Parmesan biscuits, allow the readers to flex their cooking-from-scratch muscles.
The vegetable section, as seen in her past books, is filled with decadent choices like vegetable parmesan (which includes four cups of cheese and breadcrumbs), but also highlights lighter dishes like olive and sundried tomato vegetables. The pecorino and bean salad is a flavorful and easy dish to tote to class, with its use of rosemary, garlic and pecorino to enhance the dressing.
Dessert lovers will likely drool over her California-updated Italian deserts like lemon hazelnut tiramisu and white chocolate-dipped almond and lemon biscotti.
De Laurentiis provides recipes with clear, to-the-point directions and mini-essays prior to the recipes, providing personal insight into each dish. Most skills required to make these dishes are fairly basic, from sautéing to baking to frying, and in a city like Portland, finding ingredients shouldn’t be difficult at all.
Through her instruction and recipes, it is evident that De Laurentiis values her Italian heritage and has the cooking chops to incorporate Californian modernity. Between the beautiful pictures of food, there are a few photo collages of De Laurentiis’ family. From Nonna to her brother to her husband, everyone seems to be enjoying a stunning meal, but they often look more like models than an average family. De Laurentiis’ two-year old daughter, Jade, also appears often throughout the book. With this new collection of recipes and a mama who knows her stuff, it’s safe to say that Jade might be one of the luckiest girls in the world.