Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites

Another delicious compilation from Food Network's sexiest lady in the kitchen. If you're a fan of Everyday Italian, you know what to expect from her cookbooks, a nice mixture of salads, soups, pasta, heavier meat/fish, and luscious desserts. While some recipes may appear challenging or intimidating at first glance, often the details are in the prep work and they come together fairly effortlessly. This book is no exception with a variety of easy to difficult, simple "comfort" food to the elaborate. A nice "new" section in the back titled "Not Just for Kids" is appealing, as is the suggested menu plans for recipes throughout.

Another great book by Giada. I had the pleasure of seeing her recently at the South Beach Food and Wine festival and she was every bit as nice in person as she is on TV. She took a lot of time with the children in the audience and answering questions. Nutella rocks! .Anyway on to the book. Even though this a "foodie" book there are many recipes that my family enjoys in here. I love the "not just for kids" section at the end. Many recipes call for mascarpone cheese, main dishes as well as desserts. Favorite recipes in this book include chicken scaloppine with saffron cream sauce, chicken with balsamic barbecue sauce, prosciutto mozarella pinwheels. fusilli alla caprese, and sweet and sticky chicken drumsticks. Delicious!

I liked the book and I liked the recipes....It was easy to read & follow. I wish there had been more photos, but the ones there were very saliva inducing..... Then there were the photos of Giada's cleavage which I could have done without... actually the series of photos were of here preparing certain dishes, but he cleavage was right up front center stage......

So, due to the fact that I lost my original post and I'm too lazy to rewrite the entire original review, I'm just going to give you a short list of recipes that I found interesting.....

Fresh tomato & goat cheese strata w/ herb oil; Tuscan mushrooms; Crispy smoked mozzarella w/ honey & figs; Pecorino crackers.

Tuscan white bean & garlic soup; Spicy calamari stew w/ garlic toasts; show more Curried chicken sandwich w/ radicchio & pancetta; Panini w/ chocolate & brie; and Focaccia lobster rolls.

Grilled eggplant & goat cheese salad; Fennel slaw w/ prosciutto & pistachio pesto; Asparagus & zucchini crudi; Spicy parmesan green beans & kale; asparagus, artichoke & mushroom saute w/ tarragon vinaigrette; and Baked artichokes w/ gorgonzola & herbs.

Pastina w/ clams & mussels; Asparagus lasagna; Giada's carbonara; Swiss chard & sweet pea manicotti; Linguini w/ shrimp, arugula & lemon oil; Orzo stuffed peppers; and Orecchietti w/ sausage, beans & mascarpone.

Rib eye steak w/ black olive vinaigrette; Prosciutto lamb burgers; Turkey osso buco; Chicken scaloppine w/ saffron cream sauce; Roasted pork loin w/ roasted garlic vinaigrette; Swordfish poached in olive oil w/ broccoli rabe pesto; and Roasted halibut w/ grapefruit fennel salsa.

Strawberry & mascarpone granita; Chocolate panna cotta w/ amaretto whipped cream; Citrus semifreddo; Espresso chocolate mousse w/ orange mascarpone whipped cream; Ricotta cappuccino; Orange & chocolate zeppole; and Almond, pine nut & apricot coffee cake.

Polenta crusted shrimp w/ honey mustard; Parmesan fish sticks; Prosciutto mozarella pinwheels; Orecchiette w/ mini chicken meatballs; & Summer grilled fruit..... show less

Great recepies with some shortcuts that make them feasible for everyday!

She can do no wrong. Love her and her cook books. Hope she continues to print more.