Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Giada De Laurentiis "Giada's Family Dinners" follows best seller "Everyday Italian,"

The ANNOTICO Report

 

Giada De Laurentiis was born in Rome, but grew up in Los Angeles and lives here now. Her famous grandfather, movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, was born in Naples into a family that owned a pasta factory.

 

 She's slim, gorgeous — and thoroughly grounded in cooking. As a youngster, De Laurentiis hung out at the DDL Food Show, a gourmet shop that her grandfather opened in Beverly Hills in 1984. There she watched chefs from Italy create pastas, pizzas and other dishes for the shop.


Fascinated by what she had observed, De Laurentiis went on to train at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, work at  Wolfgang Puck's "Spago" and establish her own catering firm. Then TV beckoned. "Everyday Italian" debuted in 2003. In October, De Laurentiis started a second show, "Behind the Bash," in which she examines the makings of great parties.

Her food isn't cutting edge, but that's not the point. "This is the kind of unpretentious, authentic, down-home Italian cooking that my family loves," she writes in the introduction to "Giada's Family Dinners."

 "Everyday Italian," based on her popular Food Network show, has been on bestseller lists since its publication last year. Just arriving in bookstores is a follow-up, "Giada's Family Dinners" (Clarkson Potter, $32.50).

The first book concentrated on basics. This one moves on to food that's a bit more ambitious including Italian holiday dishes, grilled meats and party-size food.

 

COOKBOOK WATCH

ITALIAN,UNRAVELED

Giada De Laurentiis keeps it simple and warm as she moves on from the everyday basics to grander meals.

 

Los Angeles Times

By Barbara Hansen
Times Staff Writer
April 5, 2006

GIADA DE LAURENTIIS' first book, "Everyday Italian," based on her popular Food Network show, has been holding steady on bestseller lists since its publication last year. Just arriving in bookstores is a follow-up, "Giada's Family Dinners" (Clarkson Potter, $32.50).

Lavishly illustrated, it offers 117 recipes for easy, accessible Italian dishes, ranging from the traditional — pasta e fagioli  and minestrone — to the contemporary — rack of lamb with mint-basil pesto and turkey with herbes de Provence  and citrus.

There's plenty of familiar Italian food, but it's often reworked to De Laurentiis' own taste, such as when she makes a quick, light Bolognese sauce with turkey or spruces up a carbonara with chicken, walnuts and lemon.

The first book concentrated on basics. This one moves on to food that's a bit more ambitious inclu! ding Italian holiday dishes, grilled meats and party-size food. Some of the recipes are straight from Italy. Born in Rome, De Laurentiis grew up in Los Angeles and lives here now. Her famous grandfather, movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, was born in Naples into a family that owned a pasta factory.

No wonder the Food Network sought her out. She's slim, gorgeous — and thoroughly grounded in cooking. As a youngster, De Laurentiis hung out at the DDL Food Show, a gourmet shop that her grandfather opened in Beverly Hills in 1984. There she watched chefs from Italy create pastas, pizzas and other dishes for the shop, including a baked angel hair timbale that she has revamped for the book.

Fascinated by what she had observed, De Laurentiis went on to train at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, work at Spago and establish her own catering firm. Then TV beckoned. "Everyday Italian" debuted in 2003. In October, De Laurentiis started a second show, "Behind the Bash," in which she ! examines the makings of great parties.

Her food isn't cutting edge, but that's not the point. "This is the kind of unpretentious, authentic, down-home Italian cooking that my family loves," she writes in the introduction to "Giada's Family Dinners."

The recipes are straightforward and require no special techniques or equipment, except for pots large enough to hold big amounts of soup and pasta. I tried nine of them, plus one from her first book, and was able to buy all the ingredients (except for extra slim asparagus for a pasta dish) at neighborhood supermarkets. This practicality is one reason fans appreciate De Laurentiis' recipes. Her style is warm and friendly, never intimidating. And she writes with such enthusiasm that you want to try every dish.

Although there's no skimping on rich ingredients such as butter, cream, goat cheese and mascarpone, and freshness is important, De Laurentiis frequently makes use of convenience ingredients. In the soup se! ction, every recipe calls for purchased broth, sometimes in prodigious amounts (a beef lentil soup calls for six 14-ounce cans)...

The pasta dish recipes I tried worked well. Penne with spinach sauce was absolutely beautiful, tossed with baby spinach leaves and a creamy purйe of goat cheese, spinach and garlic that turns the penne a light green. (In the Test Kitchen, we tweaked the recipe a bit, substituting regular penne for the whole wheat the recipe called for, which had a gummy texture, and replacing reduced-fat cream cheese with additional goat cheese.) Farfalle combined with cremini mushrooms, short lengths of very fine asparagus, mascarpone and toasted walnuts is sumptuous and easy to prepare.

A side dish of roasted fennel with Parmesan cheese is a terrific, simple idea that works well.

...I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book. The recipes are varied enough to please everyone, from kids who will clamor for Italian style s'mores to busy cooks! who will find a quick marinara sauce a godsend. The procedures are easy, the flavors are satisfying and the food is attractive. It is, however, important to study the recipes in advance to detect anything that is not clear before starting. "When you're in a rush to get dinner on the table, take some shortcuts," De Laurentiis writes. But a missing step isn't the sort of shortcut she intended.

 

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