Product Description

In her New York Times bestseller Everyday Italian, Giada De Laurentiis introduced us to the simple, fresh flavors of her native Italian cuisine. Now, America’s favorite Italian cook is back with a new batch of simple, delicious recipes geared toward family meals—Italian style.

These unpretentious and delicious meals are at the center of some of Giada’s warmest memories of sitting around the table with her family, passing bowls of wonderful food, and laughing over old times. Recipes for soups like Escarole and Bean and hearty sandwiches such as the classic Italian Muffuletta make casual, easy suppers, while one-pot dinners like Giada’s Chicken Vesuvio and Veal Stew with Cipollini Onions are just as simple but elegant enough for company. You’ll also find recipes for holiday favorites you’ll be tempted to make all year round, including Easter Pie, Turkey and Ciabatta Stuffing with Chestnuts and Pancetta, and Panettone Bread Pudding with Amaretto Sauce.

Giada’s Family Dinners celebrates the fun of family meals with photographs of Giada’s real-life family and friends as well as the wonderful dishes she shares with them in her kitchen. Suggested menus help you put together a family-style meal for any occasion, from informal to festive.

The heart of Italian cooking is the home, and Giada’s Family Dinners—full of fantastic recipes that require a minimum of fuss to prepare—invites you to treat everyone like a member of the family.

Nothing is more important than family. Bring yours to the table with Giada’s unpretentious, authentic, down-home Italian cooking!


• SOUPS AND SANDWICHES
• ITALIAN SALADS AND SIDES
• EVERYDAY FAMILY ENTREES
• THE ITALIAN GRILL
• FAMILY-STYLE PASTA
• FAMILY-STYLE GET-TOGETHERS
• ITALIAN FAMILY FEASTS
• FAMILY-STYLE DESSERTS

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6450 in Books
• Brand: Random House
• Published on: 2006-04-04
• Released on: 2006-04-04
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Amazon.com
Fans of the Food Network's Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis will love Giada's Family Dinners an even more accessible (if this is possible) cookbook designed to help families enjoy easy, delicious, authentic Italian meals. Simple and elegant, the recipes range from the quick fix to the family feast, and include plenty of desserts. And, those of you who felt that the only flaw in Giada's first book was that it lacked a chapter on soups will want to fire up the range and get your pots ready for 7 delicious and easy soup recipes.

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From Publishers Weekly
With her second cookbook, Food TV star De Laurentiis proves she's more than just a pretty face. Although the host of Everyday Italian is not hard to look at, and photos of her and her family cooking are scattered throughout, there are many more reasons to pick up this book. If classics like Escarole and Bean Soup, Chicken Marsala, and Basic Polenta aren't strong enough incentives, then perhaps modern interpretations such as Chicken Carbonara, Roasted Red Snapper with Parsley Vinaigrette, Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Swiss Chard and Pecorino Cheese, or Espresso Brownies will be. Like De Laurentiis's first, bestselling book (named after her show), this volume presents doable dishes, though there's an emphasis here on feeding a crowd (which doesn't mean small households can't make Italian Wedding Soup and freeze some for an easy weeknight supper). There are twists on Thanksgiving classics, including Turkey with Herbes de Provence and Citrus, Ciabatta Stuffing with Chestnuts and Pancetta, and Butternut Squash Lasagna as well as recipes for traditional Italian holiday foods like Easter Pie, Pizza Rustica, and Panettone Bread Pudding with Amaretto Sauce. Broader and more developed than Everyday Italian, De Laurentiis's second book nicely showcases her range and depth. (Apr.)
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About the Author
Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network’s Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.

Customer Reviews

Great cookbook!
I was very impressed with this cookbook. Normally I only find a few recipes that I like in a cookbook, but this one had quite a few! I am a huge italian food fan and love to have this to work off of.

Some truly heavenly food
I confess that my husband and I have something of a cookbook fetish. We have, however, invested in some books that didn't prove worthwhile and so before shelling out the money for Giada's books, I decided I would check them out from the library, make some recipes, and go from there. I wanted to know if the recipes were as good as she makes them look on the show and if, upon tasting it, my husband and I would have expressions on our faces that mirror the food ecstasy Giada seems to experience. The answer to that question: Oh, yes! Today I've ordered all three of her books because I simply can't imagine living without them and not being able to make her delicious, heavenly recipes whenever I want. Here are my thoughts on a few of the recipes:

Broiled Salmon with Garlic, Mustard, and Herbs - Truth be told, I could usually take or leave fish. My husband, however, loves seafood and so I try to make fish at least every other week or so but it's not something to which I generally look forward to eating. Imagine my surprise when my husband made this dish and I devoured it. It's an extremely simple recipe that requires very little preparation and even less actual cooking but it was so good that I immediately wanted to eat it again. It's a delicious combination of tanginess due to the mustard, saltiness, and a light touch of herbs. This is my favorite of all fish dishes I have ever eaten.

Chicken Marsala with Mustard and Mascarpone - There were many moans of pleasure when this dish was consumed. The preparation is a bit intensive as it requires washing and slicing a lot of mushrooms but it is so worth it. I thought the combination of ingredients was interesting but it didn't do justice to the outcome, which was chicken and pasta in a sauce so creamy and exquisite it tastes like something you'd get at a very expensive Italian restaurant. This was an outstanding recipe.

Penne with Sausage, Artichokes, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes - This is a delicious dish. I used chicken Italian sausage rather than pork and it was still deliciously rich. The sausage is nicely contrasted against the lemony artichokes and the sun-dried tomatoes add a wonderful tang. I would definitely recommend using the mozzarella, which is marked as optional, as it adds a creamy, mild sweetness to the dish. The sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil are a bit pricey but the jar I bought had enough for two full recipes and I'm already planning on making the dish again, only a couple of weeks after having made it the first time.

Giada's food can't go wrong
I purchased this book as well as everyday italian several years ago. It's true that many of her recipes are online on the foodnetwork site, however I love collecting recipe books. The foods presented here range from quick fix to longer prep times so there will always be something delicious you can make depending on your schedule. I highly recommend this book as well as to try the delicious Italian soups presented here.