Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes - Hardcover

Giada De Laurentiis

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1400052580 ISBN 13: 9781400052585

Publisher: Clarkson Potter, 2005

Synopsis

In the Food Network star's first book, Giada De Laurentiis helps you put a fabulous Italian dinner on the table tonight, for friends or just for the kids, with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of flavor.

Everyday Italian is true to its title: the fresh, simple recipes are incredibly quick and accessible, and also utterly mouth-watering—perfect for everyday cooking. And the book is focused on the real-life considerations of what you actually have in your refrigerator and pantry (no mail-order ingredients here) and what you’re in the mood for—whether a simply sauced pasta or a hearty family-friendly roast, these great recipes cover every contingency. So, for example, you’ll find dishes that you can make solely from pantry ingredients, or those that transform lowly leftovers into exquisite entrées (including brilliant ideas for leftover pasta), and those that satisfy your yearning to have something sweet baking in the oven. There are 7 ways to make red sauce more interesting, 6 different preparations of the classic cutlet, 5 perfect pestos, 4 creative uses for prosciutto, 3 variations on basic polenta, 2 great steaks, and 1 sublime chocolate tiramisù—plus 100 other recipes that turn everyday ingredients into speedy but special dinners.

What’s more, Everyday Italian is organized according to what type of food you want tonight—whether a soul-warming stew for Sunday supper, a quick sauté for a weeknight, or a baked pasta for potluck. These categories will help you figure out what to cook in an instant, with such choices as fresh-from-the-pantry appetizers, sauceless pastas, everyday roasts, and stuffed vegetables—whatever you’re in the mood for, you’ll be able to find a simple, delicious recipe for it here. That’s the beauty of Italian home cooking, and that’s what Giada De Laurentiis offers here—the essential recipes to make a great Italian dinner. Tonight.

About this title

About the Author

GIADA DE LAURENTIIS is the Emmy Award-winning star of Food Network's Everyday Italian, Giada at Home, Giada's Holiday Handbook, and Giada in Italy; she is also a judge on Food Network Star, a contributing correspondent for NBC's Today show, and the author of seven New York Times bestselling books. She recently published the eighth in her series of books for young readers, Recipe for Adventure. She has a namesake restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip with a second location planned for 2018. Born in Rome, Giada grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives with her daughter, Jade.

From the Back Cover

In her hit Food Network show "Everyday Italian, Giada De Laurentiis shows you how to cook delicious, beautiful food in a flash. And here, in her long-awaited first book, she does the same--helps you put a fabulous dinner on the table tonight, for friends or just for the kids, with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of flavor. She makes it all look easy, because it is.
"Everyday Italian is true to its title: the fresh, simple recipes are incredibly quick and accessible, and also utterly mouth-watering--perfect for everyday cooking. And the book is focused on the real-life considerations of what you actually have in your refrigerator and pantry (no mail-order ingredients here) and what you're in the mood for--whether a simply sauced pasta or a hearty family-friendly roast, these great recipes cover every contingency. So, for example, you'll find dishes that you can make solely from pantry ingredients, or those that transform lowly leftovers into exquisite entrees (including brilliant ideas for leftover pasta), and those that satisfy your yearning to have something sweet baking in the oven. There are 7 ways to make red sauce more interesting, 6 different preparations of the classic cutlet, 5 perfect pestos, 4 creative uses for prosciutto, 3 variations on basic polenta, 2 great steaks, and 1 sublime chocolate tiramisu--plus 100 other recipes that turn everyday ingredients into speedy but special dinners.
What's more, "Everyday Italian is organized according to what type of food you want tonight--whether a soul-warming stew for Sunday supper, a quick saute for a weeknight, or a baked pasta for potluck. These categories will help you figure out what to cook in an instant, with suchchoices as fresh-from-the-pantry appetizers, sauceless pastas, everyday roasts, and stuffed vegetables--whatever you're in the mood for, you'll be able to find a simple, delicious recipe for it here. That's the beauty of Italian home cooking, and that's what Giada De Laurentiis offers here--the essential recipes to make a great Italian dinner. Tonight.

Reviews

With its cover image of the fetching de Laurentiis wearing a low-cut top and its promise of easy, tasty Italian recipes, this cookbook is sure to draw in home cooks who don't know how to make a basic marinara sauce and want to be introduced them to the beauty and simplicity of Italian cuisine. Which is, of course, a good thing, but a shame, too, since this work lacks depth or meaning. Readers seeking a true introduction to the building blocks of Italian cooking would be worlds better off with one of Marcella Hazan's or Lidia Bastianich's early primers. What those who are lured in by the good looks and charm of de Laurentiis (granddaughter of film producer Dino and star of Food Network's Everyday Italian) will get is an unsophisticated but decent selection of Italian-American classics, from antipasto to pasta, meat dishes to desserts, including Clams Oreganata, Caprese Salad, Salsa all'Amatriciana, Fettucine Alfredo, Veal Marsala, Caponata and Chocolate Tiramisù. De Laurentiis provides an introduction to each dish, and her recipes are generally minimalist (there are no recipes for homemade pastas or stews that take a day to make). Though bursting with glamorous shots of a lovely looking author, this is a rather flat first effort.
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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Spicy Tomato Sauce from Giada de Laurentiis's Everyday Italian
Makes about 1 quart;
Serves 4 over a pound of pasta as a main course

The sauce known as all’arrabbiata—or “in the angry style”—is made with hot red pepper flakes (and sometimes fresh chilies for an extra kick). I like to use the briny elements of olives and capers and skip the fresh chilies, adding depth to the spiciness rather than just more heat. Perfect with penne or rigatoni.

   • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
   • 1 small onion, minced
   • 2 garlic cloves, minced
   • 1/2 cup pitted black olives, coarsely chopped
   • 2 tablespoons drained capers, rinsed
   • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
   • Generous pinch of dried crushed red pepper flakes
   • 1 28-ounce can crushed Italian tomatoes


In a large skillet, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. When almost smoking, add the onion and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the olives, capers, 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt, and red pepper flakes, and sauté for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and simmer until reduced slightly, about 20 minutes. Season the sauce with more salt to taste. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarkson Potter
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1400052580
• ISBN 13: 9781400052585
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256