Giada De Laurentiis

Okay, so Paula’s Home Cooking is a Can’t Miss everyday - I know, I know. But today, it’s especially so. The recipes she’ll be making are “Country Food Side Dishes” and the lineup sounds way beyond delicious. One of the things she’ll make is a sweetening syrup she uses for Iced Tea. If you aren’t from the South, you may not be that familiar with sweet tea. Being a Kentuckian, I was never familiar with any other. When I got married, my husband was in the Air Force, so we moved around quite a bit. We lived in the beautiful city of Wichita, Kansas for a while and I was convinced they made the worst tea on earth until I realized they just didn’t sweeten it.

My response, of course, was “Why on earth not?!?!” (They also didn’t fry green tomatoes, make red eye gravy, or have a clear understanding of okra. But I loved them anyway.)

Here’s Paula Deen’s Recipe for Simple Syrup for Sweetening Tea:

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water

Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan, bringing to a boil. When the sugar is completely dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and cool to room temperature. Add to your pitcher of tea and soon you’ll be wondering “Why on earth..” everyone doesn’t drink sweet tea too.

Here are the other recipes Paula Deen will be cooking up today:

Corn Casserole

Turnip Mashed Potatoes

Indian Succotash

Hoppin’ John

If you’re a big fan of casseroles, don’t miss Emeril tonight. The show’s centered around casseroles and they sound amazing. Afterwards, we’ll be ready for dessert and those of us who are Alton Brown fanatics will be in Food Network Heaven, there’ll be back to back Good Eats. The first one focuses on cakes and the second one will “top things off” with icings. (Sorry. Couldn’t resist.)

For the recipes that will be featured on Emeril, Alton, and the rest of the shows on today’s Food Network, see the scrolling lineup to the left. I like what’s up Giada’s Italian sleeves today, too.

Today’s Food Network line-up makes my Kentuckian heart skip a couple thousand beats. Yeah, that good.

First of all, early this morning on Boy Meets Grill, Fried Chicken is the star of the show. Sign me up for any show where Fried Chicken’s center stage!

On Everyday Italian (the 4:30 pm episode), Giada will make pancakes with ricotta. I love pancakes almost as much as fried chicken, so I’m completely on board for that. Also, I love cooking with ricotta - whether it’s lasagna, manicotti, or stuffed pasta shells…it’s one of the most agreeable cheeses in the world. I can’t wait to see how she uses it with pancakes!

Immediately after this Everyday Italian, the Barefoot Contessa has an amazing sounding episode featuring Mac and Cheese, Peach Raspberry Shortcakes, and Radishes with Butter and Salt. Talk about beckoning to Spring.

As if that weren’t enough, Rachael Ray is even dedicating one of her 30 Minute Meals episodes to Bluegrass Burgers today. She’ll be making Kentucky Burgoo Burgers and Southern Succotash and Julip Sweet Tea. On the 30 Minute Meals right after the Kentucky one, she’ll feature Mac and Jack Salad and BBQ Chicken Burgers with Slaw - in her own words, “Yum-o!”

On Throwdown with Bobby Flay there’ll be more…. (wait for it, wait for it)…. Fried Chicken! The recipes will be Hattie’s Southern Fried Chicken, Fried Chicken with Ancho Honey, and Sauteed Swiss Chard with Red Onion and Serrano Chile Vinegar.

The 11:00 Good Eats ALSO features Fried Chicken! In between Bobby and Alton are my much-beloved and anticipated Ace of Cakes episodes. This is one of the most entertaining and enjoyable shows on the Food Network, I just wish there was a new episode every night. These lovable and talented people are the most entertaining people on television.

Great day on the Food Network - don’t miss a minute!

The ridiculously lovely Giada De Laurentiis, 38, is featured on the latest issue of Redbook magazine. Inside she talks about her and her husband’s unborn baby. She says that, although the baby was unexpected, they’re very excited. “..(the pregnancy) was a complete surprise — not planned at all. It was never that we didn’t want children; it was more like, ‘If we have them someday, great. If not, that’s fine, too.’ ”

A few more excerpts:

“I hope I can pass on the love of food to my child the way my family did to me,” De Laurentiis, 37, tells Redbook” for its January issue. “We spent a lot of warm, loving times in the kitchen. But watch, I will probably end up with a child who not only doesn’t care about food, but doesn’t ever want to set foot in a kitchen!”

“We call the baby ‘the lemon,’” De Laurentiis says. “It started off as ‘the lima bean,’ but now we’ve moved to ‘the lemon,’ and pretty soon, it’ll probably be ‘the melon.’”

Best wishes to the beautiful mommy-to-be, her husband, and….well, Lemon!

Another Giada De Laurentiis recipe tried in my kitchen, another Giada De Laurentiis recipe loved in my kitchen. I’ve said it countless times before, but I’ll say it again - there are certain Culinary Gurus that hit a homerun every single time they step up to the (dinner) plate(s). Giada De Laurentiis, Paula Deen, Tyler Florence, Alton Brown, and Emeril are a few that have never let me down. I frequently use their recipes from their shows, cookbooks and/or magazines. I guess their Food Network legends for good reasons.

My most recent success was courtesy of a Giada De Laurntiis recipe from Everyday Italian: Fried Ravioli. It was amazing. I made a great salad, toasted a loaf of Italian bread, and baked a chocolate cake to go along with the meal.

The recipe calls for frying the ravioli in Olive Oil, and I did just that with most of the ravioli. But I wanted to see what it’d be like when other oils were used. I’m always doing peculiar little taste tests like that, so I can pass the knowledge on to you, my beloved cyber buddies. The battle of the oils proved kind of surprising - the olive oil produced much, much, much better fried ravioli than the others (Canola, Vegetable, and Corn). It wasn’t just the taste, either - using the olive oil made them even look better.

Something else my kitchen tests have taught me is this: You don’t want to skimp on the olive oil you buy. The cheaper the cost, the cheaper the taste. I promise you, the good stuff is worth it.

Whatever you do, give this recipe a try as soon as you can. And if you’re one of those people who doesn’t watch Everyday Italian because you’re kind of intimidated by exotic Italian dishes - give Giada a try. She’s like a breath of fresh air, and her smile lights up the whole day. More importantly, of course, she really knows her stuff! I watch the entire lineup of celebrity chefs on the Food Network - and I take a great, great, great many recipes for test drives. I’ve found that no one…absolutely no one…. beats Giada when it comes to reliably delicious dishes. There are some chefs more famous than she is, but none are any better.

Okay, Giada love fest over, here’s her recipe!

Giada’s Fried Ravioli

Olive oil, for frying
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups Italian-style bread crumbs
1 box store-bought cheese ravioli (about 24 ravioli)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 jar store bought marinara sauce, heated, for dipping

Pour enough olive oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F.

While the oil is heating, put the buttermilk and the bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Working in batches, dip ravioli in buttermilk to coat completely. Allow the excess buttermilk to drip back into the bowl. Dredge ravioli in the bread crumbs. Place the ravioli on a baking sheet, and continue with the remaining ravioli.

When the oil is hot, fry the ravioli in batches, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried ravioli to paper towels to drain.

Sprinkle the fried ravioli with Parmesan and serve with a bowl of warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

Delicious!

Click HERE for more great recipes and videos from Giada.

The pics are from the Tiger Woods Learning Center Block Party - October 6, 2007. Clicking on the link (”Read More”) below will take you to about 16 more pics from the event.

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Today’s Food Network Line-up is Summerlicious. All the girls are cooking foods that go as well with summertime as a glass of iced lemonade. Paula’s Lime Shrimp Lettuce Wraps, The Barefoot Contessa’s Guacamole Salad, and Rachael’s Devilish Chili-Cheese Dogs will all get a turn in our kitchen and/or grill.

As a Coconut fanatic, I’m also excited about Alton’s Good Eats Tonight: “Coconut Cake Revival.” He’s set to make a Coconut Cake with 7-Minute Frosting , Coconut Milk and Cream, and Coconut Extract.

Paula’s Home Cooking: “Summertime Favorites” - Lime Shrimp Lettuce Wraps,
Strawberry Shortcake,
Almond Broccoli Salad,
Watermelon Punch

Everyday Italian: “Giada’s Summer Entertaining” - Focaccia Lobster Rolls,
Ice Caffe Latte,
Pecorino Crackers,
Avocado and Papaya Salad

Barefoot Contessa: “Girls That Grill” - Blue Cheese Burgers,
Chocolate and Vanilla Sundaes,
East Hampton Clam Chowder,
Guacamole Salad

Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee: “Summer Show” - Sweet and Spicy Slaw,
21 Burger,
Tapioca Cake,
Blu-tini

30 Minute Meals: “Grilled to Perfection” - Flank Steak Pinwheels,
Toasted Hazelnut and Shredded Carrot Salad

30 Minute Meals: “Endless Summer” - Oil and Vinegar Slaw,
Devilish Chili-Cheese Dogs,
Summer-ish Succotash Salad

Someone recently requested a particular recipe from Everyday Italian - one that sounded so good I wanted to find it as much as she did! The recipe was called Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells with Arrabiata Sauce. I looked all over the Food Network website, but didn’t have much luck - which is pretty surprising, because I can usually find the back door to just about any recipe in the world on that site. When I sit down at my computer, it practically types in their url for me!

I could only find a (kind of) similar recipe: Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce Recipe. If one was feeling particularly clever, they could play around with the ingredients - adding to/taking away….that sort of thing. Of course, I’d suggest trying the recipe out, as is first. For one thing, you’ll get a better feel for the temperment of the recipe. For another thing, you might just like it like it is!

Thanks for the e-mail - because of your request, I found a great new recipe I’ll be trying out this week!

Joi

Tonight’s a great night for Food Network addicts. They’ve finally moved on past the extra-healty, fat-free episodes that always come with a New Year. Tonight’s line-up includes Country Fried Steak with Biscuits and Gravy (Paula’s Home Cooking), Smoky Portobello Soup (Paula’s Home Cooking), Red Pepper Cheesecake (Everyday Italian), French Onion Soup (Barefoot Contessa), Jalapeno Potato Salad (Semi-Homemade), Coffee Sambuca Shakes (the 2nd 30 Minute Meals), Wonton Soup (Emeril Live), Peanut Butter Cream Pie (Emeril Live), Philly Cheese Steak (Emeril Live), and Double Crust Apple Pie (Emeril Live).

Earlier tooday, there were a few killer recipes, also. Click the links below to check them out:

Cherry Tomatoes with Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing (Tyler Florence)

Roasted Corn with Chili Lime Butter (Tyler Florence)

Fried Chicken (Tyler Florence)

Now we’re cooking!!!

Food Network.com’s Top Ten Recipes of 2006:

1. Good Eats Roast Turkey (Alton Brown)

2. Mexican Chicken (Paula Deen)

3. Chicken and Rice Casserole (Paula Deen)

4. Lasagna Rolls (Giada De Laurentiis)

5. Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup (Paula Deen)

6. Chicken Tetrazzini (Giada De Laurentiis)

7. Chicken Divan (Paula Deen)

8. Taco Soup (Paula Deen)

9. Grandmother Paul’s Fried Chicken (Paula Deen)

10. Potato Casserole (Paula Deen)

Check it out, our girl Paula has 7 of the ten recipes in the top ten! I’d recommend going ahead and printing each of these recipes out - they’re each perfectly amazing.

Joi

I added a little ticker to the right that’ll keep you up to date on what you might want to watch out for on the Food Network. Each day I’ll change it to that day’s line up - I’ll only give the day’s very best….the shows, the chefs, and the food you just can’t miss!

Joi

If there’s a chef on the Food Network - I’m more than a little familiar with them. Food and cooking are, to me, what sports are to the average male - I pretty much immerse myself in them. And the Food Network is really a wonderful place to get inspired and motivated to take your cooking to a new level. I watch it every single day and, even as much time as I spend in the kitchen - I learn something new every time I turn it on.

In my opinion, one of the most knowledgable cooking personalitites (can’t really say chefs since they aren’t all chefs) is Giada De Laurentiis of Everyday Italian. She may not have the level of popularity as some of the others….you know, the ones who’ve become household names…. but she’s got game!

I’ve tried recipes from all of them - and I collect every Food Network Cookbook I can get my eager hands on. I can honestly say that two of the Food Celebs have never, ever let me down: Giada and Emeril. Everyone else has had at least one recipe that may have not turned out just like I wanted it to, but these two have hit a grand slam every time. In all fairness, I only had one of Paula’s (Pimento Cheese that wasn’t sweet enough) and one of Alton’s (a meat dish that, although good, was waaaay too much trouble) not measure up to my expectations. Had to get that in there because I loves them so.

Below are a few of Giada’s most recent recipes. They truly are amazing. The Tortellini in a Light Broth is one of those meals made in Heaven - it looks/tastes like it took hours to make, but is actually a quickie. Served with a great salad and Italian Bread, it’s a warm, delicious meal. Give it a try, you’ll make it again. And again. And again.

I haven’t tried her version of Italian Wedding Soup, but I’ll give it a crack this weekend. It’s one of my favorite soups in the world - one of those dishes that tastes even better than it sounds, and I know her take on it will be about as good as it gets.

Here are the links (They’ll open in new windows) - give them a look and print them out. Then, most importantly, take them for a test drive.

Cheese Tortellini in a Light Broth (Pictured Above)

Italian Wedding Soup

Ravioli with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Parmesan Crisps (Pictured Below)

Joi