Giada De Laurentiis

Giada De Laurentiis Chicken Recipe

From Weeknights with Giada

by Joi

Giada De Laurentiis Chicken Recipe

Chicken with Tarragon and White Wine

As a Giada De Laurentiis fan, I’m excited to tell you that she has a new cookbook on the market, Weeknights with Giada (click the link for more information or to order your copy from Target.com today!).  Below is a great recipe from the cookbook.  Like ALL Giada De Laurentiis recipes, this one’s a winner.

Chicken with Tarragon and White Wine Recipe

Serves 4

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 (8-ounce) boneless and skinless chicken breasts
4 (4-ounce) boneless and skinless chicken thighs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons flour
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup dry white wine, such as Riesling
2 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, heat the oil over high heat. Season the chicken with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and dust with 2 tablespoons of the flour. Cook the chicken, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside on a large plate.

Heat the same pan used for the chicken over medium-high heat. Add the onion and season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 4 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until aromatic.

Increase the heat to high. Add the wine and scrape up the browned bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the chicken pieces to the pan.

Add 2 cups of the chicken broth and 1/2 cup of the tarragon. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pan, and simmer for 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken pieces to a platter and tent with foil to keep warm.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth and the remaining 2 tablespoons flour until smooth. Whisk the flour mixture into the simmering cooking juices. Whisk in the mustard. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve the sauce over the chicken and garnish with the remaining tarragon.

Reprinted from Weeknights with Giada by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2012. Photos copyright © 2012 by Amy Neunsinger. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc.

Photo Credit: A Bullseye View

Weeknights with Giada Cookbook

For an interview with loveliness personified (aka Giada) on A Bullseye View, click here!

Adorable Carrot and Zucchini Mini Muffins

A Giada De Laurentiis Recipe

by Joi

Carrot Zucchini Mini Muffins

Carrot and Zucchini Mini Muffins by Giada De Laurentiis
Makes 24 mini muffins

For the muffins
1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup grape seed oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 large egg, room temperature
1/3 cup grated carrots (from 1 medium peeled carrot)
1/2 cup grated zucchini (from 1 medium unpeeled zucchini)
1/2 cup raisins

For the frosting (optional)
1 cup (about 8 ounces) whipped cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1. Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 24 mini muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, sieve together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add any solids leftover in the sieve to the bowl and mix in.

3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the oil, syrup and egg. Add the dry ingredients and mix well until combined. Mix in the carrot, zucchini and raisins.

4. Using 2 small spoons, fill the muffin cups 3/4 full with the batter and bake for 15 minutes until light golden. Cool for 5 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool, about 30 minutes.

5. Frosting: In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and honey until smooth. Spread the cooled muffins with frosting and serve.

Credit: Recipe from A Bullseye View!

My Knees are Weak: Hazelnut Crunch Cake

A Giada De Laurentiis Recipe

by Joi

Giada De Laurentiis Hazelnut Crunch Cake

If I have trouble concentrating the rest of the day, it’s all thanks to the picture above and the recipe below – both used courtesy of A Bull’s Eye View.  Sigh, I love Target. Maybe that’s why I’m there everyday, huh?  This beautiful cake would make a deliciously unexpected dessert for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  Or, better yet, both!  I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have any complaints.

Hazelnut Crunch Cake with Mascarpone and Chocolate
Makes eight servings
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and skinned
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
2 (8-oz.) containers mascarpone cheese
1 cup cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest

Step 1 – Prepare cake mix according to package directions for two 9-inch spring foam cake pans. Let cool on a wire rack.

Step 2 – Toast hazelnuts: Place hazelnuts in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Heat until fragrant and golden brown, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Let cool. Tip: Place hazelnuts in a towel and rub together – this will make the skins come off easier.

Step 3 – Place toasted nuts close together in a single layer on parchment-lined baking sheet.

For the crunch:

Step 4 – Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until dissolved. Bring to a boil and let cook until sugar is light brown, about 8 minutes. Let bubbles subside then pour the caramelized sugar over nuts.

Step 5– Place baking sheet in refrigerator and let cool until hard, about 30 minutes. When cooled, top with another piece of parchment paper and pound into small pieces, or place on a cutting board and cut into small pieces. Set aside.

For the filling / icing:  

Step 6 – Using an electric mixture (on a low setting), beat mascarpone cheese, cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Fold the crunch mixture into the whipped cream.

For the topping:

Step 7 – Finely grind chocolate chips, sugar and zest in a food processor.

To assemble:

Step 8 – Put 1 cake on a serving plate. Top with 1-inch of the whipped cream crunch mixture. Top with the second layer of cake and continue frosting with the remaining whipped cream crunch mixture. Sprinkle top and sides of cake with ground chocolate and zest.

I looked around their website and bookmarked quite a few recipes – great stuff! One I loved uses a great Monster Trail Mix from Target. The recipe is for Monster Trail Mix Bars and I’m having even more trouble concentrating on my work! Click the link and check them out.  You’ll also want to see the Parmesan Egg & Garlic Crostini with Baby Romaine Salad and Bacon Vinaigrette. I’m grabbing the ingredients for this beauty TODAY…. you know, when I also get the ones I’ll need for the Hazelnut Crunch Cake and Monster Trail Mix Bars.

It’s a good thing I have a treadmill.

 

Beautiful Square White Dishes from Target

Perfect for Year Round Dining

by Joi

Dishes from Target

The beauties in this post are some of the dishes that were given to me on my birthday from my daughter, Stephany, and her boyfriend (and one of the sons I never had) Rusty.  They came from Target – the dishes, not the kids, they came straight from Heaven.

I absolutely love these heavy, gorgeous dishes. They’re perfect for any holiday or special occasion you can imagine. They can just as easily set an Easter table as a Christmas one – a simple changing of napkin colors makes the transition beautiful.  Add Red, White, and Blue napkins and BAM you’re set for Fourth of July.

Dishes from Target

Target has a remarkable selection of dishes, as well as kitchen gadgets, kitchen appliances, pans, etc.  They carry several Food Network chef lines, including Giada De Laurentiis.  Anything you see with her smiling face on the front is beyond excellent and exceptionally made.

The next time you want dishes (or anything else for your kitchen!), head to Target before you go anywhere else.  You can, of course, also shop online at Target.com.  You’ll find things you might not have in your local Target.

Dishes from Target

Celebrity Chefs on Twitter

How Much Clout Does Your Favorite Have?

by Joi

Giada De Laurentiis

It’s pretty obvious which “top chefs” have the most clout on television. They’re usually the ones with the most shows and the biggest audience. Guy Fieri? He owns tv clout.

But I’ve often wondered which of these chefs have the most ONLINE clout. Now I know!

Klout, the company that rates social media influence (twitter, facebook, etc), just calculated which celebrity chefs are not only cooking superstars but also top tweeters.

The following 10 foodies extraordinaire have legions of people hanging on their every word…

  1. Andrew Zimmern
  2. Anthony Bourdain
  3. Jamie Oliver
  4. Bethenny Frankel
  5. Paula Dean
  6. Tom Coliccio
  7. Gordon Ramsay
  8. Michael Symon
  9. Glada De Laurentiis
  10. Nadia G

You can read the rest HERE.

Guy Fieri

Below are a few other Celebrity Chefs on Twitter – They may not be in Klout’s top 10, but I’ve got nothing but love for them!

Rachael Ray

Emeril

Guy Fieri

Tyler Florence

Bobby Flay

Curtis Stone

Mario Batali

Ted Allen

Food Network

If you know any I haven’t uncovered yet, let us know in the comments!  I do have a few favorites who I haven’t listed simply because they haven’t sent out a tweet since the Reagan administration (okay, maybe not that long….)

Giada de Laurentiis Products from Target: Must Haves!

by Joi

Giada de Laurentiis 3.5-oz. Sicilian Sea Salt with Fresh Lemon

Okay. I normally don’t make broad, sweeping statements (unless it plays something like, “Drink coffee, it makes you sexier,” which doesn’t really count because that’s been proven). However, the time has come to make a doozie: If you ever see a cookbook, food item, kitchen gadget, pot, pan, dish, coffee mug, spoon, small appliance, large appliance, apron, salt shaker, or bulldog puppy (???) with the name Giada de Laurentiis on it, buy it and prepare to be amazed. The woman does not attach her name or beautiful face to anything less than a 10 on a scale of 1-10.

Apparently it’s against her code.

Good code.

The Giada de Laurentiis 3.5-oz. Sicilian Sea Salt with Fresh Lemon, pictured at the top of the post?  Ridiculously excellent.  Like all of Giada’s food products, you get so much more than you pay for or even hope for.

Product Description:
An incredibly tasty Sicilian Sea Salt with Fresh Lemon Zest. The hand-harvested, all-natural sea salt with lemon zest comes from a combination of the pure Sicilian sea water and the freshest lemons grown under the Sicilian sun. Giada’s Sicilian sea salt presents a delicate and intense aroma, with distinct hints of sweet, fresh lemons. Its fresh and delicate taste is characterized by intense notes of lemon, making this gourmet product a perfect ingredient to be coupled with light dishes, ideal for cooked or raw fish and shellfish, poultry, vegetables and desserts. Academia Barilla and Giada De Laurentiis present a piece of Italy to Italian food lovers and food connoisseurs, to taste, enjoy and share. Together, Academia Barilla and Giada De Laurentiis have launched the much anticipated range of high quality, authentic Italian gourmet products.

I regularly buy Giada’s pasta, sauces, and other food products at my local Target…. a store I have nothing but love for. Her spaghetti sauces are amazing – my favorite one is a creamy pasta sauce that boggles the brain.

A recent gift from my husband (for a birthday I acknowledged but didn’t count) is the gorgeous ceramic lasagna pan pictured above. Naturally, like a kid with a toy, I had to use it right away. I normally would have whipped up my favorite vegetarian lasagna but we’d recently had spaghetti — I’m nothing if not anal — so I made a cheesy potato au gratin. Outstanding. The pan refused to allow the potatoes or the cheese to stick, which made serving, eating, and cleaning joyful, delicious, and simple.

It’s such a gorgeous ceramic pan I kind of hated to use it. You really have to see it to appreciate it. It’s worth a special trip to Target to see Giada’s collection of pans, gadgets, and more. She even has a line of sexy aprons as well as her own coffee.

Somebody tell me why I haven’t tried that yet.

By the way, when you click through to the ceramic lasagna pan, if you scroll down you’ll see what appears to be a great recipe for Baked Gnocchi, calling for spinach, nutmeg, gnocchi, chicken broth, heavy cream… is your mouth watering yet?

Another gift the wonderful husband bought me was the Giada De Laurentiis for Target 12″ Stainless Steel Nonstick Sauté Pan (Click through this link for details as well as a recipe for Orzo with Sausage, Peppers and Tomatoes!). This gorgeous pan was initiated into the family with salmon patties and is currently simmering a little pasta sauce for my oldest daughter’s lunch.

It’s quite possibly the best pan I’ve ever owned.

Features:
Pan-Pot Material: Stainless Steel
Handle Material: Stainless Steel
Features: Riveted Handle
Care and Cleaning: Hand-wash Only

Click through any of the links (except for the Giada de Laurentiis 3.5-oz. Sicilian Sea Salt with Fresh Lemon – it has a mind of its own) to browse Target’s outstanding line of Giada de Laurentiis products.

Paula Deen’s Cooking up a Can’t Miss Episode Today

by Joi

Sweet Iced Tea!

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 on the Food Network

by Joi

Rachael Ray's Kentucky Burgoo Burgers

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!

Giada De Laurentiis and an Unexpected Lemon

by Joi

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!

Fried Ravioli from Giada De Laurentiis

by Joi

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.

[click to continue…]

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

← Previous Entries