You don't have to head out to the local Italian joint to get authentic dishes that taste like they came straight from the continent. With the help of Giada de Laurentiis, host of the Food Network's "Everyday Italian" and the author of a cookbook with the same name, the smell of Italy cooking can come from your kitchen. Her easy to follow recipes will have you cooking up a storm — every day. Check out her recipes.
Saltimbocca means “leap in the mouth” — as in, this traditional Roman dish is so good that surprisingly it will just leap into your mouth. In Italy they make this dish with veal, but I find that the delicate flavors of veal get lost amid the strong tastes of the spinach and prosciutto, and I end up feeling like the very expensive veal cutlets were a waste of money. So I use chicken.
Pineapple doesn’t quite qualify as Italian, but Nutella (a chocolate-hazelnut spread) is definitely an Italian favorite of cult-like proportions, so this can certainly pass as an Italian-American recipe. Grilling the pineapple enhances its sweet flavor, provides the great grill marks, and of course warms it up, bringing a new level of comfort to this incredibly comforting dessert.
This is one of those dishes that was born out of my years of catering and the necessity to come up with something new for cocktail parties. Roasting the asparagus is fast and easy and gives a lot more flavor than simply steaming.
One of the easiest pasta dishes you’ll ever make, this is great as a light meal or as a side dish, especially for grilled fish.
The foregoing is excerpted from “Everyday Italian,” by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2005 by Giada De Laurentiis. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission from Crown Publishing Group.