Giada De Laurentiis

Is anybody else a fan?

I watch the show, I have her cookbooks and I just love her specials when she goes to italy.

It seems as though we just have the same taste in food.

She makes light italian dishes that are full of color and flavor.

The recipes are not only beautiful and tasteful, but most of the time SIMPLE!

I think I also love Giada because she was born in Rome, and I love all things Italian, shes seems so authentic and really knows how to combine flavors!

She started her career with Wolfgang Puck, then got her own catering company GDL Catering. Her career with the Food Network started in 2002. She now has her own line of cooking oils and products as well as kitchen tools! (I've seen them at Target)

You can catch her on the Food Network a few times a day

Or just grab one of her Cookbooks

Which are available on amazon.

You'll find recipes that feature quality ingredients 

but are full of flavor!

I have a beautiful butternut squash sitting on my counter waiting to make her

 Butternut Squash Lasagna

I love how she's not afraid to throw some Amaretti Cookies in the mix.

 I was a little weary at first

But the flavor they give to the squash is nothing short of amazing

I also ADORE her recipe for Chicken Florentine,  it comes out SO good, I like to serve it with homemade spinach pasta, I have been also wanting to make that this week.

Her Balsamic Chicken Drumettes are great for kids and serving at parties

If you get the Food Network check out her show or find her on the food network.com

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Homemade Brown Rice For Baby Tutorial

Brown rice is much healthier then white rice, it contains Iron, which is a nutrient that can be low in breastfed babies, phosphorus, B1, B6, and B3, fiber, and fatty acids. Its also yummy and a great starter food for babies. 

 I make it for Annabella pretty regularly. She loves it and it fills her right up! I started out by making this very thin and smooth for her, now I make it with quite a bit of texture so that she can 'chew'  it.  A little goes a long way, and its cheap to make So heres a tutorial on how to make it for your little one!

You're going to need One cup of brown rice and six or seven cups of water, I also add a pinch of salt, but you don't have to do this, this makes enough brown rice to last for a while, I freeze some and leave about half of it in the fridge, I just warm it up in the oven.

First, put six cups of water and one cup of brown rice in a pot and bring to a boil 

Let it simmer and stir it occasionally, this should take about two hours  for almost all the liquid to absorb. 

Check the rice, it should be VERY soft, you shouldn't have to bite any of the grains, but be able to mush them with your tongue on the top of your mouth (thats my best description)

If its still not soft enough add a half to a whole cup of water and let it simmer for about another hour.  Be sure that there is still a little bit of liquid left with the rice so that you can puree it in a blender or food processor. 

Now you are going to want to let the rice cool for about a half hour, so that you aren't working with mega hot rice, as it tends to burn.

Transfer everything to a blender or food processor.

Put the top on and blend at high speed. 

Check the consistancy, when it is where you want it, you are done!

Transfer it to a bowl

Now you are ready to freeze it or put it in the fridge. Or feed it to your little one!

Mmmm

Hope you make this for your little ones! It is certainly a hit in our house

Citrus Swordfish with mango salsa and coconut rice

Last night I got swordfish

It was a battle, mostly because I had no idea what to do with it

Luckily, swordfish is not as hard to cook as I thought it was.

I found the recipe for the swordfish here

I omitted the cilantro, but if you like cilantro you should add it

For the rice:

Two cans coconut milk

Half a cup of water

pinch of mace

tsp cinnamon

quarter tsp ginger

salt and pepper

Two cups jasmine rice

I put all of this in a pan, brought it to a simmer and let it cook until all the liquid had evaporated. (careful, this smells exotic and yummy)

Meanwhile I toasted some pecans, about three to five minutes on 350

I grilled the swordfish till it was white in the center, this took a lot longer then I thought it would, and I only managed to get good grill marks on one of my steaks.

For plating:

Rice

Crushed Pecans

Swordfish Steak

Salsa

The nuts add such a nice texture with everything else. I'm sure you'll love this

I will make this again, I love how tropical it tastes.

Pizza dough, the secret ingredient

I have mastered Pizza

I have Jamie Oliver to thank

Annabella is also thanking Jaime

A few months ago, I found a recipe from him in an italian cooking magazine

I haven't tried it up until now because I have never in my life succeeded with pizza dough

But I tried it because I was broke, but had all the ingredients I needed here in my house

And the secret ingredient? Semolina flour, this high gluten flour is what I use to make my pasta. Everything I make with Semolina seems to come out perfect...

It only takes about an hour to make it!

I even tossed this dough (much to annabella's amusement)

You can get Jaime's recipe 

here

Then you can make this

Pizza is a great way to reuse leftovers, yesterday, I made Ryan one with leftover pork roast, Jaime's recipe only takes about an hour and a half

My Pizza Tips

• Roll it out, let it sit for a half hour, then add toppings and let it sit for about fifteen minutes before baking
• Get your oven HOT, turn it on about an hour before you cook your pizza
• Use lots of flour on the board you use to transfer it to the pizza stone
• That reminds me, get a pizza stone
• Less is more with toppings
• Fresh ingredients make a difference..USE THEM
• Make your pizza with Love
• Practice tossing it in the air (if you dare), on a few dozen pizzas before you do it in front  of pizza
• also if you are going to practice tossing, you should wash your floor first
• Babies Love Pizza Crust

Chicken with Lemon Butter

Another Success from my

Carmine's Family-Style Cookbook: 

(are you sick of it yet?)

The lemon chicken was so yummy, I made the mistake of getting Meyer lemons at the store, I'm sure that made a difference in the final product but I still liked it a lot, I couldn't believe how well the lemon butter came together

I made it with a zucchini risotto, the original recipe was supposed to be made with squash blossoms and zucchini, but squash blossoms aren't exactly in season

I got the recipe from this cookbook

Risotto: With Vegetables, Seafood, Meat, and More

The key to good risotto, is taking your time!

I got that this summer, at the Ferrari Carano Vinyard on a wine tour while I was pregnant, since I couldn't drink any wine, I bought a cookbook

That winery is amazing, its the same Ferrari people as the car

The garden is one of the most amazing places I've ever seen, I had pictures, but they were lost when I lost my Kodak Camera before Annabella was born

Enough about that

Here is diner

A close up of the rissoto, you can see the zucchini

mmmm

Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon

Oh Boy is it delicious!

Today, that was my mission, it was a long one! I started at about one thirty this afternoon.

It had been the day from hell, 

First I realized that I had sent my package from Crunchy Clean to my old address, it arrived yesterday. So of course I went over to our old house and knocked on the door.......

No answer

So alas, the people who moved to our old house now have a sampler pack containing five scents of Crunchy Clean detergent...... Damn them

Then it was on to get the air purifier, from the Steve Bushemi look-a-like, don't worry though folks, I went in wielding a kunzite crystal 

and my cell phone (hey you never know). And I NEVER doubt the power of a crystal, or the shadiness of some guy from Craigslist! 

Anyways, back to the Beouf! 

I got the recipe from the ABC website, but there are tons of places to get it from, all of them are the same

I used Gallo Burgundy Wine, mostly I picked it because it was the only other burgundy in the store besides Carlo Rossi, and it was from California, I always try to buy local. (Unless of course its Italian cheese, wine, oil, pasta, tomatoes, okay if its Italian I buy from Italy).... thats besides the point

Originally I was under the impression that Beouf Bourguinon was much like a Pot Rost you know 'Set it and Forget it" No deals, it was a daily event, but with enough time between tasks, that I could tidy the kitchen and keep my dishes done, as is neccesary in our new small house

I was a little confused at the bacon method, and still don't really understand why you simmer it then fry it, but Julia knows!

Here we see the beef and the bacon, after they have been browned

Now we brown the carrot and onion

Simmer in some wine and beef stock, bake for 4 hours.... make sure you have some snacks handy because these four hours are TOUGH!! Especially while you are making mushrooms and onions that smell like heaven!

Onions and Mushrooms

Here is another mushroom picture, I have never had mushrooms taste this good before

Put it all together and simmer, don't worry this last simmer is quick, cook up some egg noodles to pour it on,  you could also start drinking some of that wine that didn't go into the stew!

And there you have it, some nice french bread, some heavy wine and beouf bourguignon! 

Yum,......