Giada De Laurentiis Italian Cookbook Review

Giada De Laurentiis cookbooks are my most favorite and the cookbooks I use the most out of an over 125 book collection. I love pasta and Italian dishes. Every time she travels, I imagine myself there too, cooking, tasting and relaxing or talking with family and friends over perfect dishes.

Each book offers contemporary Italian recipes and traditional Italian dishes. As you can see, she maintains her weight. With the right portions, we can also. Except for when it tastes so good you can't stop eating it! There are many photographs with most recipes, a must for me or I won't buy the book. I am confident someday, there will be an image for every recipe. The directions are all easy to understand. There is a family story in the beginning of each book, with a well balanced grouping of dishes from sides, mains, snacks, to salads, soups and desserts. I think that makes each cookbook much more valuable.

1. Weeknights with Giada (c) 2012 cookbook
2. Giada At Home (c) 2010 cookbook
3. Giada's Kitchen New Italian Favorites (c) 2008 cookbook
4. Everyday Pasta Giada De Laurentiis (c) 2007 cookbook
5. Giada's Family Dinners (c) 2006 cookbook
6. Everyday Italian (c) 2005 cookbook

Sharing the passion for Italian cooking that so many families find a weekly edition to the usual dishes cooked at home, is a tradition worth enjoying together.

The most recent cookbook is very family meal focused. One hearty meal for this fall and winter is the "shrimp and sausage cioppino". It is a shrimp and sausage stew in a rich, thick broth. The recipes I have tried are the "roasted salmon, snap pea, and cucumber salad". I smoked my own salmon with my own recipe in an electric smoker and used the cherry tomatoes from Sam's Club. The dill on the cucumber slices came from my herb garden. I also created the "orzo with smoky tomato vinaigrette" and put it in the electric smoker as well. Both of these complimented the main smoked salmon recipe perfectly. (I will share the smoked salmon recipe and salmon cucumber sandwiches on my Smokin Sundays blog soon. I am working on the video right now for youtube channel, SmokedRecipes).

What I love about this cookbook, are the panini recipes. I purchased a panini maker that accommodates bigger hot sandwiches. I keep Texas Toast and Jewish Rye breads in the freezer until I am ready to make sandwiches. The "ham, gruyere,and apple panini" is an awesome combination.

A healthy seafood dish is the "whole wheat linguine with basil, bacon, and shrimp." Anytime you use whole wheat in your pasta, you will find you feel full much faster than with regular bleached flour based pastas.

It is rare to find a cookbook where you love every single dessert recipe in it. This is one of them! I have a passion for blackberries, so one of my Christmas cookies will be the "peanut butter cookies with blackberry jam" recipe. For Christmas, I am making the "chocolate mascarpone pound cake". This has got to be the most impressive looking pound cake with the ultimatedream ingredients ever, topped off with a chocolate glaze drizzled across the cake.

I think Weeknights with Giada cookbook is a essential cookbook forfamiliesandholiday cooking. It was great timing for me because so many of the sides and salads compliment smoked foods. I highly recommend every "orzo" recipe you find in all of her cookbooks. I am in love with this pasta. This book inspired me to cook it for the first time , and now it is apart of my weekly cooking.

I love the saying at the beginning of this cookbook and hope to find the truth behind it myself one day. "It's often been said that to find the best food in Italy, you need to be invited to someone's house for a home-cooked meal." (Giada 2010)

This cookbooks starts off like a menu with appetizers. There are so many, you will find the ones you love and serve them up at parties and special occassions.

I think this one is the most colorful filled recipes I have found out of all of her books. The visual pallet is exceptional. This is also the book with the bigger twist on foods and dishes then what you will find anywhere else. It is a great way to take the bordom out of any food you serve often. When you are in the mood for new dishes, pick this cookbook.

I love the white bean recipes, so the "pecorino and bean salad" is a filling, healthy choice. I think it would be ideal with beef dishes, especially steak and roast. It would be wonderful as a lunch meal by itself.

A summer drink for guests. I have tried the "limoncello and blueberry cooler" because of my love of blueberries, which I eat so often I get tired of them for about a month at a time. Limoncello liqueur is a bit pricey,but it does pack a punch and is really special to share in the summer when your fresh mint and blueberries are in season. Serve it during outdoor meals with a smaller gathering of guests.

This is my first experience with a dessert panini. "mozzarella, raspberry, and brown sugar panini" is an unexpected goodness. Right now if you shop at Sam's Club, you can still get some perfectly ripe and naturally sweet raspberries. The ones I had this week were just perfect.

I think this cookbook has the best soup recipes. They are all very representative of Tuscany, Italy and homecooked sensations. From tomato to fish minestrom, I especially enjoy the "Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup." Giada's Kitchen cookbook has the most amazing salads then any of the her other books. The color pallett is explored on all levels and a mixture of ingredients you would only find in a special restaurant.

The "Lemon Risotto" recipe is in here, you may have seen her create it on the Food Network. She uses a lot of lemon in many recipes and with so many health benefits from lemons, it is a good idea for anyone improving their health.

As with any good Pasta cookbook, this one covers the different types of pasta, with cooking tips. "Fried Ravioli" are awesome and kids love to eat them. This is a semi homemade version so it is fast to create after work for a family meal.

The pasta recipes are all hearty with a capital "H"! "Baked pene with roasted vegetables," a stuffed shell pasta to the "Tagliatelle with short rib ragu". A man's dish and a great way to use up some of that rib meat leftover from the smoker. This is an amazing dish with a surprising ingredient - bittersweet chocolate.

For seafood lovers, I highly recommend the Crab and ricotta manicotti. This is an elegant, romatic dish to serve. A true girlfriend dish or a Valentines Day sweetheart dish.

I recommend this cookbook for the pasta lovers and for the fall and winter seasons. It is the best time to bake pasta with lots of gooy cheese toppings.

This one has a grill section with a swordfish recipe that is comparable to those high quality fish kabobs in Canada. Serve this one first before you cook anything else in this cookbook.

Our top family recipe is in this one. "linguine with chicken ragu". If there are any leftovers, they will be gone within 24 hours. It takes some time to prepare, but so worth the effort. I would make it on the weekend when you have the time to complete it.

Her bite size pizzas are in this book., simple creations. The pork roast in this book will replace all other recipes you have ever used! It is a bit more expensive with the pancetta, but you could use American bacon instead.

As with any family recipe cookbook, it does include holiday recipes to learn now and serve during the upcoming holiday season.

The first cookbook following the show on Food Network is now the most reasonable priced cookbook on the internet. She shares a little piece of everything. Pestos, sauces and vegetable sides.

Penne a la carbonara is the most hearty dish in this book. I would eat little else for the day when you plan to serve this one.

Vegetables are the strong point in this cookbook. It also has the Italian Biscotti recipe.

This one is great for year round and for your side dishes. There are main dishes too, but many of the recipes are vegetable ingredients.

I wanted to share some real life recipes by Giada. The Lasagna dish also has a perfect guide for creating Bechemel sauce, if anyone has not tried it yet. I use it a lot and she does create it a bit different than most cookbooks instruct.

A hub on Italian dishes just wouldn't be complete without pizza. I like the pizza party with three different personal pizza styles.

What a cute idea for the holidays and for mom or dad, breakfast in bed. So much lively color with the berry breakfast pizza over a thick layer of sweet mascarpone cheese.