Giada At Home - General Discussion

[grisgris]

Everyday Italian in Little Big Head's Kitchen has a new home.  Now we can discuss her teeth and her horrible inaccuracy in describing flavors!

[Aquarius]

A place where thyme is lemony and vanilla gives a gourmet sweetness!  And the girls are on prominent display.  I'm in!

[annzeepark914]

Count me in!

[monkeybread]

I am a lurker but and just joined this place. The other day parsley was lemony too. I swear I watch now for the insane flavor descriptions. 

[grisgris]

I think the title is PERFECT!   Thanks, David for fixing us up.

[ShellSeeker]

I watched an old Everyday Italian episode today, and the difference between that and her current show just blows my mind. On the episode I saw today she made this amazing looking pork roast and a sauce made from port wine and figs. She would never do anything like that now.

[Ticky]

No, these days she would take some already-cooked-pork and show us how to make a sandwich.

[monkeybread]

Or she will make something with quinoa, not that there is anything wrong with that, but her latest recipes are rather bizarre concoctions. Everyday Italian was a much better show. 

[Viqutorious]

I still can't watch her, I have PTSD after Thanksgiving Live!

I think her next show will be Feel Good Food. For her I think that equates not eating.

[monkeybread]

Her Feel Good Food book reminds me of Gwyneth Paltrow's "It's all Good" book. Full of glamour shots of Gwyneth, extremely restrictive diet. She thinks her family is allergic to everything. A lot of people bashed her book in their reviews. I wonder if she is going for the same thing. A lot of self diagnosing. Giada looked so much more healthy on Everyday Italian. 

I too cannot shake her babbling attention seeking behavior on Thanksgiving Live. And those stupid glasses. 

[Bajovane]

I still can't get over how she calls thyme "lemony".  LIke hell it is.  I love the smell of it, but by no means would I confuse it with lemon.

[Viqutorious]

She smells vs. consuming calories. She looks great but she is a cook that eats very little.

[annzeepark914]

I truly miss those old Everyday Italian shows.  She looked so much healthier back then, her hair was up, she looked professional as she cooked.  I still make some of those recipes.  And she dressed beautifully - no OTT cleavage, no worries that something might pop out as she's chopping onions or whatever.  And when she served a meal in the back yard or terrace, she never (at least to my knowledge) humiliated or embarrassed any of her guests by accusing them of taking too much food. Which network is showing Everyday Italian re-runs?

[chessiegal]

Cooking Channel shows Everyday Italian reruns every day, I think at 3 and 3:30 pm ET.

[Viqutorious]

I hate how controlling she is with Jades food. If you read this keep in mind Jade was 2-3 years old.

http://www.timeout.com/chicago/kids/activities/dining-de-laurentiis

[Happywatcher]

Some people on TWoP did some newspaper searches and put together that she was the most likely victim of the sexual assault her father was imprisoned for.

 

In that case her controlling behavior of the kid, and her reported blow job queen events, make a lot more sense. It could also explain why she was large as a teen and is so crazy skinny now.

 

As for John Mayer, if she did sleep with him he was a class act to deny it so hard given his other relationships, if she didn't it was still classy on his part.

[annzeepark914]

Cooking Channel shows Everyday Italian reruns every day, I think at 3 and 3:30 pm ET.

 

Thanks for the tip, chessiegal. I need to make an effort to catch those re-runs since her current show's recipes IMO are very unappealing (altho' I did make one recipe from her newer show, her veggie fritto misto, which is wonderful).  Gosh - I'd forgotten about that "did she or didn't she" story (~shudder~ can't imagine what the heck any woman sees in John Mayer so I'll go with she didn't!)

[Viqutorious]

Happyshooter,

That was me.

http://articles.latimes.com/1994-10-09/news/ls-48246_1_boyfriend

It is horrible. I reread the article i linked. It has been scrubbed. I think that is the best for Giada. It really is about her, she deserves control of this.

Edited April 13, 2014 by CheeseBurgh

[JTMacc99]

I watched an old Everyday Italian episode today, and the difference between that and her current show just blows my mind. On the episode I saw today she made this amazing looking pork roast and a sauce made from port wine and figs. She would never do anything like that now.

That is the curse of becoming a successful Food Network personality. Unless you are a world class chef, you are very likely to run out of "A" ideas WAY before Food Network is done with you.

 

Giada probably did 100+ shows in her first two or three years. She became a very popular host during that run, and now she's got seven more years of shows on her resume. It's pretty easy to conclude that she either needs to repeat the things she did in 2004 with some sort of twist, or she needs to keep trying to do something she has not done before.

When I watch chefs like Flay or Emeril do a cooking show in 2014, I see them continuing to explore topics they've covered many times in the past, but somehow it always seem like they have a new take on it.  Giada's not bad at showing us stuff she's done before, but she's not as good at it as those two guys.

[HighMaintenance]

I only watch Giada to mock her excess boobage and get a glimpse of her husband, Todd.  Don't judge! I think he's very handsome - not to mention scrumptiously tall! Yum.
Yes, the spices... where everything is lemony or has warmth.  I think she may have even described cumin as lemony.  Huh? ... arm-pitty definitely, but lemony, no.  (Small voice) - I think freshly chopped thyme does smell citrus like, but don't tell Giada I said so.

[ShellSeeker]

That is the curse of becoming a successful Food Network personality. Unless you are a world class chef, you are very likely to run out of "A" ideas WAY before Food Network is done with you.

 

Giada probably did 100+ shows in her first two or three years. She became a very popular host during that run, and now she's got seven more years of shows on her resume. It's pretty easy to conclude that she either needs to repeat the things she did in 2004 with some sort of twist, or she needs to keep trying to do something she has not done before.

 

You know, that's a really good point, and one that I had not considered before. This does explain quite a bit. Although in her earlier seasons she was not such a portion-control freak, and didn't try to shame people about having seconds. Isn't asking for seconds supposed to be a compliment to the chef?

 

Someone on TWOP linked to an article about her where she talked about teaching Jade to eat different kinds of food. People jumped all over her for saying that if Jade did not finish what was served to her for dinner, then she went to bed without eating. I've got plenty of issues with Giada, but this isn't one of them. If you don't make your kids eat what you've made for dinner, then you end up making something just for them, which sets a bad precedent. It only takes one or 2 times for a kid to get the message. My daughter knows that what I make for dinner is what's for dinner. If she genuinely tries something, and doesn't like it, then I'll give her something else, but most of the time if she tries something she ends up liking it. My rule is that she has to try at least 2 bites before saying she doesn't like something.

 

She also talked about portion control with Jade, and surprisingly I didn't think she was too out of line with that either. If you give a kid a huge helping of seconds they'll either overeat, or leave it on their plate, which is wasteful. Last night we had pizza for dinner, and my 5 year old ate 1 piece and said she wanted another one. There was one slice left, and I gave her half of it and told her if she ate that and was still hungry, she could have the other half. She ate the half slice and then was satisfied.

 

Now if she's shaming Jade for wanting seconds, that's a whole other issue, but there was nothing in the article that indicated that. 

[Rhondinella]

I don't watch this cause I despise Giada, so someone give me a good pithy title for the thread.

[Tahitigirl]

I caught a little bit of an episode yesterday that I'd never seen before. She was doing a lobster bake and it was from season 1. I had been under the impression that her narcissism had advanced over the years but it tuns out it was in high form back in 2008. I can't remember all of the many winks and nods she gave but the one that was really gag-worthy was when she said something would give the dish "that special Giada touch." She also talked about using time-saving products due to having a baby now (with her trademark smirk) and wondered why more Californians didn't do lobster bakes on the beach. (Maybe because they're expensive on the west coast?) I could hardly watch, she was so full of herself. Thank goodness the voice of reason (Ina) came on afterwards.

[monkeybread]

If I watch her at all I watch her on mute. Except when she whips out the herbs. Then I have to listen, yes she did say cumin is lemony once. I find myself going to my spice shelf sometimes to smell the spices because I think I am losing my mind. She contradicts herself too when she describes certain herbs. Maybe we should compile Giada's herboisms, or whacked out flavor confusion. 

 

On the other hand I saw an episode of Everyday Italian and she made filet mignon with a balsamic reduction and goat cheese. I tried that recipe a long time ago when I first started watching her show. It is really good. The stuff she makes now, especially on her new show leaves me cold. Don't get me wrong I like quinoa, but she goes overboard. And why does she have to put arugula into everything? And sun dried tomatoes? 

 

I cannot sand her little dance when she tastes food, or the way she makes an orgasmy face when she smells herbs and spices. 

 

Maybe a new thread could be something like "where everything is lemony, except when it's minty" something like it. 

Edited April 26, 2014 by Rhondinella
added line spacing

[Viqutorious]

The article about portion control was in Redbook. Jade was only 2 years old...seriously who cuts their kids dinner off at age 2?

[monkeybread]

Saw a new episode, I learned that whole grain mustard is elegant. And of course there was arugula in 2 dishes and a sun dried tomato in a dressing. Boring. And lemon juice. There are other ingredients in the world Lady! She explained how to peel a cucumber too. She said it's just like peeling carrots. K then. Anyone else seen this? It was a mother's day episode. 

[ShellSeeker]

I saw it too, and rolled my eyes at the arugula too. I did think the pasta salad looked pretty good though. I also thought the lemon cake looked good until she drizzled chocolate all over it. Chocolate and lemon does not sound appetizing at all. A vanilla glaze or something like that seems like it would be a better combination with lemon.

 

I did wonder if she's been watching Game of Thrones and making lemon cakes, Sansa's favorite treat. Hee.

[monkeybread]

For some reason I cannot imagine Giada watching Game of Thrones, but that's just me. 

 

Cheesebugh in the old thread said she is tired of hearing her saying that maple syrup is smokey. I concur. Enough.

 

Here is my take on Giada making anything, you want a sandwich? I'm going to put arugula in it. You want a salad? Arugula. You want pesto? I am going to use arugula. You want pizza? I'm going to top it with arugula. I like me greens, so I am going to put arugula in the pasta salad. Tacos? Arugula.

 

Sorry for the rant, but there are other greens! The other day I bought red watercress and tender pea shoots at whole foods. They were awesome in everything. 

[grisgris]

Today Giada said that parsley tasted "lemony" and like newly-mown grass. O.K. Her mini calzones were basically an assembly job using pre-made pizza dough. Then, she put orzo in her meatball mixture instead of bread or bread crumbs. Her lemony aioli started off with mayo from a jar. Major emphasis on grilling the poor guests about liking the food and guessing the ingredients. It was definitely a "phone it in" show. 

[annzeepark914]

Years ago she was much nicer, kinder, more hospitable to her guests.  In the last few years she's become such a nag that I'm surprised she has any friends left (or any who'd want to appear on her show and risk being humiliated).

[grisgris]

Cilantro threw her a curve on her latest show. She struggled and ended up describing its flavor as "herby."

 

I just read a Huffington Post clip that said at Giada's new restaurant in Vegas that all of the menu items as spelled out phonetically.  YMMV, but LOL!

[finnzup]

Agree about all the crap Giada dishes out to her supposed friends, her dinner guests.  The other day she served up some kind of angel food cake cupcake filled with lemon curd.  When the guest bit into it and said, "what's that?"  Giada let loose with a "it's lemon curd!!!"  The tone, to me, said, "lemon curd, you dumb a$$!!"

 

I don't know why she always tries to make those she serves at her table seem like gluttenous pigs or dolts, but she does such a good job of it, lol.

 

Saw her show today with the Asian food, coconut milk, curry paste, etc.  Anyway, her manicure was hideous.  The color was a purple to matchy-match her top and there was a contrasting color surrounding the outside edge of her nail that looked like her cuticles were bleeding. 

 

Honestly, the one thing I ALWAYS loved about Giada was her manicure, lol.  Neat, clean and always polished with OPI Bubble Bath, no matter what she served up, her nails always looked fantastic!

[grisgris]

Giada's had that manicure on other episodes. Agree that it's ugly.  I'm sure the deconstructed spring rolls were tasty, but they were extremely unappetizing in appearance.

 

Giada's sister has the same type of barracuda smile, I noticed, when they were looking at their photos from their trip to Thailand.

 

Today's flavor description:

 

cardamon = licoricey and lemon-grassy

[Brooklynista]

I'm so glad I have you guys for validation. I saw Giada's manicure and I really th ought her nail bed was bleeding. Creeped me out.

[monkeybread]

cardamon = licoricey and lemon-grassy

 

Say it isn't so, seriously? She really has lost it. 

[ShellSeeker]

Just watched the most recent episode, with the Thai food and the weird manicure. What the hell was that? For once I thought the stuff she made was something I'd like to try myself. I thought both the curry and the spring rolls looked really good. Those remind me of a recipe I have for Thai turkey meatballs -- alot of the same ingredients, made with a sauce with coconut milk and green curry paste.

[twoods]

I read her article on her kid eating and wait-crackers and cheese have no nutritional value? Is she insane? I guess calcium and iron isn't good for the body. She's nuts. Maybe she should just give Jade the snacks because shes so controlling already. Yeah she will be a good eater, but because your mom is controlling and nuts you may have anxiety. Sorry, Jade.

I can't even watch her shows now because she just sniffs herbs all day and calls everything lemon-y, and then gets all orgasmic over eating. Plus now pretty much all her shirts are low cut do her girls are hovering over the food.

[grisgris]

I watched an old episode of the show yesterday and Giada hosted an art lesson party for some friends. One of the dishes she served was chicken fingers. Giada specifically told each guest they could have TWO chicken fingers -- after one guy attempted to take three.

[monkeybread]

I read her article on her kid eating and wait-crackers and cheese have no nutritional value? Is she insane? I guess calcium and iron isn't good for the body. She's nuts. Maybe she should just give Jade the snacks because shes so controlling already. Yeah she will be a good eater, but because your mom is controlling and nuts you may have anxiety. Sorry, Jade.

I can't even watch her shows now because she just sniffs herbs all day and calls everything lemon-y, and then gets all orgasmic over eating. Plus now pretty much all her shirts are low cut do her girls are hovering over the food.

Yesterday I caught her saying that nutmeg was minty. It was the planting seeds episode. It's on today. 

[finnzup]

 

that nutmeg was minty.

At least she didn't describe it as 'creamy.'  I don't know why, but when she says that, which is ALL THE TIME, I can't stand it, lol.

[DownTheShore]

"Little Big Head" indeed - lol.  I tend to watch her show with horrified fascination.

[Pickles]

Saw the last few minutes of today's show. Jade had a friend over to swim. The friend's mom also came along. She just had her normal clothes on. Giada had a swimsuit on with the boobs hanging out. Lots of cleavage, but this time in a wet swimsuit.

[grisgris]

I saw that.

 

I thought the watermelon cubes filled with mascarpone cream and chocolate chips did not look/sound very good. It seemed like an odd combination.

 

Today, Giada said that cumin was like "a Lebanese bear hug."

 

Agave is "richer than sugar, less smoky than maple syrup and less floraly than honey."  OK.

 

I've noticed on FNS that she never asks the contestants to describe the flavors of what they're preparing.

[annzeepark914]

Watermelon cubes filled with mascarpone and chocolate chips?  This sounds like a SNL skit making fun of Giada, not an actual show.  This gal has truly lost it!

 

Honestly, the one thing I ALWAYS loved about Giada was her manicure, lol.  Neat, clean and always polished with OPI Bubble Bath, no matter what she served up, her nails always looked fantastic!

 

Haven't seen her new manicure - sounds awful.  I've always admired Giada and Ina for having beautifully trimmed nails with a pale pink or peach polish. Their hands always looked clean while handling food (unlike Pauler and her long talons complete with heavy rings).

 

 

[annzeepark914]

Parade Magazine for Sunday, July 13th has a feature on Giada and her new restaurant in Las Vegas, Giada.  "While grand in scale and ambition, Giada feels intimate, thanks to its soothing earth tones and personal touches, like the chandeliers inscribed with the chef's stay-slim food philosophy ('I eat a little bit of everything and not a lot of anything')..."

 

This woman is truly a piece of work.  Anyway, there's a contest to win a three day two night stay at the Cromwell Hotel (where her restaurant is located) and dinner for two at Giada (heh...just don't look at the chandeliers while you're dining!).  Go to parade.com/giada to enter the contest.

[Lura]

Oh, Giada!  Who ever heard of inscribing chandeliers?  (Naturally, with a quote by the Ego Queen!)  I used to love Giada in her early days, but these days it seems as if her middle name has become Pretentious.

[Rhondinella]

Yes, nothing says "intimate" and "soothing" like inscribed chandeliers.  *Eyeroll*

[Aquarius]

Parade Magazine for Sunday, July 13th has a feature on Giada and her new restaurant in Las Vegas, Giada.  "While grand in scale and ambition, Giada feels intimate, thanks to its soothing earth tones and personal touches, like the chandeliers inscribed with the chef's stay-slim food philosophy ('I eat a little bit of everything and not a lot of anything')..."

 

Oh.  This makes me stabby. 

[Deanie87]

My husband and I were in Vegas last weekend and were able to get last minute reservations to Giada the Restaurant, and I have to say that it was wonderful!  We both roll our eyes at her show all the time, but my husband proclaimed his meal to be one of the top 5 in his lifetime!  I don't know that I would go that far, but it was very good.  My favorite part of the whole meal was the free bread and toppings that they provide LOL!  The staff was great (we got 3 waiters for just two of us alone and the manager came over to see how things were).  The place itself is beautiful and is decorated very simply and cleanly and reminded me alot of her show sets, which is a nice change from all of the Vegas glitz and over the top-ness. 

 

Having said all that, I can't resist a little snark.  Yes, the words are spelled out phonetically (including spah-GIT-eee ugh), and the waiters give a big spiel about how "Giada wants you to experience the restaurant."  That got old real quick.  Also, as much as she goes on about moderation (including on the chandeliers), they sure do encourage you to order a lot of food.  We didn't order all of the courses and we were still stuffed (of course, I at my weight in the delicious free bread so there is that).  Plus, it ain't cheap! 

 

Interestingly, the hotel it is in is supposed to be very upscale now (it used to be one of the older, sketchier hotels but I can't think of the name at the moment), but the restaurant is right next to the casino part and someone forgot to tell the current clientele who were there in all of their drunk and tacky glory.  We had lots of fun picturing Giada mingling with the throng of unwashed masses at the various slot machines.

 

But all in all, we loved it and would definitely recommend it. 

[LuckyBitch]

Parade Magazine for Sunday, July 13th has a feature on Giada and her new restaurant in Las Vegas, Giada.  "While grand in scale and ambition, Giada feels intimate, thanks to its soothing earth tones and personal touches, like the chandeliers inscribed with the chef's stay-slim food philosophy ('I eat a little bit of everything and not a lot of anything')..."

 

This woman is truly a piece of work.  Anyway, there's a contest to win a three day two night stay at the Cromwell Hotel (where her restaurant is located) and dinner for two at Giada (heh...just don't look at the chandeliers while you're dining!).  Go to parade.com/giada to enter the contest.

 

Ugh, she is so insufferable in that Parade Magazine interview.

 

@Deanie87, thanks for the interesting review. That Parade article says the restaurant is "located on the second floor of the Cromwell hotel in the heart of the Vegas Strip." There's also a photo of the interior:

 

 

 

I did some Googling and found this on Eater:

 

Revealed: Full Menu, Prices for Giada at The Cromwell  (June 2, 2014):

It took weeks of delays, at least $6 million in construction costs and whole lot of flashing of a megawatt TV celebrity smile, but Giada is finally ready to debut. The first restaurant from the TV star chef Giada De Laurentiis, opening tomorrow night at The Cromwell, features views of the Strip, a pizza oven, a full custom antipasti bar and long menu elegantly encased in a white leather binder.

 

The menu thoughtfully tags Giada's favorite dishes along with those of her aunt Raffy and also her maternal grandfather, the late film producer Dino De Laurentiis. A hint at what you should order might be found in the tasting menu given to friends and family before opening. After antipasti, Giada offered a choice of pea tortellini or lemon spaghetti with shrimp or vegetable Bolognese. The main dish choices she gave to early diners were Sicilian roasted lamb, seared salmon with summer succotash or farrotto with fava beans and morels, plus smashed potatoes and sweet corn with spicy Italian sausage as the chosen sides.

 

Highlights listed by Giada include the $42 seven-ounce filet with salsa verde and crispy polenta and the $55 whole chicken for two served cacciatore style. Not included on the menu, the evolving offerings on the rose gold dessert cart.

 

Depending on your state of mind, you might consider the phonetically spelled out pasta dishes listed on the menu either an aide to correctly order in a fun manner, or an unwitting move to treating you like a child in a restaurant offering a very adult priced $68 rib eye.

 

The Eater article lists the entire menu, including prices. I find the phonetic spelling of the pasta dishes extremely obnoxious and condescending:

 

Pasta

Spaghetti (Spah-geh-tee) shrimp, lemon & basil $28

Bucatini (Boo-kah-tee-nee) Calabrian chili pomodoro & fresh ricotta $24

Rigatoni (ree-gah-TOH-neh) vegetable Bolognese $26

Risotto (ree-ZOHT-oh) crab & scallops $30

Lasagna (lah-ZAHN-eeah) sweet Italian sausage $26

Tortellini (tohr-teh-LEE-nee) pea pesto, pancetta & mint $26

Ravioli (rah-VEEOH-lee) lobster, asparagus, tips & tarragon $34

Farrotto (fah-ROH-toh) morel mushrooms, fava beans & pecorini tartufo $26

 

Google also turned up this People blurb from yesterday (tweeted photos included):

 

Shania Twain Dines at Giada De Laurentiis’ New Las Vegas Restaurant

Edited July 23, 2014 by LuckyBitch