Giada At Home - General Discussion

[Aquarius]

I also noticed that during the opening and first few minutes of the show, there was something wrong with the lighting in that it was darker than usual. It made Giada's teeth look like glow in the dark!

 

Thanks for the warning!  I will not watch this after dark, as Giada's teeth frighten me as it is.

[grisgris]

Where was LBH today? Surely, this latest season isn't over just yet...

[chessiegal]

I caught the end of a show this morning, I wasn't paying too much attention. Was it a repeat?

[finnzup]

Pretty sure both shows this afternoon were repeats.  The  last one was definitely; it was the bowling episode where she makes dinner at home for Todd, some crazy porkchop sandwich on a gargantuan sized ciabatta bread, lol, then brings 'dessert' to the bowling alley.

 

I always laugh at her cupcakes, they were her chocolate meringue 'cupcakes' which are literally the size of thimbles!!!  So funny watching the men pick them up and eat them.

 

Seriously, if I'm eating a cupcake (or two, lol), it better be a normal size cupcake!  

 

Oops, sorry chessiegal, just noticed your datestamp.  My post is referencing today's offerings.

Edited March 6, 2015 by finnzup

[Lura]

I haven't seen any of Giada's shows since I was here last.  We have so many shows that we've recorded, so we try to get to those first.  If the end of her series is coming soon, does that mean that her next series will have a different name?  Now that Todd is divorcing her, the name possibilities are endless.  I like "Giada at Home."

[finnzup]

This Sunday's episode (leg of lamb) looked like a new one to me although it was dated 2014.  Todd and his brother/wife and kids were all at the dinner table.

 

I absolutely loved the top she word while she cooked.  The colors were fabulous and really complimented her coloring.

 

Todd was so nice, as he always was, "Thank you Giada" as they finished the scene.

[Tielsmomma]

She's losing a good one with Todd. Wonder if the waywardness on her part (rumoured) was worth it.

[Aquarius]

She's losing a good one with Todd. Wonder if the waywardness on her part (rumoured) was worth it.

 

I said it upthread, but I'll repeat it, because for some reason it makes me sad that Giada and Todd are divorcing.  I really hope they just drifted apart.  It happens.  I hope the rest of it is just plain rumors. 

[Tielsmomma]

It makes me sad too. They've been together for a long time.

[grisgris]

It was kind of sad today to watch Giada's Easter show without Todd. There was Giada's sister, Jade, Julian and a slightly older couple that I didn't recognize. No Aunt Raffi either.

 

Interestingly, the guests were playing football and not bocci ball, like they usually do with Todd in charge. Giada also used regular bacon instead of pancetta in one of her recipes. Shout out perhaps?

 

The menu looked pretty good and it was perfect timing as I needed a quick recipe for gremolata.

 

Everything was going fine. Then... Giada had a jar on the dinner table with pastel M&Ms. She said that whomever guessed the correct number of candies in the jar got to keep the jar. So everybody started guessing, then Giada started yapping over everybody, "How is the pork?" "Did you try the pork?" Then she also called Jade out for cleaning her plate.

 

That Julian is going to be a real lady killer when he's a grown up.  Boy, is he handsome and he's what? 10? I like Jade's new shoulder-length bob haircut. Very sophisticated.

[chessiegal]

I only  caught today's episode because I was sweating it out on the treadmill, and I'll do just about anything to help pass those 65 minutes. I thought it was a good episode as far as recipes go. It reminded me of some of her earlier year recipes, with no shades of semi-homemade. The dessert looked good.

 

I didn't get Giada calling Jade out on finishing her plate - to me it sounded more like she was happy she liked her pork dish and polished it off. The pastel colored M&M thing on how many were in a jar was jarringly (sorry, couldn't resist) disjointed. I think I'll blame that on the editors.

 

And unless I'm remembering wrong - no cleavage in sight!

 

ETA: She was describing rosemary and I was impressed she didn't describe it as "lemony". :)

Edited April 6, 2015 by chessiegal

[butterflyeludesme]

I'm a little disappointed that they got rid of the time lapse oven shots. :( I always liked seeing the food being cooked. 

 

The food didn't look bad but the pork needed a lot more salt than what they showed. She only put a pinch in the wet rub and that was it for the whole pork loin. Hopefully the recipe on FN included salting the pork loin more. 

 

I also don't, and haven't ever, understood using sparkling wine for cooking. It won't stay bubbly, so why not just use plain white wine?

Edited April 6, 2015 by butterflyeludesme

[Pickles]

Bobby Flay and his wife are divorcing. Maybe Bobby and Giada will become an official couple. Ick. I don't know who has the bigger ego.

[finnzup]

Sad to see Bobby and Stephanie split up.  Whenever she appeared on any of his shows, they seemed like a very happy couple.

 

Does make you wonder about Giada and Bobby.  I'd hate for that to be the reason.

[grisgris]

What a strange episode. More time was devoted to the transitions at the end of each commercial. Instead of the quazi-Jetsons scheme, I think it would have been so much cooler if they used the actual astrological constellations or the symbols for each sign.

 

Did anybody catch Giada slip and actually say "rih-cotta" instead of "Reeeeee-COH-ta?"

 

I had to laugh during the horoscope reveal. Giada is "royalty." Ha! I'm sure she could identify with that. I loved how she talked over the astrologer to exalt the food while the poor woman was trying to give her the reading.

 

Gah! She's a LEO??? That's what I am.

[finnzup]

I only caught a small portion of today's horoscope show while watching at my mom's house.  I didn't care for the readings at the end, I thought it was too much time taken up by that, especially telling Giada how royal she was, how she shows love through her food.....wow, what a revelation!!  lol

 

Whenever Louie is on, Giada pales in comparison, imo.  I think Eloise is such a beauty, as different as day and night from her sister Giada.  And I do think Giada is attractive, just not pretty.

 

I also heard Giada bellow out she's taking "two" cookies!!!  Wow, two Giada??  What's this world coming to, lol.

Edited April 12, 2015 by finnzup

[ShellSeeker]

What a strange episode. More time was devoted to the transitions at the end of each commercial. Instead of the quazi-Jetsons scheme, I think it would have been so much cooler if they used the actual astrological constellations or the symbols for each sign.

 

Yeah, I so did not get that. Even my husband, who doesn't really watch, noticed that. I did think the bacon wrapped dates looked good. I made a version of those as an appetizer for Thanksgiving last year -- stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon, rolled in brown sugar. Everyone went crazy for them. I like the idea of stuffing them with sausage, but wonder if it might be too much. They're really tasty, but a pretty filling appetizer.

 

I ended up poking a bamboo skewer through the dates to get the pits out, and it worked like a charm. Then they're easy to slice open to stuff.

[grisgris]

What an odd menu to serve a group of little girls today. First, I thought the breadless sandwiches would be difficult to eat. The, I didn't think that the creamy cucumber salad would appeal to children, even though Giada said that "kids love cucumbers."  At least they were good sports and tried everything.

 

The sundae bar looked like fun, even though that one little girl had a bowlful of chocolate peanut butter sauce. Got her priorities straight!

[ByTor]

I didn't think that the creamy cucumber salad would appeal to children, even though Giada said that "kids love cucumbers." 

Strangely enough, my mother used to make a creamy cucumber salad, and my then 7 year old nephew used to eat almost the entire bowl.  It can be odd what some kids like.

Edited April 29, 2015 by ByTor

[grisgris]

OMG -- What a Mother's Day gift. And I'm not even a mother! (Well, unless you consider my fur-baby.)

 

COMEDY GOLD!  Aunt Raffy is back and today she was taking no prisoners.

 

The episode started off with Giada and Raffy making Raffy's peach/blueberry crumble. Giada (repeatedly) admonished Raffy by stating that Raffy "doesn't like to bake." Raffy retorted that she doesn't like to bake because you have to measure everything and she likes to prepare food by seeing and feeling the ingredients.

 

Giada wasn't going to let that one go and throughout the episode, kept pressing her aunt to specify quantities. Another thing that was hilarious was throughout the show, they kept going back and forth about ingredients because Aunt Raffy was concerned about calories. Giada finally said something like, "I cook for flavor. Not calories. " (This said by Miss Scrooge-portions) She quickly said something like "eat less...."

 

Anyway, back to the crumble. I mean, you can pretty much fudge on making the topping, so GHAFB, LBH. When Raffy was cutting in the cubes of butter, Giada crowed and squealed about her new BRILLIANT idea to freeze butter and grate it to whatever she was making. Raffy reacted like Giada had two heads and proceeded with her crumble. (Personally, I think it's a dumb idea. I could see the grater or microplane quickly clogged up with soft butter, but anyway, I'm not a Le Cordon Bleu trained chef...)

 

Next was a quinoa pilaf that Giada took the lead on. It looked pretty good with multi-colored quinoa, shallots, yellow pepper and sun-dried tomatoes. Again, Giada explained how sun-dried tomatoes are sweet and she eats them like candy.

 

Meatloaf time! Here is where the gloves came off and the claws were unsheathed.

 

This was a stovetop meatloaf made of ground turkey and prosciutto. I assume there was so much dissent between them about the recipe, that Giada and Aunt Raffy each made their own version with a separate sauce.

 

First, they started out with Raffy hacking the crusts off a chunk of dried out bread and she kept sniping at Giada that it was "too much bread." Then she ordered Giada to not to dare throw away any of the unused bread or crusts, which evoked a lot of eye-rolling.

 

They mixed up the base of the meatloaf with the turkey and pork and Raffy started passively-aggressively chopping up a shallot and parsley, while griping, "I know. I know. You like to add color." Giada mumbled something about liking fresh herbs in her food. While Raffy turned to wash her hands (or something) Giada took her own knife to the pile of shallots and parsley and said "These aren't chopped up finely enough."

 

So, they each formed their own loaves and Raffy made a show of wetting her hands in order to better hold the meat together. She also "accidentally" spatter water or something on Giada's white flowered peasant blouse. After the meatloaves were browned, Giada dumped in what looked like a jar of Ragu sauce and Aunt Raffy added whole milk. She just dumped a bunch in and Giada kept pressing her "How much?"

 

Then they bickered about Giada using jarred sauce and how Raffy's meatloaf would take twice as long to cook.

 

Louie came in to taste-test the final products and she said that Giada's was lighter with the tomato sauce and Raffy's was richer with the milk sauce. Giada was going on and she said, "And Aunt Raffy also doesn't like...." And Raffy very pointed looked over to Louie and loudly whispered "Now what?" Giada said, "Uh, doesn't like to bake" then praised the crumble.

 

EOW---CH!!!  Don't think Aunt Raffy will be invited back anytime soon.

[Tahitigirl]

At one point Giada got all defensive about the crisp being Raffy's recipe (Raffy had been complaining, I believe, that Giada changes everything) but failed to mention using her substitution of arrow root (instead of Raffy's corn starch) because arrow root is "natural" and corn starch isn't.

I loved that Raffy gave her a hard time about using jarred sauce. And that she complained about having to squeeze the lemons with her hands the way Giada does instead of with a lemon juicer like she does at home.

Comedy gold...absolutely. But I always feel sorry for Raffy. Giada treats her so poorly.

Is it me or has Giada gotten more manic lately? I've been thinking this for awhile now. Maybe it's because of the new opening that shows all of her teeth in every shot. It sets up the episode that way from the start.

Edited May 11, 2015 by Tahitigirl

[grisgris]

Ha! Ha! Ha! Yes...the arrowroot chronicles. Didn't Giada say something like they had to use twice as much arrowroot as what the recipe called for with cornstarch?

 

Also, Giada made sure that Raffy's milk sauce was whirred up with a hand blender because the milk looked curdled. Raffy said something like "So what? It IS curdled milk." They were explaining that to Louie mid-bite while she was tasting. I sure didn't want to be in Louie's shoes to try to choose the best one, because it was a no-win situation. I think she gave the life-affirming (her own!) PC response.

 

I don't think I've ever intentionally repeat-watched an episode of Giada's shows, but I have a to catch this one again tomorrow!

 

And yes, Giada seems more manic this season. It's like she's trying too hard to be "up" and like "Todd who?"

 

Jarred marinara sauce. Really. SMDH.

[grisgris]

I think that Giada was smoking something more than just the Earl Gray when she came up with that tea-party menu for yesterday's show.

 

I would eat the bean-pasta salad with a different dressing. That was a pretty strange looking cake. I think it would have been OK before she slathered on the yogurt-honey-LEMON topping.

[grisgris]

Today's episode of "Asian Meets Italy" seemed like jump the shark for me. She lost me when she doused her Asian mushroom risotto with Parmesan cheese. I couldn't stomach the spah-GHEE-tee with the edamame and Japanese caviar or whatever she put over the top of it. I was on the phone and didn't catch the guest's reaction. I know what I would have done...

[annzeepark914]

Today's episode of "Asian Meets Italy" seemed like jump the shark for me. She lost me when she doused her Asian mushroom risotto with Parmesan cheese. I couldn't stomach the spah-GHEE-tee with the edamame and Japanese caviar or whatever she put over the top of it. I was on the phone and didn't catch the guest's reaction. I know what I would have done...

What in the world is going on with this woman?  This sounds disgusting!

Just read the description of the show w/ Aunt Raffy.  I used to love those shows because Raffy is so funny (and so real) but it sounds like Giada is now too full of herself to allow Raffy to "shine" one teeny bit.  I have a hard time watching Giada's shows these days so I come here to find out what I'm missing.  I do watch the old shows from back in the day when she was cooking in someone's house (hardly any grid-grins back then), back when the food looked good & was good.

[grisgris]

(Another) thing that bugged me about that episode is where is the "average" home cook going to find all of those ingredients? There were those Japanese peppers, then she used three types of mushrooms for the risotto that I'd never even heard of and I consider myself to have a fairly well-rounded knowledge of food items. (Thanks to Chopped. LOL!)

[pandora spocks]

Today's episode of "Asian Meets Italy" seemed like jump the shark for me. She lost me when she doused her Asian mushroom risotto with Parmesan cheese. I couldn't stomach the spah-GHEE-tee with the edamame and Japanese caviar or whatever she put over the top of it. I was on the phone and didn't catch the guest's reaction. I know what I would have done...

 

She reminds me of Alex Trebek with her pretentious over-pronunciation of certain words.  Giada sure loves the word "yummy" a lot.  Yummy this and yummy that! 

 

On "Game Day" she made game watching grub for her hubby and his buddies.  Really, swordfish sandwiches with ciabatta bread and calamari soup?  For guys watching a game on tv?  Most guys I know would be thrilled with pizza and wings.

[Aquarius]

On "Game Day" she made game watching grub for her hubby and his buddies.  Really, swordfish sandwiches with ciabatta bread and calamari soup?  For guys watching a game on tv?  Most guys I know would be thrilled with pizza and wings.

 

Well, they're divorcing/divorced now, so maybe there's something to that.

[annzeepark914]

I just saw, at another forum, that Giada has a new 13 episode show starting Sunday, July 19th and it takes place in Italy.

[LiveenLetLive]

I'm late to the party re Giada and Todd--sort of sad after spending over 2 decades together...but there is something sort of "dead inside" about Giada (could be the rumors, which still make me shudder, about her father molesting her are true) at any rate I started not really liking her when she commented on National Television that Jade wasn't planned and that she and Todd were fine with no children, although they seem close, I still think poor little Jade...

[ByTor]

I started not really liking her when she commented on National Television that Jade wasn't planned and that she and Todd were fine with no children, although they seem close, I still think poor little Jade...

That is exactly when turned me off about her as well. If she insisted on making the fact that it was a surprise public, all she had to say was that it was a happy surprise and leave it at that.

[amsel]

From the series premiere that aired today. That's me and my sister laughing in the background:

Edited July 19, 2015 by amsel

[chessiegal]

I just saw the premiere of "Giada in Italy" this afternoon. I enjoyed it. The scenery is beautiful. Jade has turned into a little person, the baby is all gone, and she is so darn cute. Giada seemed more relaxed to me, and seemed to be having fun.

[LiveenLetLive]

So all the Todd references are gone, and now Jade has become the secondary focal point of her new show....why does that seem so mercenary? Jade is growing up so fast, she is definitely Giada's "mini me" LOL. That said, how beautiful does Italy look? The food, as always, appeals to me--Giada has always cooked with the flavor profile I favor, I just wish that I liked her a little better.

[MomCat]

I have never been able to bring myself to watch Giada because I find her hard to take.  I also wish I liked her a little better.  I am watching her show in Italy because I want to see Italy, and of course the food.  I think Aunt Raffy is a scream!  I love how she puts Giada in her place.  That alone makes it worth it.

[JTMacc99]

I've enjoyed all of the Italy episodes so far, especially the pasta factory episode with Aunt Raffy.  

 

I think Giada is really excited about the food there and about sharing this experience with her daughter, and that it is coming through on the camera. She even looks great, much better than on FNS. (Probably because that show sucks the souls out of the people on it.)

Edited August 25, 2015 by JTMacc99

[jcbrown]

 

I've enjoyed all of the Italy episodes so far, especially the pasta factory episode with Aunt Raffy.

I've enjoyed them, too, and especially the pasta factory one. The one piece of that one I thought was ludicrous was when Giada was in a restaurant cooking with a chef who makes pasta with potatoes. She had her screeching ramped up to 11, for one thing, but what really got me is when she was chastising the chef for never telling her that rosemary was a secret ingredient in his dish. Rosemary is an incredibly recognizable flavor. If you can't pick it out? You have no right to call yourself a chef. I realize it was just some drummed up crap for her to screech at him about, but it was poorly chosen drummed up crap.

[3pwood]

A recent rerun featured Double Chocolate & Espresso Cookies, which look great & I plan to make them.  I'd rather substitute instant espresso powder for the 1/3 cup ground up chocolate covered espresso beans, but not sure how much of the instant powder to use -- lots of people commenting on the Food Network website have successfully made that substitution, but their amounts range from 1 teaspoon to 1/3 cup.  If anyone here has tried the recipe with that substitution, I'd appreciate knowing what amount was used & how it came out.

[grisgris]

On the cookies, I'm guessing to stick to the lesser portion of espresso powder. I think it would be much more concentrated than the chocolate-covered espresso beans.

 

WHY does Giada always have to mess with Aunt Raffi by altering their family recipes? She did it again today. That molded rice thing looked good, but definitely nothing I'd ever try to make. It's something that if I saw it on a buffet, that I'd take a small sample. Otherwise, it was way too much and too labor-intensive. As far as Giada's tweaks went, I don't really see how time-consuming it is to boil some eggs in advance or saute some fresh peas. It's not like peas take a long time to heat up with some flavorings. It seemed very nit-picky.

 

Why it irked me so much moreso today is because all during the "Giada in Italy" series (BTW, is it over yet?) whenever Giada made traditional dishes, she stuck to the original recipe, like pizza margherita a few weeks ago.

 

I'm still voting for a cooking show starring just Aunt Raffi cooking the DeLaurentiis family dishes. I'd totally watch that. Either one of Giada's siblings could co-star.

[Automne]

Hm, I might try adding espresso powder to my triple chocolate cookie recipe. That would be a lovely addition to an already delicious cookie (adding mint extract to it is awesome).

[MsTree]

Other than her grandfather and of course her Aunt Raffi, does she ever talk about her parents?  Is Raffi her adopted mother?

[vera charles]

Her mother appeared on the show years ago. I think I read or heard someplace that her mother had returned to Italy to live full time. Maybe they visit but she isn't interested in appearing on the show? Raffi worked for decades in Hollywood so she isn't going anyplace. She seems outgoing and apparently loves the limelight. Giada's mother (is her name Veronica?) came across as more reserved, almost shy. Nothing like you'd expect someone who raised Giada to be.

[Happywatcher]

I tried to watch the show again and I can't. A few years ago the gossip sites were saying why Giada wasn't allowed on Rachael's show, and I kind of scoffed.

 

But Matt Lauer, and every other scummy guy in media? She is so bad Todd gets their daughter and she has to pay child support? I don't want to get cooking lessons from her.

[BW Manilowe]

I tried to watch the show again and I can't. A few years ago the gossip sites were saying why Giada wasn't allowed on Rachael's show, and I kind of scoffed.

But Matt Lauer, and every other scummy guy in media? She is so bad Todd gets their daughter and she has to pay child support? I don't want to get cooking lessons from her.

Todd didn't "get" their daughter; they have joint custody. It just sounds like he "got" their daughter because Giada has to pay him $9,000 a month in child support (which is explained either upthread or maybe in the Food Network Star forum, but it has to do with financially equalizing both homes Jade will be living in... A "keeping her in a standard of living to which she's become accustomed" thing, because Todd apparently makes around $15 million a year, while Giada makes around $20 million a year) & there's apparently an assumption being made that Jade will be living with Todd more because of the child support award (& his "lesser" finances), & perhaps because Giada may have to travel more in connection with her work than Todd may have to.

Edited September 14, 2015 by BW Manilowe

[3pwood]

I did make the Double Chocolate & Espresso Cookies & ended up going out of my way to buy the chocolate covered espresso beans at Trader Joe's (approx $4 for 14 oz.), then ground them in a miniature food processor for a very long time until they were as close to powder as possible.  They weren't gritty & the flavor was good, not overpowering.  I liked the results & so did everyone else, though no one has raved about them.  It's a respectable cookie & the recipe calls for only 1/3 Cup of chocolate covered espresso beans, so it would be smart to freeze the rest of the 14 oz package in order to make another batch or two of cookies as the need may arise in future -- however, the leftover supply of beans seems to have dwindled.....

[grisgris]

Hmmm.... wonder how that happened? ;-)

 

Thanks for the update and I was at a loss to know where to buy chocolate-covered espresso beans. Thanks for the tip. There's a TJ about 10 minutes away.

[3pwood]

One of my late husband's friends introduced us to the Trader Joe's chocolate covered espresso beans years ago -- he's hung up on them & that's what I get when I want to give him something for a special occasion.   With the last batch, I put a single bean on top in the middle of each cookie & that worked pretty well -- not melted, but softened into a nice chewy texture.   

[Lady Cassandra]

I have to say that I'm LOVING Giada in Italy.  The Amalfi Coast is one of my bucket list places, and I love watching Giada explore her grandparent's old stomping grounds.  The food looks delicious (for the most part), and I love the house they're staying in (on Sunday's episode, there were a bunch of family pictures on a table, so I wonder if that is a family home).  And I absolutely covet those copper pots she's been using in this series, although I can imagine they would be a pain to clean.

 

Other than her grandfather and of course her Aunt Raffi, does she ever talk about her parents?  Is Raffi her adopted mother?

 

Giada's mother has been in this series, in the episode where they're at the restaurant with the guy who makes pasta and potatoes (is that what it was?).  She and Giada's stepfather were at the table with Jade.  I've never heard her talk publicly about her father, and actually would be surprised if she ever did (although it would be very brave of her, if the stories are true).

 

I have to laugh at the thought of Jade somehow living a "lesser" lifestyle with her father because he makes a measly 15 million/year compared to Giada's 20 million.

[MsTree]

Giada's mother has been in this series, in the episode where they're at the restaurant with the guy who makes pasta and potatoes (is that what it was?).  She and Giada's stepfather were at the table with Jade.  I've never heard her talk publicly about her father, and actually would be surprised if she ever did (although it would be very brave of her, if the stories are true).

 

Thanks Lady Cassandra...but now you've got me curious :-)  ...what exactly are the "stories" regarding Giada and her father?

[grisgris]

There are articles you can look up, but the gist is that Giada's father was abusive -- both physically and sexually -- and was the catalyst for Giada's mother leaving Italy and moving to California. I do not know enough to state whether Giada and her siblings suffered at their father's hands or it was just their mother, or both or neither. In any case, the man obviously had an unsavory enough character that the family left him and don't really talk much about him.