Giada At Home - General Discussion

[VioletNevermind]

(I hope it’s okay that I’m posting something here about her beach show.)

Giada is the kind of woman who used to absolutely terrify me as a child (hell, even today).  She’s at an 11 all. the. time.  Her smile is a teeny bit too big and whenever she’s working with Jade and a bunch of her friends, she barks rapid-fire orders.  She always has a snarky little comment to make about the way someone does something.  She’ll ask you to add “a little bit” of olive oil, but oops!  You added a tiiiiiny bit too much!  If I’d been a 10-year-old friend of Jade’s (haha, as if), I would have been hiding in the bathroom waiting for my mom to pick me up after the first 15 minutes.  Sure, it’s exciting to be on TV, but not at the cost of soiling myself in her kitchen when she screams at me that I got a teaspoon of flour on the counter or insists at tip-top volume that I appreciate the smell of the lemon in the bowl of beans.  Good Lord, woman.  Calm the fork down. 

Edited July 1, 2018 by SuzyLee

[Ashforth]

On 6/25/2017 at 1:04 PM, Westiepeach said:

BUT ... she said her mother is a vegetarian so she always adds another hearty dish so her mother could enjoy it.

So ... she makes a farro dish. She said the word like a hundred times. Whatever. She made it similar to risotto. She added CHICKEN BROTH while it was cooking. Chicken broth.

Then she gave it to her mother and said, "I know you don't eat lamb."

I noticed that as well. I have a sister who is vegan and I would NEVER make a dish with animal products and serve it to her without telling her.  A delicious vegetable stock is easy to make.

[rustyspigot]

6 hours ago, SuzyLee said:

Good Lord, woman.  Calm the fork down. 

She yells at kids like some people that yell at someone that speaks a different language thinking that will help get the point across. I'm surprised one of the gaggle of kids didn't cut themselves as they were shoving stuff in to the blender to make gelato.   

[chessiegal]

On ‎7‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 6:49 PM, rustyspigot said:

She yells at kids like some people that yell at someone that speaks a different language thinking that will help get the point across. I'm surprised one of the gaggle of kids didn't cut themselves as they were shoving stuff in to the blender to make gelato.   

I just saw this episode this morning. Good grief, she was horrible with those kids! It was worse than I imagined.

[rhys]

I watched some of the summer beach shows today. One of the episodes was about Sunday family dinner but Giada's mom wasn't there. Rafi was & her gorgeous sis& brother etc were there but no mom. Man such a pretty family. Frankly, Giada's the homely one (but not really). I just wished her mom would have been there. 

[fairffaxx]

They are all beautiful but what makes Giada's mother Veronica stand out for me is her manner -- she's quiet & dignified, pleasant but not so extroverted (or LOUD!) as Giada & Rafi.  They tend to try too hard, whereas Veronica makes more of an impression by just being there without making a fuss.

[kokapetl]

Knowing what I know now about her father, I feel kinda guilty about not exactly liking her, plus her show came on after an episode of Pioneer Woman, so her voice was downright soothing after Ree, but what is with Giada’s (or the producers) obsession with cooking finger foods and desserts “for the girls”? Are there significant numbers of Chardonnay guzzling women who entertain at least 26 times a year?

The booze I understand. 

[annzeepark914]

I was watching Giada today while getting a pedicure (they had the sound low + Xmas music was, of course, playing) but they did have closed caption.  Today's show was about making a winter wonderland party for Jade and her friends (Jade is no longer a tot - she's a beautiful little girl and comes across as very nice).  Giada's food, though, IMO, was not for any young kids I know so I was very intent on watching these kids at the end of the show to see if they ate the grilled chicken w/ pesto on rolls, and the from-scratch tomato soup filled w/ tomatoes & other veggies that she finished with mascarpone!! She processed it, fortunately, so there were no lumps (you know kids and lumps in food).  G & J also made some hot chocolate using Nutella and the two of them sampled it.  It's so funny to see Jade still making that Giada-face, holding her little head up, eyes shut (remember when she was about 3-1/2, doing that?) So the last minute of the show, the kids seemed to be eating the sandwiches and soup, but the camera shots were close-ups so they could've easily edited the rebels :>)

[Kohola3]

Her head is too big for her body.  That is all.

[chessiegal]

And what is she supposed to do about it, get a head transplant? 

[Mellowyellow]

I like Giada and my kid eats the type of food she makes so I really enjoy her recipes.

I also think she's really sweet with Jade. She's super intense but as a mum who is kinda like that I can see it coming from a place of love.

I can't remember but there was an ep where she was making food for a kids party. Even while filming she still had hawk eyes on Jade to make sure she was eating some veggie noodle dish.

There was also this episode where Jade was tiny and went straight for the cookies, Giada was twitching and eventually took the cookies away and shoved something healthy at her. It's intense but she really loves that kid.

[Irlandesa]

Giada In Italy is back.  This is the only Giada show I set to tape.  I love the travel porn.  Last season's Tuscany wasn't as visually stunning as the Amalfi Coast, to me, but this season's Capri is ought to top the previous two seasons.

I did kind of laugh how she pronounced Capri, though.  It sounded so.....American.

[rhys]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

Giada In Italy is back.  This is the only Giada show I set to tape.  I love the travel porn.  Last season's Tuscany wasn't as visually stunning as the Amalfi Coast, to me, but this season's Capri is ought to top the previous two seasons.

I did kind of laugh how she pronounced Capri, though.  It sounded so.....American.

Thanks for posting this. I would not have known there was (were?) new episodes.

How would you pronounce Capri? It sounded correct (& Italian) to me.

[Irlandesa]

35 minutes ago, rhys said:

How would you pronounce Capri? It sounded correct (& Italian) to me. 

Like this with an "A" with more of an aaaah sound:

I thought it sounded she was saying Capri with the cap pronounced more like cap. (i.e. ballcap) Given how she exaggeratedly Italianizes other Italian words, I just found it odd.

[rhys]

Oh I see. I can get on board with what you are thinking. It is a beautiful place. Jade is gorgeous& I'm glad G takes her to Italy& shares family history with her.

[rhys]

Oh today's show with Raffy was the best. I always enjoy it when G cooks with R. Too bad great Zia Raffy didn't approve of the picture. She should have written down the recipe years ago.

[annzeepark914]

It's always good when Rafi is cooking with Giada. That timbali (or whatever it's called) was not appealing to me. But I loved the ingredients, esp the sauce & tiny meatballs, and would probably eat them separately. I enjoy Rafi's memories of growing up in Rome.

[rhys]

I'm not a fan of zucchini -- I find it flavorless. But that side made with capers, tomatoes & anchovy looked tasty. But isn't Veronica a vegetarian?

[Mellowyellow]

I love Giada and Raffy squabbling. It's so cute! I really enjoyed the back story about how no one can ever quite get that cake thing right and how they kept experimenting with it. Such an enjoyable episode even if I have no intention of making that savoury cake.

[ShortyMac]

Giada can grate on me, and I don't always like her recipes, but, I love Aunt Raffy. Those two together are a hoot. 

[PennyPlain]

On 2/17/2018 at 11:01 AM, CherryAmes said:

I've been watching the Giada Entertains shows and while they are mostly fun to watch I can't help feeling that most of her "friends" aren't friends of hers at all.  For one thing they seem, usually, much younger than she is. Am I offbase here?

I've wondered this too and I noticed in an episode the other day on Giada Entertains when she and her friends all share their hidden talents that one of the "friends" is Alie Ward, who I see all the time on Henry Ford's Innovation Nation.  Now she could actually be a friend of Giada's of course but it wouldn't surprise me to learn that she and most of the other friends are paid to be on the show and aren't personal friends at all.

Edited July 13, 2019 by PennyPlain

[CharlizeCat]

I think that "Julie" who shows up frequently might be a genuine friend. The rest seem like hired extras. On more than a few occasions, Giada acts like she barely knows some of her guests. On one recent show, she was trying very hard to flirt with a much younger male guest who was a history/geography teacher. Finally, the other man in the group, said something like, "see what I have to put up with every day," which sent the clear signal that he and the teacher were a couple. Ha! Ha! 

[Mellowyellow]

Made Giada's Torta Caprese

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/torta-caprese-7150869

OMG so so soooooo good!

I saw her make it and I usually am not fond of chocolate but it was soooooo good! Kinda like the outside of a choc molten cake (which I love but hate the gooey inside. Really moist but not egg and has a nice outer crust.

REALLY good! 

Edited July 23, 2019 by Mellowyellow

[Automne]

A minor pet peeve watching her show in Capri: she was about to zest a lemon and instead of picking up the partially zested lemon that still had plenty of skin to zest, she uses a new one and zests a few patches. What a waste.

[rhys]

Did anyone watch her fall party show? She had a make-your-own pizza in which she proceeded to tell everyone how she liked to make pizza. Shrug. It started off ok, but she got bossy at the end. I don't know why she can't take a breath& back off a bit.

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, rhys said:

Did anyone watch her fall party show? She had a make-your-own pizza in which she proceeded to tell everyone how she liked to make pizza. Shrug. It started off ok, but she got bossy at the end. I don't know why she can't take a breath& back off a bit.

Well, this week is the way it is with the Big Egos. She can easily say, "It's my show so shut up!"

But her show, produced in Italy, is really good *despite* her. 

[Happywatcher]

I agree with the 'she is always on the edge of being annoying'. 

Then I remember that according to the LA  Times, her father raped her 2-3 times every week when she was 13, until he was caught. He was sentenced to life back when most father rapists only got 10-15 years, so horrific was what he did to her.

From that perspective, her professional success is a real triumph, even if she hypersexualized so much Rachael dubbed her the BJ Queen

[chessiegal]

I recorded Ina's new show last weekend, and the recording started with the end of Giada's show. It was filmed at home with Jade and a guy with dark hair and glasses. Anyone know who the guy was?

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

I recorded Ina's new show last weekend, and the recording started with the end of Giada's show. It was filmed at home with Jade and a guy with dark hair and glasses. Anyone know who the guy was?

I just presumed it was her SO. I only saw the last 7 or 8 minutes & was trying to figure out who was doing the camera work (guess the food wasn't interesting enough 😉). Rachael Ray's husband has been doing her camera work so that's why I thought this guy was Giada's fella.

[DonnaMae]

That's Shane, her boyfriend since her divorce.  I just saw an episode today where she made lasagna and a kale salad.  Her 'girls' were front and center with a low cut shirt. 😳

 

Edited July 18, 2020 by DonnaMae

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, DonnaMae said:

That's Shane, her boyfriend since her divorce.  I just saw an episode today where she made lasagna and a kale salad.  Her 'girls' were front and center with a low cut shirt. 😳

 

Heh heh--they were really on display today. I kept looking around her kitchen, trying to avoid "the show". Her mother dresses that way too. I was waiting to see her family at the end of the show but only recognized Raffi.

[buttersister]

I came across an episode on YouTube that may have been an earlier ep of this Giada at Home 2.0 (from the credits, which include Jade, Shane--who used to co-produce Rachel Ray shows-- two cats and a dog). She made pasta and walnut sauce (which wasn't anything like what I hoped it would be--a dish I loved in Italy). And the title cards in the beginning identified her as CHEF Giada De Laurentiis. I thought that title was reserved for those who run/ran a restaurant kitchen. Or maybe that was true before marketing got involved in the catering and TV businesses.😆

[chessiegal]

Giada had a catering business at one time. I think Chef is not too much of a stretch.

[annzeepark914]

Giada is a graduate of a culinary school in Paris.  That qualifies her to be called chef, I think. 

[chessiegal]

Plus Giada was working as a personal chef for a family when she got her show.

[Ashforth]

On 7/7/2020 at 4:10 PM, annzeepark914 said:

I just presumed it was her SO. I only saw the last 7 or 8 minutes & was trying to figure out who was doing the camera work (guess the food wasn't interesting enough 😉). Rachael Ray's husband has been doing her camera work so that's why I thought this guy was Giada's fella.

Pretty much all of the FN shows have been claiming that all of the camera work on the "quarantine at home" shows is being done with iPhones or the like by the stars' significant others or children or nannies (🙄 Amy Schumer) even though it is obvious that there is crew of some sort there. Please, FN, we viewers are not idiots.

Edited July 19, 2020 by Ashforth

[CharlizeCat]

Doesn't Giada have a restaurant in Vegas? The one with the weird admonishment about "moderate portions" inscribed around the lamp shades. I wonder how it's doing during the pandemic.

[annzeepark914]

2 hours ago, Ashforth said:

Pretty much all of the FN shows have been claiming that all of the camera work on the "quarantine at home" shows is being done with iPhones or the like by the stars' significant others or children or nannies (🙄 Amy Schumer) even though it is obvious that there is crew of some sort there. Please, FN, we viewers are not idiots.

I think it *could* be done w/ a handheld camera + a couple stationary cameras. But Giada's show looks too good, whereas Rachael's show doesn't look good at all (her husband isn't all that adept w/ a camera). There were several names in the credits at the end of Giada's show in addition to Giada, Jade & Shane (and they weren't the pets' names) but the credits went by too fast.

[chessiegal]

Giada is Executive Producer of a new show on Hallmark Mysteries and Movies channel called Always Amore about a woman who is trying to keep a restaurant going after her husband dies.