Giada De Laurentiis - Giada at Home: Family Recipes from Italy and California

Its often been said that to find the best food in Italy you need to be invited to someones house for a home-cooked meal. Its those simple dishes, lovingly prepared and designed to make good use of what is seasonal, available, and affordableeven leftoversthat have always been my favorites and have most strongly influenced the way I cook at home to this day. I think of those dishes as old world cooking, and they remain staples of my repertoire.

Theyre also the dishes I grew up eating, both as a child living in Italy and then throughout my teen years in this country. Over time, though, the dishes themselves evolved. As a child I rarely ate avocados, pineapple, or jalapeo peppers; and beef, easily the most popular red meat in this country, had been a more occasional food for us in Italy, taking a backseat to lamb and veal. And while wed eaten plenty of pork in the form of sausage and cured meat, rarely did we sit down to a big plate of the pan-fried pork chops or roasts that seemed to be a mealtime staple at all my friends homes. At the same time, some of the foods wed taken for granted in Italy, like lentils, fennel, and mascarpone cheese, almost never appeared in American kitchens, and really its only in the last decade or so that these ingredients and others, such as broccoli rabe or farro, have become widely available. So, ever resourceful and creative, my mother adapted our family favorites to incorporate what she found at the market while retaining the spirit of the original Italian recipes. Her way of combining the best of the old world and the new has been the inspiration for many of the recipes I create now to serve my own family.

The shape of the meal itself also changed over the years in our household, evolving from a multicourse extravaganza that might take a couple of hours even on a weeknight to a streamlined meal more in keeping with the faster pace of life here. At first it seemed strange to have meat, vegetables, even pasta, served all at once and all on the same plate, or to see foods I thought of primarily as snacks, like soups or sandwiches, taking center stage. But I also came to appreciate the fact that meals could be lighter and less filling; a salad based on grains or beautiful vegetables and a bit of cooked meat or seafood was completely satisfying and didnt fill me up and slow me down the way a plate of pasta followed by a meat course might.

Of course we still follow the tradition of weekly meals with my extended family to this day, and on those occasions we rarely veer from the long-established blueprint of antipasti followed by pasta, then a meat or fish course, and a final taste of something sweet. Throughout my childhood pasta or grains were served at both lunch and dinner, just as they are to this day throughout most of Italy, and even now no meal in my grandfathers home would be considered complete without it. I cherish those meals as much for the togetherness and wonderful conversations we share as for the food; but I also recognize that kind of closeness is nurtured by the leisurely pace and comfortable mood created by the slow, delicious progression of the food itself, and Id never want to change that.

Now that Todd and I have started our own family, we observe both traditions at home. Some nights (or mornings in the case of brunch) allow for a bit more time, and a more relaxed approach to cooking and eating. Thats when I think back to the recipes I still remember fondly from my childhood, or have since discovered on my travels throughout Italy. I try not to alter these recipes too much, preferring to prepare the dishes much as Italian mothers have been doing for hundreds of years, and sharing a little bit of my family history with Jade now that shes old enough to eat along with me and Todd.

Other times, I get inspired by a trip to the farmers market or by a beautiful piece of fish at the seafood counter, and I want to focus on dishes that allow those clean, fresh flavors to shine. Sometimes, after a long day, a flavorful pasta or a substantial salad is all any of us needs or wants. For those nights Ive built up a repertoire of quick and easy dishes that reflect my adoptive home in California, the food traditions that my husband and our friends have brought to our table, and my Italian heritage.

Now Ive found myself simplifying the kitchen experience even more without compromising the taste, look, and overall feel of the food. But I dont think thats a bad thing. Much as I appreciate the skill and artistry of a chef working at the top of his or her game when I go out for a meal, in a home setting it can seem over the top. Which is not to say that I dont occasionally pull out the stops when we entertain or if Im making a special family meal. But Im always mindful of the fact that turning a home-cooked meal into something straight out of a restaurant negates the warmth of the setting and the fact that Ive decided to open my home and share my family. As long as the food tastes amazing and Ive devoted a bit of attention to how it looks on the plate, I know even my most discerning friends will appreciate the effort Ive madeas well as the fact that Im not too tired to sit down and enjoy it with them!

And certainly there have never been more good reasons to cook at home. For some of us the expense of eating out has moved from the frequent to the occasional category in the monthly budget; cooking at home is a far less costly way to spend time with friends than eating at a fancy restaurant. Others of us are concerned about the quality of the ingredients we feed our family, and cooking at home, with food youve chosen with care from trusted sourcesmaybe even from the farmer who raised itensures you know exactly what you are eating.

But all those good reasons aside, home cooking is a way to express your love for family and friends, and to make time in your life, no matter how full, for togetherness and new traditions. I hope this book will encourage you to spend a bit more time around the table, and to enjoy every momentand every bite.