From Publishers Weekly
With its cover image of the fetching de Laurentiis wearing a low-cut top and its promise of easy, tasty Italian recipes, this cookbook is sure to draw in home cooks who don't know how to make a basic marinara sauce and want to be introduced them to the beauty and simplicity of Italian cuisine. Which is, of course, a good thing, but a shame, too, since this work lacks depth or meaning. Readers seeking a true introduction to the building blocks of Italian cooking would be worlds better off with one of Marcella Hazan's or Lidia Bastianich's early primers. What those who are lured in by the good looks and charm of de Laurentiis (granddaughter of film producer Dino and star of Food Network's Everyday Italian) will get is an unsophisticated but decent selection of Italian-American classics, from antipasto to pasta, meat dishes to desserts, including Clams Oreganata, Caprese Salad, Salsa all'Amatriciana, Fettucine Alfredo, Veal Marsala, Caponata and Chocolate Tiramisù. De Laurentiis provides an introduction to each dish, and her recipes are generally minimalist (there are no recipes for homemade pastas or stews that take a day to make). Though bursting with glamorous shots of a lovely looking author, this is a rather flat first effort. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Inside Flap
In her hit Food Network show Everyday Italian, Giada De Laurentiis shows you how to cook delicious, beautiful food in a flash. And here, in her long-awaited first book, she does the same—helps you put a fabulous dinner on the table tonight, for friends or just for the kids, with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of flavor. She makes it all look easy, because it is.

Everyday Italian is true to its title: the fresh, simple recipes are incredibly quick and accessible, and also utterly mouth-watering—perfect for everyday cooking. And the book is focused on the real-life considerations of what you actually have in your refrigerator and pantry (no mail-order ingredients here) and what you’re in the mood for—whether a simply sauced pasta or a hearty family-friendly roast, these great recipes cover every contingency. So, for example, you’ll find dishes that you can make solely from pantry ingredients, or those that transform lowly leftovers into exquisite entrées (including brilliant ideas for leftover pasta), and those that satisfy your yearning to have something sweet baking in the oven. There are 7 ways to make red sauce more interesting, 6 different preparations of the classic cutlet, 5 perfect pestos, 4 creative uses for prosciutto, 3 variations on basic polenta, 2 great steaks, and 1 sublime chocolate tiramisù—plus 100 other recipes that turn everyday ingredients into speedy but special dinners.

What’s more, Everyday Italian is organized according to what type of food you want tonight—whether a soul-warming stew for Sunday supper, a quick sauté for a weeknight, or a baked pasta for potluck. These categories will help you figure out what to cook in an instant, with such choices as fresh-from-the-pantry appetizers, sauceless pastas, everyday roasts, and stuffed vegetables—whatever you’re in the mood for, you’ll be able to find a simple, delicious recipe for it here. That’s the beauty of Italian home cooking, and that’s what Giada De Laurentiis offers here—the essential recipes to make a great Italian dinner. Tonight.

About the Author
Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Everyday Italian on Food Network. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, she was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives. This is her first book.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In her hit Food Network show Everyday Italian, Giada De Laurentiis shows you how to cook delicious, beautiful food in a flash. And here, in her long-awaited first book, she does the same-helps you put a fabulous dinner on the table tonight, for friends or just for the kids, with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of flavor. She makes it all look easy, because it is.

Everyday Italian is true to its title: the fresh, simple recipes are incredibly quick and accessible, and also utterly mouth-watering-perfect for everyday cooking. And the book is focused on the real-life considerations of what you actually have in your refrigerator and pantry (no mail-order ingredients here) and what you're in the mood for-whether a simply sauced pasta or a hearty family-friendly roast, these great recipes cover every contingency. So, for example, you'll find dishes that you can make solely from pantry ingredients, or those that transform lowly leftovers into exquisite entrées (including brilliant ideas for leftover pasta), and those that satisfy your yearning to have something sweet baking in the oven. There are 7 ways to make red sauce more interesting, 6 different preparations of the classic cutlet, 5 perfect pestos, 4 creative uses for prosciutto, 3 variations on basic polenta, 2 great steaks, and 1 sublime chocolate tiramisù-plus 100 other recipes that turn everyday ingredients into speedy but special dinners.