Here’s a wonderful recipe for Pasta With Penne Sauce that sounds wonderful from Giada De Laurentiis. She uses fresh baby spinach, whole grain pasta, reduced fat cream cheese, and goat cheese to make this healthy recipe that sounds like it’s loaded with flavor.

This sounds like it would be a wonderful feel good anytime meal. Giada always makes everything seem so easy! Whenever I’m flipping through the channels and I land on Everyday Italian, I have to stay and check out what she’s making.
Image via sxc.hu

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Giada DeLaurentiis was on the Today Show this morning to make her classic beef lasagna. She says the biggest hurdle with making lasagna is the prep work, but I’ve got to disagree with her – I love prepping for it!

How was your Thanksgiving?
Except for a couple of sickies (including me!) ours went pretty well! We stuck with our Foot Network-inspired menu and while it was fun to try new things we’ll probably stick to our traditional dishes next year.

image:  Amazon
Giada was on the Today Show showing off her beautiful 6 month old daughter, Jade, and the birth of her newest cookbook, Giada’s Kitchen:  New Italian Favorites.  She said that with the birth of her daughter she wanted a book that had some great recipes the entire family would be sure to enjoy and that maybe even little hands can offer their help.  So, she has a section of the cookbook dedicated to just that.  Jade doesn’t have enough teeth to try any of her mom’s new ideas, but boy is she cute!  I suppose the great gene-pool doesn’t …read more

 
 image:  www.freeimage.co.uk
Ok, I am out like a light for a week and missed the news.  In case, like myself, you are out of the loop:
Giada De Laurentiis had a baby girl on March 29th.
Jade Marie De Laurentiss Thompson weighed in at a petite 5lbs. 13oz., and arrived 5 days before her due date.
Congratulations to the whole family!

 I watched the An Italian Christmas with Mario and Giada last night.  Don’t get too excited Mario fans, this is just a repeat of a special they did last year.  A rerun, like all the Christmas specials that the Food Network is airing this year, except for one.
Anyway, I was intrigued with the Christmas Ravioli they made with Roberta Dowling of the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in Boston.  According to Mario, if there is a holiday, then there is pasta on the Italian table.  Due to the amount of time it takes to make Ravioli, this was usually reserved …read more

One thing that I love about Giada De Laurentiis is that she loves to recreate the ordinary, but yet keeps it simple.  If you are looking for a change-up on your cheese tray for your holiday party she has a couple of great, simple ideas that sound tasty too.  She recently shared these on the Today Show.
Red Pepper Cheesecake
Ingredients
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese (4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup cream cheese (4 ounces)
• 1/4 cup goat cheese (2 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 egg
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1/2 cup thin strips roasted red bell peppers
• 4 pitas
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt …read more

In case you have missed the exciting news, Giada De Laurentis announced that she is pregnant with a baby girl.  The announcement took place on the Today Show.  She is a contributing correspondent:

De Laurentiis is 37 and married since 2003 to clothing designer Todd Thompson. In a taped segment for TODAY, the chef, Food Network star and best-selling author said her fans and friends have been asking her THE question for about five years now.
“Every single person, every book signing I do, every public appearance, my friends, everybody,” she said, all tell her the same thing: ‘You know you’re getting …read more

Giada De Laurentiis has a new cookbook out, Everyday Pasta.
For New York Times bestselling author Giada De Laurentiis, pasta has always been one of the great pleasures of the table: it’s healthy and delicious; it can be light and delicate or rich and hearty; it’s readily available and easy to prepare–everything you want in a meal. And nothing satisfies a craving for Italian food quite like it! In Everyday Pasta, Giada invites you to share her love of this versatile staple with more than a hundred brand-new recipes for pasta dishes, as well as for complementary sauces, salads, and sides …read more

If you are still trying to decide what to serve your guests at your own personal Oscar Party check-out Epicurious.  They have tips on Wine Selections, choosing champagne and recipes for your award winning party.
They have some great ideas for a party of hors d’oeuvres, a buffet or a casual dinner.  If you have a favorite nominated movie, they even have a dinner menu for each of the 5 nominated Best Picture movies.
So, grab your popcorn, or your Caviar Puff Pastry and enjoy the show.