Dining

Giada De Laurentiis visits Williams Sonoma at South Coast Plaza for her new book

Restaurateur, Food Network star and Emmy award-winning chef Giada De Laurentiis recently visited Williams Sonoma at South Coast Plaza, her exclusive Orange County stop on a tour for her newest cookbook, Giada’s Italy: My Recipes for La Dolce Vita, at South Coast Plaza. It is Giada’s 18^th addition to her collection of cookbooks and children’s bestsellers.

Giada’s Italy: My Recipes for La Dolce Vita explores the Italian-American chef’s secrets to making classic Italian meals in an American kitchen.

Spicy linguine with walnuts and mint

Giada shares stories about cooking with her grandfather, Nonno Dino (movie mogul Dino De Laurentiis), but keeps recipes simple by offering substitutes for ingredients not easily found in most American supermarkets.

Barrata with nectarines and corn.

Can’t get your hands on speck? Use ham. “You can substitute any kind of cured ham for the speck as long as it is thinly sliced,” Giada suggests for her grappa-poached pears with speck recipe. This simplified approach is a theme throughout the book – from starters to tramezzinis (Italian for “in-betweens”) to sweets.

Positano pizzas.

The book also includes stunning photography of Giada’s hometown, Rome. From intimate family moments to beautiful skylines, the images leave us understanding why Giada returned to her hometown to write this book: to share the culture and spirit of her native Italy.