GREAT READS

Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites

Giada De Laurentiis ; photographs by Tina Rupp.

Delicious!!!!! I've been trying recipes from this book since Christmas and would highly recommend it. The recipes are substantial enough to satisfy my teen boys' appetites and for us to have lunch leftovers the next day and sometimes longer. And the recipes are easy enough for anyone to do--my hubby made the Amaretto Sour with Prosecco, the Linguine and Prosciutto Frittatas, and the Butternut Squash and Vanilla Risotto to surprise me one night and they were all delicious! I had leftovers for lunches and we ate the leftover frittatas at breakfast as well. I've also made the Rigatoni with Squash and Prawns--using shrimp instead--and it was a great way to get more veggies into our diet. I have to be very careful since I have a Crohn's Disease sufferer in the family, so anytime I can get more good stuff in and still be within his tolerances I'm a happy woman! I also made the Eggplant Timbale without the eggplant, which is basically baked pasta, and the guys all loved it as well. There are many more recipes I want try, and our successes with these have been very encouraging! It bears repeating that I would highly recommend this book!

Recommended by Ella Bottomley