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Giada's favorite, Italian family dinner recipes

Giada De Laurentiis shares the secrets to her tasty, easy-to-make meals

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Try Giada's favorite Italian dishes
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updated 11:04 a.m. ET Aug. 31, 2007

Looking for a mouth-watering meal the whole family will love? Giada De Laurentiis shares her own tasty, easy-to-make favorites, including a lemon chicken, pizzettes with gorgonzola, tomato and basil, and raspberry tiramisu. Try these delicious Italian recipes:

Pizzettes with gorgonzola, tomato and basil
Giada De Laurentiis

Pizzettes are bite-size pizzas, and you can top them with any of your favorite pizza toppings. This is a bit of a variation on the classic margherita — I find the gorgonzola and sweet cherry tomatoes make a great appetite enhancer.

Other combos to try are grated fontina cheese, chopped mushrooms, and prosciutto, or coarse sea salt, extra-virgin olive oil, and fresh rosemary.

INGREDIENTS

1 ball (12 ounces) purchased pizza dough
5 ounces gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
5 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Recipe continues below ↓
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DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Roll out the pizza dough into a ¼-inch-thick round. Using a 2 ¼ - to 2 ½ - inch-diameter cookie cutter, cut out 30 dough circles.

Arrange the circles on 2 large, heavy baking sheets. Sprinkle the Gorgonzola cheese over the circles. Top with the tomatoes, pressing them gently into the dough.

Bake until the pizzettes are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Drizzle the pizzettes with the oil, then sprinkle with the basil, salt, and pepper. Arrange the pizzettes on a platter and serve immediately.

MANAGE YOUR RECIPES


Little thimbles sciue sciue
Giada De Laurentiis

These are small, short cuts of pasta resembling thimbles that are a great “base” for a leftover meal.

INGREDIENTS

Salt
1 1/2 cups (about 6-ounces) ditalini (thimble-shaped pasta) or other small tube-shaped pasta, such as elbow macaroni or pennette
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 plum tomatoes (about 1 pound), cored and chopped
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, drained and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
8 large fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the ditalini and cook, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking together, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and sauté just until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the cooked pasta. Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the cheese and basil, and toss to coat. Season the pasta to taste with salt. Spoon the past into small serving bowls and serve immediately.

MANAGE YOUR RECIPES



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