Giada fans, get excited: there's plenty cooking for the next season of Food Network's Giada at Home. We caught up with Giada De Laurentiis at the LA Food & Wine Festival, where she shared what special guests she'll be hanging out with in her kitchen this coming season, the importance of offering a stiff drink, and why cooking doesn't have to mean sweating. Watch the video to learn more!
If you're an avid Food Network viewer like I am, you'll probably have noticed that over the holiday weekend, the channel rolled out a new schedule. For example, instead of airing at 1 p.m. on Saturdays, Giada at Home now shows on Sundays at 10 a.m. Luckily my DVR was smart enough to record my favorite programs — Giada, Barefoot Contessa, Mexican Made Easy, and Alex's Day Off — at their new time slots.
Which of the network's shows do you watch on a regular basis?
Although it's still incredibly cold out, there's a light at the end of the Winter tunnel. It's the first day of March, and that means Spring is just around the corner! From St. Patrick's Day to the arrival of asparagus, this month is a celebration of being green. To help you make the most of it, we've rounded up the items we are currently obsessing about. Here are our must haves for March.
Last June, I discovered the sweet virtue of dried hibiscus flowers. I picked them up at Trader Joe's and, on a whim, stirred them into a pitcher of lemonade. The hibiscus lent a sweet, tart flavor, as well as a beautiful blush color.
Perhaps by putting hibiscus flowers into that pitcher of sparkling ade, I was onto something: Hibiscus, with its fruity, tannic flavor, has been appearing in all sorts of beverages, from sparkling sodas to hot cocktails.
I've seen Ooba, a sparkling hibiscus soda, everywhere from this year's Fancy Foods Show to the drink aisle at the local Whole Foods Market. On her new show, Giada at Home, Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis entertained with a spiked hibiscus tea, made by boiling dried hibiscus in sugar water, straining out the flowers, and mixing in lemon juice and vodka. Both beverages, with their punchy pink color and notes of cranberry flavor, are drinks that would satisfy on a hot Summer day.
Not that hibiscus is only to be enjoyed during Summer. This month, Bon Appétit proclaims Winter cocktail The Laureate to be the "new hot toddy." In the mix? Añejo tequila, agave nectar, and — you guessed it — dried hibiscus flowers, which add "a bit of tartness and a rich ruby red color."
Can you see hibiscus drinks being a trend that really takes off? Have you enjoyed any hibiscus-flavored beverages lately?
Two of the Food Network's new shows for Fall have been announced. The first, features FN favorite Giada De Laurentiis in Giada at Home (debuts Oct. 18 at 1 p.m.). The show is described as a "stylish lifestyle and cooking series that follows her as she plans and prepares meals for her families and friends." I've always been a huge fan of Giada's recipes and am thrilled to check out what she has to offer outside the realm of Italian cooking.
The second, entitled The Chef Jeff Project is an interesting experiment that helps troubled youth. The series will follow Chef Jeff Henderson, a "former prison inmate turned successful executive chef," as he teaches six struggling young adults how to cook.
Highlighting the power and passion of food, the Chef Jeff Project airs on Sunday, Oct. 12 at 10 p.m. Will you be watching?
