Weeknights with Giada: Quick and Simple Recipes to Revamp Dinner: A Cookbook

I own all of Giada's cookbooks and was thrilled to preorder this one through Amazon. However, I feel that this cookbook is the weakest book in Giada's line.The title, of course, is Weeknights with Giada:Quick and Simple Recipes to Revamp Dinner. Many of the recipes are quick and simple, but a disproportionately large number just involve too much prep work and dirtying too many kitchen appliances, pans, and implements for me to feel good about attempting the recipes on a weeknight when I have worked all day, picked my toddler up from childcare, and have to get something on the table quickly. However, I understand that these are her recipes for a typical day in her life. I just fail to see how these recipes are much simpler than any other she has published before. There are many other cookbooks out there that deliver on weeknight recipes made from wholesome ingredients with efficiency in preparation/cleanup.Sections include: soups and salads; bruschetta,sandwiches, and pizzas; pasta and grains; meat,poultry, and fish; change of pace; breakfast for dinner; veggies and sides; and desserts.I was disappointed by the "Change of Pace" section which, as promised, is a departure from her light Italian fare. These recipes seem to be a variety of Asian, Spanish, and South American recipes. I do realize that the title of the book said nothing about it being an Italian cookbook, but I was still a little thrown by the inclusion of these recipes. Many of them just don't interest me. I also found a few of the ingredients a little hard to locate. For example, the three grocery stores in town and the three major Asian markets do not carry black forbidden rice. Giada states to substitute brown rice but that pretty much turns the dish into hum drum fare that could easily be skipped in favor of any other home recipe.I was particularly pleased with the "Breakfast for Dinner" section. There is a breakfast tart with pancetta and green onions which practically leaps off the page, it looks so delicious. There is also a smoked salmon crostata and baked potatoes with sausage and arugula begging to be tried. I don't live in a household where crepes with peanut butter and jam or a peach and cherry frittata is an acceptable main course.I also found the "Veggies and Sides" section to be promising. I can't wait to put the fried smashed potatoes with lemon on the table. Many of these recipes seem easy to prepare and more in line with what Giada typically creates. For example, scallion and mozzarella cornbread will be a winner in my household.The desserts section is nicely executed. It is a small chapter of easily prepared cakes and cookies, many of which will not cause you to dirty more than a mixing bowl and spoon at most. The majority of the ingredients for these desserts will already be in any well-stocked pantry and will cause you little trouble, if any.I prepared her minestrone soup and thought the flavor was fairly well balanced and enjoyed the heartiness added by ground beef. It made a generous pot that was stretched into two days of meals for our family of three. I have also prepared her salmon cakes with yogurt sauce. They were delicious and a welcome step off the beaten path of the usual tired salmon patty but the mixture was very loose and did require some additional crackers be added even after her step of refrigerating them. They also took around an hour to prepare which is pushing it for a weeknight.Overall, I felt the "Change of Pace" section did seem to permeate the entire cookbook. In the "Meat, Poultry, and Fish" section, there is a beef and mushroom skewers with soy and scallion butter and many French-inspired main entrees. It is a nicely photographed (when food is actually photographed...I am so tired of pictures of her family), easy to navigate cookbook with a thoughtful new concept as far as Giada's home cooking. I was expecting more of an Italian cookbook though with a greater number of shortcut great Italian pastas and soups. I am not sorry that I purchased the book and do recommend it overall. There are some genuinely great recipes in here. I do intend on trying out many of her newer ideas. I just don't feel most of them are that easily carried out after a busy day working and caring for my family.

I'm a foodie who is a huge Giada fan--I have all of her cookbooks. I love this one just like the others. Other reviewers have said that these aren't weeknight meals, but to me they are; I'm not a chicken-breasts-cooked-in-canned-soup cook. I have a well-stocked kitchen and can always make something without a trip to the store. I'm on a gluten-free diet and can adapt most recipes to accommodate that. I don't mind the pics of Giada and her family. I think the whole book is charming. So far, I've made the sweet potato soup, the asparagus soup, the lemony white bean, tuna and arugula salad, and the incredibly delicious fried smashed potatoes with lemon. Love the book!

All very quick and easy. A few were way to easy. Anyone who has any time in the kitchen will see these as clearly in the "Duh" zone. Overall nice if you want a quick pasta dish when you are running around like your hair is on fire. Biggest problem is the Kindle format. It's fine if you are reading a novel but just does not make it for a cookbook. Unlike Ibooks that give you a snapshot of pages on the bottom of the page and easy access to the index the Kindle interface is painful. Go the then end of the document and instead of the index you get an offer to review the book-every time! Also if you want to browse it's a matter of swiping each page rather than going to a targeted section. Decent book but will stay with Ibooks in the future for cookbooks or anything that is likely to be referenced multiple times.

Will look for more of these used books. They are like new, delivery was fast. Exciting purchase.

All recipes are quick, simple and healthy with a twist from what you probably grew up eating. The book is full of inspiration that you can feel good about sharing with family and friends.

I love Giada cookbooks - I own them all and I naturally purchased this book. I really enjoy that it's very laid back and the recipes are pretty simple for Giada. We are vegetarians in our house and it's really easy to convert her meals over and make the flavor profiles the same or similar. We will get a lot of milage out of this book this summer. As usual the photography is beautiful and the recipes are easy to follow. I do wish there were more photos in it since the quality of the images is great but that's the only down side - to many pictures of her and not of the food. We love this book though so keep them coming Giada!

I LOVE this cookbook! This is exactly what I've been waiting for - a book of easy recipes that please parents and young children alike. I have a toddler, I work full-time, and my husband travels a ton. So....I'm ALWAYS exhausted. But that doesn't mean I don't want to provide my son with delicious, nutritious, homemade meals. Now, rather than feeding my son 'whatever' I can throw together at the last minute, now I can follow Giada's easy, healthful recipes and provide my son with homemade meals that we both love. Thanks, Giada! I hope you write a series of 'Weeknights with Giada' cookbooks because it's exactly what the busy working mom is looking for!!

We've tried several of Giada's recipes and she lives up to her name! When she says the recipe is quick, it's quick. They're also easy and savory. I'm no grand chef, and don't have time to become one, so her recipes have really helped me and my husband whip up a quick dinner when we get home from work so we don't have to eat too late. One thing I love about her recipes is that she only uses really common items in the grocery store; I can't tell you how many times I'd pull a recipe from online and be searching store to store for a rare ingredient. Giada doesn't let us down!

A witty approach to cooking lovely meals.Always friendly recipes that are easy and ever so tasty.There is a magic touch with Giada and her fab ideas.Fresh healty and oh so good.The simplistic approach results in appealing yummy meals and theres more and more.So tanatalizing.Some of the best things in life are indeed simple and yet marvellous.

Love it

Giada makes cooking easy - as long as you have all the ingredients in your kitchen. I usually have most of the ingredients, just have to buy some of the green veggies etc. since I like fresh and organic, if I can afford them.

Avendo quasi tutti i libri di Giada de Laurentiis, devo dire che questo libro mi ha veramente deluso. Se degli altri libri la maggior parte delle ricette è davvero invitante, beh, a queste ricette non riesco proprio ad appassionarmi. Ricette un pò strane come ad esempio risotto con uva passita, pinoli e feta, ma anche ricette dove viene utilizzato molta roba in scatola oppure surgelata - può essere un'emergenza, ma la ricetta dovrebbe richiedere ingredienti possibilmente freschi. Comunque le foto sono - come sempre belle - e Giada resta la mia numero 1 tra tutti i chef internazionali!

Good book.Yummy excellent ideas for meal.Enjoy her outlook and combinations of foods.A good buy. Highly recommend to the italian lover of food.