Giada.

A few weeks ago, C, who is on the Williams-Sonoma mailing list, forwarded an email to me about a book-signing with Giada de Laurentiis (of Food Network's "Everyday Italian") at the Williams-Sonoma in South Coast Plaza. I immediately called and bought 2 tickets (+ 2 copies of her cookbook, Giada's Kitchen) to the signing. What C and I didn't realize was that we would have to stand in a long line for about 2 hours with the real housewives of Orange County, munching on complimentary Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti and Mini Pumpkin Pecan Cupcakes. Giada was very nice and very beautiful, which made me want to hate her even more. I mean, how perfect can one's life really be? Beautiful. Paid (well) to cook and travel on TV. Comes from Italian cinema royalty. Husband works for Anthropologie = free Anthropologie garb. And from the looks of her more recent show, "Giada at Home," she lives in a beachfront home in Malibu. On top of all that, her recipes are actually really good.


I put my envy and bitterness aside long enough to have a very brief conversation with Giada, as C took paparazzi shots of me from the sidelines. (They enforced a strict policy of no photos WITH Giada, just OF Giada. Oh, and no flash.) I told her that I loved cooking from her recipes. And she thanked me for cooking. As far as I'm concerned, we're officially friends.


Inspired by my newfound admiration for Giada, I decided to try out a recipe from her book. Plus, I had some leftover rosemary, thyme and sage from the last recipe ("Hunter's Minestrone") that I didn't want to go to waste. I also wanted to stock the fridge for my dad, so he could take it to work for lunch. The recipe du jour was Beef with Butternut Squash Stew. It was my first time using butternut squash, and I've decided that I'm going to use more butternut squash in my cooking. (I'm especially excited to try out Ina's recipe for Caramelized Butternut Squash for Thanksgiving this year.) It was also my first time using Marsala wine. Don't be surprised to see an entry here about Chicken Marsala some time in the near future.


I toasted slices of baguette to serve with the stew for my dad. He liked it, but much to my dismay, he had to finish up his meal with some leftover kimchi chigae from a few nights ago. Even still, I was happy that he had enjoyed my cooking and had experienced something new and different.

I appreciate our dinners together, though they are few and far between. What used to be my way of trying to keep my family together has now become my way of communicating to my dad that I still care and that he's not alone.