As a child, Giada De Laurentiis' favorite dinner was spaghetti covered in melted chocolate.
Buddy the Elf used to dip his spaghetti in maple syrup, but De Laurentiis, as a child, preferred melted chocolate, and she still eats it occasionally.
“Chocolate is like medicine to take away your troubles and help you see that life is sweet,”
In an interview with Bon Appétit, the Food Network star and renowned chef admits that, even as an adult, she still craves that unusual combination. "I still eat it from time to time," the famous cookbook author and co-host of Bobby and Giada in Italy told the magazine.
More often than not, her love of chocolate is reflected in sophisticated desserts: the Caprese cake, which she describes as "divine" in a YouTube video; her espresso brownies, or the spicy cinnamon chocolate fudge, recipes from the Food Network.
The dish from his childhood seems to have inspired some of his most tempting recipes. At Giadzy, he shared a slow-cooked beef rib ragu with San Marzano tomatoes, red wine, garlic, and cocoa powder, served with rigatoni. And in a chocolate fettuccine, the cocoa goes directly into the pasta, alongside peas, pancetta, and mascarpone.
In her children's book Paris!, part of the Recipe for Adventure series, she writes: "Chocolate is like medicine that takes away your sorrows and helps you see that life is sweet."
Whether at dinner or dessert, chocolate has a permanent place in De Laurentiis' kitchen.
