Giada's Holiday Handbook (2015–…): Season 2, Episode 6 - Christmas Dinner at Giada's - full transcript

Got it!
Brava!

(Giada)
I love the holidays.
Yeah!

And I also love to entertain.

[cheering and shouting]

In fact, over the years
I've gathered together

my favorite recipes
and ideas to create

a one-of-a-kind
holiday handbook.

It's filled with pages and pages
of cherished recipes and menus,

unique party themes,
cocktails for every occasion,

and some really fun
decorating ideas.

Whether it's a classic
Thanksgiving dinner,



open house,
or Christmas with the kids,

I have everything you need to
make the party truly sparkle.

Chin-chin.

Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!

(Giada)
Today, I'm making
Christmas dinner for my family.

Dig in, everybody. Dig in.

With a festive table,
Secret Santa gift exchange...

Ahhhh!

Yay! Sean's favorite band.
GNR! GNR!

(Giada)
And a menu of holiday favorites.

Plus, I'm digging into
my handbook to share recipes

and ideas for making this year's
celebration extra special.

All right,
who wants the first piece?
(various)
Me!

It's a Christmas feast with
my family, and you're invited.



♪♪

It's probably the--
one of the most special

holiday parties in my family,

and the pressure's always on.

You know, I think long and hard
about the menu

and how to change it up,
and I always feel like

what I really want to do is
keep an element of surprise

with the menu, but also
with the Secret Santa gifts.

Right? Nobody knows
who anybody got.

My menu also offers
a few surprises,

a modern twist
on some holiday favorites.

I've got tricolore stuffed pork,

roasted acorn squash agrodolce,

chopped romaine
and radicchio salad,

and for dessert, black and white
brownie ice cream cake.

The real kicker, which you can
make, like, a week in advance

if you want to--brownie mix,

vanilla ice cream, and chocolate
chocolate chip ice cream.

My favorite.
Love to decorate
with candy canes

to really create, sort of,
that Christmas feel,

and then at the table is when
I like Jade to finish it off.

So it's like she's, like,
dusting snow over the cake,

which is, you know, really fun
for kids to do, and it looks
really pretty.

So I'm making the cake portion
of my black and white
ice cream cake.

So I've got brownie mix
in the bowl,

just store-bought brownie mix,
2 eggs,

and we're gonna add about
1/3 cup of vegetable oil

and then 1/3 cup
of hazelnut liqueur.

There we go.

Hazelnut liqueur to kinda
doctor up and give

this brownie mix a lot of flavor
and a lot of pow.

I mean, it's the holidays,
it's Christmas,

so you want some extra flavor.

Half a teaspoon
of almond extract.

So the almond extract
and the hazelnut liqueur

give it that nutty flavor.

We're just gonna mix
everything together.

You don't need a hand mixer
for this.

Just make sure that
all the dry ingredients
are mixed really well

with the egg and the oil
and the hazelnut liqueur.

Look at that. That is good.

Yummy, yummy. Okay.

So I've got a baking sheet.
I have put some parchment

and nonstick cooking spray
so that nothing sticks to it

so after this is baked,
we can just peel the paper

right off of it.

Okay, so just wanna spread it
out so you have

the even brownie layer.

I'm gonna put this
in the oven at 350 degrees
for about 20 minutes.

♪♪

♪♪

So my brownie has cooked
and cooled,

and now I'm ready to cut it
into thirds.

So we're gonna do the layering
with this brownie.

So we're just gonna lay it down,
right on the bottom.

I put some parchment at
the bottom of my baking dish,

so it makes it really easy
to kind of pull it up later,

after it's frozen.

We're gonna start with vanilla.

Make it scoopable,
but don't let it melt,

because you kinda want to
control it and not let it

seep down the sides
of the brownie.

Press it down so that
you cover the brownie.

There we go.
Dah dah-dah dah!

All right.

Next, we're gonna take
the next layer of the brownie

and put it right on top
and slightly push down.

Next, we've got

chocolate chocolate chip
ice cream.

So if you can't find chocolate
chocolate chip ice cream

and you want
the chocolate chips,
just add the chocolate chips.

Okay.

Press down
the chocolate chip ice cream.

You really have to control
yourself to not eat any

while you're doing this,
'cause that's part of the fun.

You take the top layer,
and you put it right
over the top

and press down.

Then we take some plastic wrap,
and we're gonna wrap
this baby up.

You basically wanna pop this
in the freezer

for a minimum of five hours,
because you really need

the ice cream to set.

All right, let's go into
the freezer, baby.

♪♪

So my ice cream cake
has been freezing
for five hours,

and I'm just using a little
paring knife just to kinda

separate the ice cream
on the sides here
of the pan.

That way,

you just pull from the pieces
of parchment paper that we left,

and it comes right
out of the dish.

Peel all the paper off.

Flip it over,
and put it on
this cold surface.

I like to put it on
a piece of cold marble

so it keeps it cold
while you decorate it,

and I take
these little candy canes,

and I just like to put them
right on the sides,

and you might have to push
a little.

It makes it really decorative
and very holiday-like.

♪♪

I'm gonna pop it
back in the freezer
until we're ready to eat it.

Up next, the main course,

inspired by my travels
through Italy.

And later,

a simple side gets dressed up
for the holiday.

It's almost time for Christmas
dinner with my family.

My secret for success is
creating an element of surprise.

I'm doing that with
a Secret Santa gift exchange

and a menu that offers
a few twists.

My make-ahead ice cream cake
is in the freezer
and ready to go.

Time for another show-stopper,
my tricolore stuffed pork.

I thought about making
the tricolore stuffed pork

because of the time that
we just spent in Florence.

[laughter]

Fold in that special trip
with my family

into this meal.

♪♪

So I'm scoring
my beautiful pork loin,

and what I like to do is
ask the butcher to butterfly it

for me and also to take some of
the fat off the top,

but you want to ask them
to leave you about 1/4-inch

of fat on the top,
because that way, it keeps
the pork nice and moist.

Just create little incisions--
you don't want to cut

through the meat,
just through the fat.

Do one more.

I open them up and season
the top of the pork

with a little bit of salt,

and this is a 5-pound pork loin,

which I think will be perfect.

And you can unroll it...

and add a little more salt
on the inside.

Really want to season the pork.

And I'm using provolone picante,
which is just a little
stronger in flavor,

but you can use whatever
provolone you find.

You put one on one side
and one on the other.

There we go.

Overlap them.

These'll melt into the pork
while it's baking.

It's divine.

So I got a jar
of roasted bell peppers.

I think it's very Christmasy--
the red peppers,

the green spinach,
the white provolone.

So what you wanna do is just
open up the pieces

of the roasted red pepper,

layer it right on top.

Gives it a nice,
smoky flavor, too.

♪♪

♪♪

So now that we've got
the peppers down,

we are going to add some
just baby spinach leaves.

But I just love
the color combo.

The spinach will slowly wilt
in the oven,

and it'll also keep the pork
nice and moist.

Look at that color--
gorgeous!

Okay, so now,
we start rolling it up

just like you would
a jelly roll, so here we go.

Time to tie this up.

So you're gonna need
about four strings,

just butcher string, you can
find it in the grocery store.

In the pan, I've got 1 onion
that I sliced.

So I'm gonna cook the pork loin
right on top of the onion

just to give it more flavor.

And I've also added some
rosemary sprigs,

just whole rosemary sprigs,
because what I wanna do

is perfume the house
and perfume the food.

All right, so we take
the whole pork loin,

and we just land it right
on top of the onions,

fat side up,

so that way
the fat can render down.

All right, I'm gonna wash
my hands, we'll finish
this off.

Two cups of chicken broth.

This will help cook
the pork loin

and keep it nice and moist
in the oven.

Top it with a little bit
of olive oil,

right over the top,
gets a nice, golden tan.

I'm gonna bake this
at 425 degrees

for 50 minutes, and then,
I'm gonna turn the oven

down a little bit to 375
for another 40 minutes.

(Santa)
Ho, ho, ho!

(Giada)
Up next, a surprising twist
on a holiday favorite,

and later,

we'll dig into the Secret Santa
gift bag.

I'm opening up my holiday
handbook to share my favorite

ideas and recipes for hosting
Christmas dinner with my family.

The dessert is ready.

My tricolore stuffed pork
is in the oven,

filling the house
with wonderful aromas.

Time to start on the roasted
acorn squash agrodolce.

You know, when you go to
the grocery store during

this time of year, you know,
you see a lot of squash,

but you're not sure
what is what,

and acorn squash is really
delicious, and I just like

to roast it in the oven
with an agrodolce--

that means sweet and tangy
sauce, it's very Italian.

It gives it a final
real great flavor,

kinda brings the squash alive--
it's also really pretty,
easy to eat.

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪

So it's time to finish
my acorn squash with agrodolce,

and I've got 2 tablespoons
of sugar.

I'm gonna add about 1/4 cup
of apple cider vinegar,

and I've already got 1/2 stick
of butter that I've melted.

So I get a little brown butter
nuttiness that we're gonna

add to the sugar and vinegar.

Whisk it so that the sugar
and the apple cider vinegar

kind of become one,
and then we take

the slightly-cooled
brown butter

and pour it right in there.

The squash is already cooled--
I put it on my beautiful
platter,

and we're gonna add
a little bit of salt,

and the butter gives the sauce
a velvety finish,

which I just love...okay.

A little bit sweet,
a little bit vinegary.

You want to pour it all over
the acorn squash,

just like that.

And kinda allow the acorn squash
to sit a minute

and sort of absorb
all the flavors.

Start by dolloping a little bit
of mascarpone.

Bring it to room temperature
before you dollop.

Just adding different textures
and creamy flavor to it,

and then...I like to finish it

with a little sprinkle
of smoked almonds

for a little bit of crunch.

♪♪

And sprinkle it with some
fried sage leaves,

and that is my acorn squash.
It is so yummy.

Up next, a red and green salad
that celebrates the season,

and later, some simple ideas

for turning the Christmas table
into a feast for the eyes.

It's a Christmas feast
with my family.

Time to make
a red and green salad
that celebrates the season.

Always have to have a salad,
a chopped romaine

and radicchio salad--
I want something

with a little more body to it
that can hold up.

Green and red, really pretty,
holds up really well

at a party--
I like to do the pita chips
for a little crunch,

and then I just
make the dressing in a jar

so I can leave it in
the fridge and shake it up

right before I'm ready to go--
super, super simple. Done.

Take a mason jar and add
a little whole-grain mustard...

champagne vinegar...

grated parmesan cheese...

salt and olive oil.

And shake away.

I'm just adding a little bit
of cucumber,

and I want to peel just a little
bit of the skin off.

I'm not the biggest fan

of cucumber skin
when they're this big,

but I like the bite
and the fresh flavor
of the cucumber.

Quarter it.

The radicchio has a nice bite
to it, so it's really nice

with the pork,
and everybody loves romaine.

Let's add an avocado.

Score the inside of the avocado.

We'll grab a spoon...

and then just add it
right in there.

You can even put it in
the fridge for a few minutes

before scoring it, because it
helps keep the pieces

of avocado really nice
and intact.

I love adding fresh herbs
to my food,

and again, it goes back to
the herbs and adding freshness,

which is part of my theme
for Christmas this year.

Some fresh basil...

a little sweetness.

And we're gonna add something
that I love adding these days.

It's one of my favorites.
Little pita chips

that I broke up
for a little bit of crunch.

So 2 cups of pita chips,
just break 'em up.

[hums]
And then...

shake up our dressing,
and just pour it right
over the top.

There, toss that all together.

Look how pretty that is!
The radicchio gives it

that nice red holiday color
to it.

Last thing.

Mm--that grain mustard

and champagne vinegar
work so well.

As for the table setting
and the décor, uh,
for Christmas,

I kept it really simple--
neutrals and some antique
silver.

I found these really cool
sentiment chargers,

where they have, like, little
writings, like, great food,

great friends, just fun,
little phrases that are

sort of reminiscent of what
the holiday means,

and then one of the things
that I did for the centerpiece

is just wrap herbs that I have
in my garden.

Rosemary, sage leaves,
and just wrap the candles,

which creates a wonderful aroma
of the holiday,

but again, just a reminder that
this is what it's all about,

spending time with your family
and your friends

and, uh, that we're all very
lucky to be able to do that.

[voices overlapping]

I want some of that salami,
and...
Jade...

[laughter]

(Julian)
Hey, you guys, everybody should
just wear their name tags.

Who's gonna do the cheer?
(all)
Cheers!

Merry Christmas!
Oh, no! I have little arms.

(Giada)
Dig in, everybody. Dig in.
(man)
Thank you.

This squash is delish.
The squash is delish.

(Julian)
Wait, auntie, aren't there,
like, potato chips in...

(Giada)
Instead of croutons, Julian,
I put pita chips.

I love pita chips.
(woman) The mustard sauce
is delicious.

Yeah, that is mascarpone.
(woman)
This is delicious.

(man)
It's really good.

It's like it's snowing.

(man)
So cool!
(Giada)
Ice cream cake!

(man)
Look at that!
You're like a professional.

(Giada)
This is frozen, anyway,
so it keeps the ice cream cake
nice and cold.

(man)
That's a good idea.
All right, who wants
the first piece?

(various)
Me!

(Giada)
All right, here we go.

All right, who's...Jade,
you want the first piece?

Girls first, buddy.
Yeah, girls first.

Girls always first.
Julian's gonna cry.

(woman)
Does Santa help you with it?
Yep.

Awesome,
and there's chocolate chips?
Oh, my goodness, it's so good!

How is it, Jade?
I think a lot of people like
ice cream cake.

I think it reminds them of
being a child.

That's right, it's my favorite.

There's someone over here that
hasn't said a peep

since you got her
ice cream cake.

Was this your favorite part?

Jade, do you want to start
the, uh, Secret Santa?

The Secret Santa

is another really fun element
of surprise in there.

So it's the giving
and the receiving
and the element of surprise

over a great meal that makes
a Christmas feast special.

To Dina.
Dina!

Yeah!
Wanna hand it over to Dina?
You think she's gonna like it?
Uh-huh.

(woman)
Awwww, what is it?

It's so pretty,
Jade, did you draw it?

Is this me?
(man)
Oh, that's sweet.

Brava, brava.
(Dina)
Thanks, Jade, baby,
that was awesome!

This took me a long time.

It's for Shane.
Oh, Shane!

I was hoping you were
gonna get me.

(Giada)
Oh, gosh.
Kk.

Oh!

It's a shave set.
(man)
Nice!

This is very sweet.
Thank you very much,
and I will use this.

I got this for someone who likes
this band very much.

It's for Sean.

Let's see--what did Sean get?
I know what it is.

Ahhh! Yay!

Sean's favorite band!
GNR! GNR!

I got a present for you.
Really?

Ohhh!
Two-dollar bills.

(Shane)
That's good luck.

Thank you, Sean!
I love my orchids.

Do I not love my orchids, Jade?

Thank you Sean!

Yeah, my favorite kind of wine.
Beautiful.

Here's the thing, I was running
late to this dinner

(man)
Uh-huh.
that I didn't make it
to the store.

Jade, I'm so sorry.
Awww.

(man)
Awwww, Jade.
Yeah, you're gonna.

Oh, yeah!

There you go, good luck.
(Giada)
Nice job!

Thank you, Shane!
You got it, Jade.

All right, Lulu,
you are the last.

Yay! Oh, my god.

Be something I like.

(man)
It actually matches
your dress right now.

It does.
(man)
It's kinda crazy.

It's really pretty.
Yeah, you did it.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Thank you, sis!
Whoo!

Nice job on
all the Secret Santa gifts.

[indistinct talking]

(Santa)
Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!

♪♪