Giada de Laurentiis. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11. Fox Theatre's Egyptian Ballroom, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. $65. VIP tickets ($150) include premium seating, a photo opportunity with de Laurentiis and a signed copy of "Happy Cooking: Make Every Meal Count … Without Stressing Out." 1-855-285-8499, foxtheatre.org.
By the time a cookbook author puts out her eighth book, it could tend to read the same as the rest. That’s not the case with Giada De Laurentiis’ new “Happy Cooking: Make Every Meal Count … Without Stressing Out” (Pam Krauss Books, $35), released Nov. 3.
“Each book is a journey as to where my life is — from having a child to a career to opening a restaurant to getting a divorce a year ago,” said De Laurentiis, who will appear at the Fox Theatre Nov.11 as part of a 13-city book tour.
Divorce, De Laurentiis said, was “a huge change” for her and her daughter, Jade Marie.
“It brought sadness and self-doubt. I found myself revisiting why I ever got into cooking,” said the Emmy Award-winning Food Network star, who’s featured on “Everyday Italian,” “Giada in Paradise” and as a judge on “Food Network Star.” De Laurentiis also is a contributing correspondent for NBC’s “Today” and editor-in-chief of digital magazine Giada Weekly. Her Las Vegas restaurant, Giada, opened in June 2014.
As a single mom, De Laurentiis found herself eating alone and also valuing time in the kitchen with her daughter. Cooking, she said, “was a way for me to find myself again, find a comfort zone and shut out the noise of the world.”
Those experiences are what inspired De Laurentiis to write “Happy Cooking.” The 350-page hardcover book contains nearly 200 recipes that are geared toward the busy home cook who wants to make delicious, healthy food. The book includes seasonal recipes from De Laurentiis and chefs who have influenced her over the years.
Readers also will find cooking tips and strategies that De Laurentiis said “make life a lot easier, faster.”
Examples include using kitchen equipment such as pressure cookers and slow cookers, which De Laurentiis said she began relying on once she became a single mother.
De Laurentiis will talk more about the new book and will answer audience questions in her appearance at the Fox’s Egyptian Ballroom.
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