Receta Easy holiday entertaining with Giada De Laurentiis and Target
Easy holiday entertaining with Giada De Laurentiis and Target
If you’re on the lookout for ways to simplify holiday entertaining, you may want to keep ready-to-serve dips and spreads in your pantry. Luckily, there’s no need to go to a gourmet shop to spend a fortune on imported goodies. Instead, head over to Target and check out the Giada De Laurentiis for Target line of party food goodies.
Taste testing the Giada De Laurentiis for Target line
I recently had the opportunity to taste test several of the Giada De Laurentiis for Target line. Here are my party appetizer recommendations:
Marinated Mushrooms – These are delicious. Drain the jar and place mushrooms in a little bowl. Your guests can use toothpicks to eat them. ($2.99)
Genovese Basil Pesto – This pesto is better than my own homemade version, and was pleasantly surprised how fresh the basil tasted. This makes a nice spread on rice crackers and can be served as a pasta sauce. This contains cashews as well as pine nuts so warn your guests with nut allergies. ($3.49)
Eggplant & Pepper Pesto – This was delicious on crackers and slightly sweet. ($2.99)
Black Olive Tapenade – I love olives, but thought this spread was a bit strong. I’m guessing the anchovies were the reason. Still, the tapenade was tasty and would be wonderful smeared on a panini or sandwich. ($2.99)
There are also Marinated Sun Dried Tomatoes ($3.49) and Marinated Roasted Red Peppers ($3.49) in the Giada De Laurentiis for Target line. While both would be wonderful in all sorts of dishes from baked chicken breasts to pasta, both could be pureed in a mini food processor and used as spreads, too.
If you have the luxury of time, here’s a recipe from Giada to use with her Black Olive Tapenade.
Tomato Basil Tartlets
Recipe Courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Prep Time: 16 minutes
Cook Time: 15 to 19 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 (10-by-9-inch) sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 1/3 cup Giada De Laurentiis for Target Black Olive Tapenade
- 1 cup (2 1/2 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
- 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 6 basil leaves, chopped
- Fleur de Sel or other large flake sea salt
- A 2 1/4-inch round cookie cutter
Directions:
Place oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the pastry on a lightly floured work surface. Using the tines of a fork, prick the pastry all over. Using a 2 1/4-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 16 rounds of pastry. Place the pastry rounds on the prepared baking sheet. Lay a piece of parchment paper on top of the pastry rounds. Place another baking sheet directly on top of the parchment paper to keep the pastry even while baking. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden. Remove the top baking sheet and the top piece of parchment paper.
Spread 1 teaspoon of tapenade on each pastry round. Place about 1 tablespoon of cheese on top. Arrange 2 pieces of tomato on the cheese. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until the cheese has melted. Sprinkle the chopped basil on top.
Transfer the tartlets to a platter and garnish with a pinch of Fleur de Sel.
Entertaining with Giada De Laurentiis for Target Ceramic Bakeware
I also received a couple of pieces of Giada De Laurentiis for Target Ceramic Bakeware to review – the Ceramic Pie Pan ($16.99) and the 2-Quart Ceramic Oval Baker ($19.99). What I like about Giada’s line of bakeware is that it can go directly from the oven to the table. The bakeware is very attractive and elegant and looks like something I’d spend a fortune on at Crate & Barrel or Williams Sonoma. Also, it would make a lovely gift for anyone who’s setting up their first kitchen as well as someone who’s replacing beat up, old (and ugly) aluminum bakeware.
To serve the spreads and crackers, I used the Ceramic Pie Pan. I used a few small ramekins and nut dishes as bowls for the spreads, and placed them inside the pie pan. Then I filled it with rice crackers. Easy!
You can check out the complete like of Giada De Laurentiis for Target kitchenware on the Target website.
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Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Giada De Laurentiis for Target and received product samples to facilitate my review.