This post is for all Italian food lovers who are also fans of Italian celebrity Chef, cookbook writer and Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis.

Our favorite Italian Chef will be doing a book signing tour through the United States next month, touching base at Williams-Sonoma locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Nevada and California.

The book signing tour promotes the recent release of Giada De Laurentiis’s new Italian cookbook, Giada’s Kitchen. Don’t miss your chance to get an autographed copy for yourself; you might even want to ask her a culinary tip or two.

Here below are the Williams-Sonoma store locations where you can catch-up with Giada De Laurentiis, get your cookbook signed, and also check out the new gourmet products from the Giada De Laurentiis Selected by Academia Barilla Italian gourmet product line.

For your convenience, we have listed below the Williams-Sonora locations, complete with location addresses and contact info:

October 1 - 1pm-3pm
Williams Sonoma - King of Prussia, PA
160 North Gulph Road

King of Prussia, PA 19406

(610) 265-5970

October 2 - 1pm-3pm
Williams Sonoma - Short Hills, NJ
1200 Morris Turnpike

Short Hills, NJ 07078 

(973) 467-3641

October 5 - 4pm-6pm
Williams Sonoma - Plano, TX
1900 Preston Road

Plano, TX 75093

(972) 964-5838

October 15 - 1pm-3pm
Williams Sonoma - Costa Mesa, CA
South Coast Plaza
, 3333 South Bristol Street

Costa Mesa, CA 92626 

(714) 751-1166

October 17 - 1pm-3pm
Williams Sonoma - Las Vegas, NV
1001 South Rampart Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89145

(702) 938-9480

October 20 12pm-2pm
Williams Sonoma - San Francisco, CA
Union Square, 340 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 362-9450

Giada De Laurentiis will also be doing book signings to promote her latest “Giada’s kitchen” cookbook for the entire month of October. You will be able to find Giada De Laurentiis at selected Sur La Table, Barnes and Nobles, Borders and Crate&Barrel locations across the US - check out Giada’s constantly updated online calendar of appearances for more info on her book signing tour.

As we announced earlier, Italian Chef and TV celebrity Giada De Laurentiis sent us a couple of recipes made using ingredients from her new Giada De Laurentiis Selected by Academia Barilla gourmet product line.

We remind you that the products from the Giada De Laurentiis Selected by Academia Barilla food line are now available nationwide in the United States at gourmet and specialty food stores as well as at some of the biggest food market chains - and of course at the Academia Barilla online store.

Here we go with the first one of Giada’s recipes: Giada’s Balsamic Chicken Drumettes. The recipe has been performed by Barilla USA Chef Assistant Yury Krasilovsky, which we thank also for sending us pictures of the preparation step!

GIADA’S BALSAMIC CHICKEN DRUMETTES
A recipe by Giada De Laurentiis
(makes 4 to 6 servings)

INGREDIENTS 

- 1/2 cup Giada’s Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 5 sprigs of rosemary
- 5 cloves garlic, halved
- 10 to 12 chicken drumsticks
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

PREPARATION

Combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary sprigs, and garlic cloves in a large, re-sealable plastic bag.  Shake and squeeze the contents of the bag to dissolve the honey and the brown sugar.  Add the chicken drumsticks to the bag and seal with as little air as possible in the bag.  Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place the chicken drumsticks on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Bake until the skin is caramelized and very dark in spots, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the marinade in a small saucepan.  Bring the marinade to a boil (in order to kill bacteria).  Reduce the heat to simmer and cook over low heat until thick, about 15 minutes; reserve.  

Brush some of the cooked marinade on the cooked chicken.  Place the chicken on a serving platter.  Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and the chopped parsley.

NOTES AND CHEF TIPS FROM GIADA

I like the subtle rosemary and garlic flavors.  Brushing the cooked drumettes with the reduced marinade helps the flavors along.  Also, re-moistening helps the parsley and the seeds to adhere.

Thank you very much Giada for sharing with us this great recipe and your final Chef tips, and thanks also to Barilla US Chef Assistant Yury Krasilovsky for the exclusive cooking demo for our Italian Food Lovers blog!

We will meet again Chef Krasilovsky next week with another step-by-step preparation of another recipe from Giada De Laurentiis: Giada’s Parmesan Popovers.

Stay tuned!

As we announced with a previous post, last June 29, on the opening day of the hip New York food show Fancy Food NY, Academia Barilla organized a cocktail party with Giada De Laurentiis as a top guest, at the stylish Astra NY Lounge, at the 14th floor of the beautiful D+D Building on 3rd Avenue, with amazing views of the city that never sleeps.

The event was part of the launch and official announcement of the US nationwide distribution of the new Italian gourmet food line Giada De Laurentiis Selected by Academia Barilla we already introduced on our Italian Food Lovers blog.

At the Astra Lounge, while Giada presented her new gourmet product line, a team of Chef from Barilla USA prepared some gourmet appetizers using Giada’s and Academia Barilla’s products, while Mionetto was partnering the NY event providing pairing wines.

We will be following up soon on this, publishing photos and recipes from the NY event, as soon as we get them at the blog editorial team. In the meanwhile, we are pleased to announce that we will publish in the next couple of weeks some Giada recipes prepared with her new products, so stay tuned!