I might despise the woman, but...

I might very well despise Giada DeLuerentis of the Food network. I am bothered by the fact that her hair, clothes, and perfectly manicured nails are the constant attention of the camera man. In fact I am quite sure that it is a camera MAN rather than camera woman because another part of her body is always showing up on my t.v.. I also rather dislike the way she speaks in a perfectly normal English/American accent except when it comes to certain foods, particularily cheeses. You can say ricotta or parmegiano oregiano correctly without pulling a forced Italian accent. Despite all of this, I really enjoy watching her cook. She tends to cook the way I do, simply and without a lot of measurements or rules. I watched her last weekend and decided that I would try one of her methods. Matt and I have a deep fondness for pasta, particularily with tomato sauce. That being said, once in awhile you want a delicious and rich cream sauce. Nine times out of ten I want to stick with the lucious red sauces, but lately had been feeling a stirring for creamy deliciousness. My main hold back however was a way to have a cream sauce without the guilt (and regret) that comes with downing a bowl of fettucine alfredo. Step one- add lots of veggies. If I am going to eat something I want to make sure it is going towards my recommended daily intake of something. Step two- get some protein. This step is more for Mattie than myself seeing as he is a carnivore to the "nth" (I wasn't sure how to type that out...and may be exhibiting my naivete) degree. We added sauteed chicken, scallops, and shrimp (just a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs de provence). Step three- boil pasta and steam asparagus at the same time...very cool trick to kill two birds with one stone! Step four- (the part that calls for help from Giada and cuts your fat dramatically) toss the pasta in the same pan as the meat and veggies with marscapone cheese. Once you add salt and pepper you have a wonderful and delightful meal. So despite my seething disdain for the Food Network star, she is a pretty good cook. And she is nowhere near as bad as Bobby Flay!