As her daughter Jade grows up and schedules get busier, Giada has developed fantastic go-to recipes to get a delicious meal on the table in a flash. Here is Giada at her most inventive--and at her most laid back. Flavour, freshness, and fun take centre-stage while cooking times, pots dirtied, and stress are kept to a minimum. All of the soups, sandwiches, pizzas, pastas, meat, and fish dishes come together quickly, most in half an hour or less. If you have eggs on hand but not much else, you can still pull together a great meal with the Breakfast for Dinner chapter. Leftovers are reinvented into healthy yet hearty main-course salads such as Roasted Salmon, Snap Pea, and Cucumber Salad and Chicken, Bibb, and Arugula Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette. While Giada's recipes remain predominantly Italian, some California-global influences sneak in, as they do on her show, including Spicy Mint Beef and Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps. Even desserts are quick to mix and bake, should a weeknight craving or a last-minute school bake sale strike.Where Giada at Home gave readers a peek into Giada's home life with shots of her and Jade making pasta, and Todd helping Giada at the stove Weeknights with Giada is an even more intimate look into her day-to-day family life. Chock-full of gorgeous colour photographs, Weeknights with Giada will be a new favourite for long-time fans and a new kind of handbook for home cooks everywhere.

GIADA DE LAURENTIIS is the star of Food Network’s Everyday Italian and Giada at Home, a judge on Food Network Star, a contributing correspondent for NBC’s Today show, and the author of five New York Times bestselling cookbooks. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris and worked at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago restaurant in Los Angeles before starting her own catering company, GDL Foods. Born in Rome, she grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives with her daughter, Jade. Visit her at www.giadadelaurentiis.com.

sweet corn and basil lasagna

serves 4 to 6
Vegetable oil cooking spray
3 cups frozen corn, thawed
½ cup heavy cream, at room temperature
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ cups grated pecorino romano cheese
Grated zest of 1 large lemon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ packed cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 ½ cups (6 ounces) shredded sharp provolone cheese 
6 no-boil lasagna sheets (about half a 9-ounce box)
Olive oil, for drizzling
 
Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray an 8-inch square glass baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray. In a food processor, blend the corn, cream, and garlic until chunky. Add the mascarpone cheese, 1 cup of the romano cheese, the lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Add the basil and pulse until just combined. Spread one-third of the corn mixture on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with one-third of the provolone cheese. Place 2 lasagna sheets on top. Repeat twice with the remaining corn mixture, provolone cheese, and lasagna sheets. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup romano cheese and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Cool for 10 minutes. Cut into 6 pieces and serve.