Dinner with Giada & Frangelico

There are magical milestones in a person’s life… falling in love, eating a croissant in Paris, having a baby, binging wantonly during the holiday season and not gaining weight.  You know, the basics every self-respecting dreamer fantasizes about.  Well, I just had one of these moment.  As if the spatula gods looked down on me with favor, I received an invitation to an exclusive dinner party hosted by Frangelico and Giada De Laurentiis.  How did I receive such an invitation, you ask?  Why do unicorns poop rainbows? I have no clue!  But like all of life’s mysterious moments, you don’t question it.  You just accept the magic. So today, I walk you through my dinner with Giada and Frangelico.  Held at the fantastic Frankie 457, the night was celebrating the two scrumptious powerhouses’ new collaboration to #LiveItalian.  With the goal of helping the at-home entertainer discover and share the enjoyment of Italian cocktail and cuisine pairings, the partnership is a first-of-its-kind for the famous brand.  Giada will provide inspirational culinary, cocktail, and entertaining tips as part of Frangelico’s new “Live La Bella Vita” campaign.  Wait, is this the foretelling of an Italian rapture?  If so, get me to a confessional quick!  I need a priest and a spaghetti fork, stat! With this traverse through the whimsical land of delicious food, I bring you gifts.  The gift of delectable drink recipes!  Frangelico was generous enough to send us home with all of the cocktail recipes from the night (created by the uber talented Micaela Piccolo of Distilled).  They also sent us home with a ridiculously large bottle of their famous liqueur, but I’m not sharing that with you.  I have to draw the line somewhere. Enough of my ramblings, time for the food and cocktails.  Make sure to scroll through the whole post to grab the original drink recipes… I’ve hidden them throughout the post like a boozy scavenger hunt.  Cocktail hour kicked off the festivities with great company (Giada!), flavorful bites, and Frangelico Frizzantes cocktails…

Let’s continue on our edible journey, find our seat at the gorgeously intimate dining room, and enter the land of Appetizers.  The night’s aperitivi included: Giada’s tomato, avocado, and escarole salad; Bufala mozzarella and arugula; and Frangelico’s Friar Tuck cocktail…Oh the prettiness!  Now in full disclosure, I was 8 months pregnant while in attendance at this shindig.  Going to a party thrown by Frangelico while (very) pregnant was a bit like locking a kid inside of FAO Schwartz and telling them they can’t touch anything.  But I want to ride the life-size stuffed giraffe!  Utter torture!  However, I was assured by my dinner mates Emily of Gastronomista and Prairie of Bit By A Fox that the drinks were fabulous.  And I’d believe them, they are the boozy experts!

Gastronomical heaven!  Every single starter dish was perfectly delectable and a wonderful compliment to the muggy Brooklyn summer night.  But let us not dawdle and we’ll move on to the next event:  the first course!  The primi included: Giada’s lemon spaghetti with shrimp, Truffle mushroom ravioli, and Frangelico’s Table for Two cocktail. Mangiare!

Now I have a confession to make, at this point in the night I was stuffed.  But like any good (food) soldier, I carried on for your sake.  It was time for the second course.  The secondi included: Giada’s Roman style chicken; Rib-eye with herbs and potatoes, and Frangelico’s Sunset Sour cocktail.  Oh, did I forget to mention that throughout the whole dinner, Giada would come by to each table, sit down with us, and discuss all the night’s fare?  I have a very hard life…

If I had been stuffed before the second course, at this point I was about to burst.  And then they brought out dessert.  But like the dedicated food blogger that I am, I thought I’d take a bite of each sweet so that I could honestly say I had tasted them.  Is it embarrassing for me to admit that I ate the whole large piece?  Of both of the desserts?  And went back for seconds?  Alright Gestating Baby, this is when you jump in and take one for the team.  I ate so much because I’m eating for two, you see.  Not because it was the most delicious almond cake I’ve ever laid my grubby little hands on.  Or the fact that I’m a bit of a glutton. Nope, I’m going to stick to blaming the baby.  Dolci included: Giada’s almond cake, Hazelnut torte, and Frangelico’s Hazel Eyes cocktail.

And that my friends was my dinner with Giada and Frangelico!  I really don’t remember how exactly I got home, but I’m pretty sure it involved getting juiced like Violet in Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and being dropped off at my doorstep by magical food elves.  In all seriousness, the food was superb and the drinks were divine.  So don’t waste anytime… pick up a copy of Giada’s newest cookbook “Giada’s Feel Good Food”, buy a bottle of Frangelico, and get to work on recreating all these amazing recipes.  Oh, and don’t be shy about inviting your favorite food blogger over if you need a taste-tester.  *Wink Wink* Special thanks to the absolutely lovely team at Frangelico and the sweetest fairy food godmother a girl could have, Giada De Laurentiis!  So when are we doing this again?  Guys?  Hello? A few of our lovely followers wrote in and said that I look related to Giada… although I have no proof of this I’m going to follow my heart (and stomach) and run with it!  Photos courtesy of Frangelico and The Frosted Petticoat staff.