The Best Recipes from Giada's Holiday Handbook

From crowd-pleasing cocktails to after-dinner sweet treats, get the recipes for Giada De Laurentiis' party-ready favorites.

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Tricolore Stuffed Pork

The colors of the Italian flag — red, white and green — are well-represented in Giada's juicy pork loin. The boneless meat is wrapped around layers of creamy provolone, sweet roasted red peppers and vibrant spinach to create impressive results.

Get the Recipe: Tricolore Stuffed Pork

Black and White Brownie Ice Cream Cake

Giada keeps the prep work for this layered dessert simple by starting with store-bought brownie mix.

Get the Recipe: Black and White Brownie Ice Cream Cake

Chopped Romaine and Radicchio Salad

Fresh basil leaves add a fragrant bite to Giada's quick-fix salad, while the creamy avocado promises richness and the mustard-laced vinaigrette delivers welcome tang.

Get the Recipe: Chopped Romaine and Radicchio Salad

Roasted Acorn Squash Agrodolce

In Italian, "agrodolce" means "sour" (agro) and "sweet" (dolce), and in this recipe both flavors are present in the sweetened apple cider vinaigrette that tops the squash.

Get the Recipe: Roasted Acorn Squash Agrodolce

Chocolate-Dipped Chips

Melt, dip, decorate and dry — that's all it takes to prep these salty-sweet snacks.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate-Dipped Chips

Noodle Salad

A simple honey-mustard vinaigrette dresses this colorful veggie-noodle salad, studded with chewy dried cranberries for both taste and texture.

Get the Recipe: Noodle Salad

Crispy Chicken Taquitos

Follow Giada's lead and opt for already cooked rotisserie chicken to make prepping these fried tortilla roll-ups a cinch — they're ready to eat in only 25 minutes.

Get the Recipe: Crispy Chicken Taquitos

Apple Pie Soda

A fizzy fall take on a float with apple cider and salted caramel ice cream, Giada's quick-fix dessert is finished with cinnamon-scented whipped cream.

Get the Recipe: Apple Pie Soda

Ham and Cheese Bake

It's up to you to decide which leftovers you want to pile inside this creamy egg bake; any combination of already roasted vegetables and cheeses, plus either Canadian bacon or Black Forest ham, will do.

Get the Recipe: Ham and Cheese Bake

Crispy Turkey Bites

When you've had your fill of next-day turkey sandwiches, look to these golden, fried bites to use the last of your Thanksgiving fixings. Inside each turkey-stuffing ball is a gooey surprise: melty smoked mozzarella cheese that oozes out at first bite.

Get the Recipe: Crispy Turkey Bites

Spicy Chai Latte

Seasonal flavors like cinnamon and ginger combine in Giada's simple whiskey-spiked chai latte to create a fragrant sipper.

Get the Recipe: Spicy Chai Latte

Sweet Potato Puffs

Follow Giada's lead and take advantage of store-bought puff pastry to prep these fuss-free desserts. Inside each baked puff is a creamy sweet-potato mixture laced with tangy mascarpone and a duo of fragrant spices.

Get the Recipe: Sweet Potato Puffs

Spicy Turkey Breast

Not only does Giada add layers of taste to the exterior of her turkey with the help of a bold fennel seed-oregano rub, but she also packs flavor inside the meat. There's a spicy, cheesy cornbread-sausage stuffing rolled inside each split turkey breast.

Get the Recipe: Spicy Turkey Breast

Wilted Baby Kale

The bold flavors of garlic, anchovy paste and red pepper flakes transform tender greens, guaranteeing over-the-top flavor in Giada's finished side dish.

Get the Recipe: Wilted Baby Kale

Smoky Candied Carrots with Walnut Gremolata

Tender and buttery, Giada's sweet-and-savory carrots get a welcome boost of freshness and texture from a no-cook mixture of fragrant herbs, crunchy walnuts and bright lemon zest.

Get the Recipe: Smokey Candied Carrots with Walnut Gremolata

Chocolate Caramel Crunch Pie

Built atop a cocoa-laced graham cracker crust, Giada's decadent dessert features a dulce de leche filling peppered with crunchy walnuts and chocolate chunks.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Caramel Crunch Pie

Raspberry Prosecco Tulip

Part dessert and part drink, Giada's pink-hued gelatin mold gets its flowerlike look from a Bundt pan. Not only do fresh raspberries dot the inverted top of the mold, but the gelatin is laced with both prosecco and black raspberry liqueur for subtle flavor.

Get the Recipe: Raspberry Prosecco Tulip

Bacon Onion Dip

Trust us when we say that this isn't your average chip dip. Giada's smoky, creamy concoction boasts a base of rendered bacon fat, in which the onion is slowly cooked until soft, sweet and caramelized. Giada looks to Greek yogurt instead of the usual mayo-sour cream mixture for a tangy taste and creamy texture.

Get the Recipe: Bacon Onion Dip

Korean Shrimp Cocktail

Upgrade your usual cocktail sauce with the bold flavor of kimchi, which transforms the creamy mayo-ketchup mixture Giada makes for dunking the shrimp.

Get the Recipe: Korean Shrimp Cocktail

White Velvet Soup

Giada keeps her creamy parsnip-fennel soup warm during the party by serving it in a slow cooker, so guests can help themselves during the event. For a colorful addition, she sets up a toppings bar with a parsley-pomegranate gremolata and crispy bacon bits.

Get the Recipe: White Velvet Soup

Spicy Sausage Bites

Roll up juicy sausage in strips of puff pastry for two-bite snacks that are hearty yet easy to eat with your hands.

Get the Recipe: Spicy Sausage Bites

Jam Cocktails

Laced with fragrant lavender, crimson-colored raspberry jam brightens up classic spirits. Serve the jam alongside bubbly prosecco, vodka and club soda, so each person can create his or her preferred sipper.

Get the Recipe: Jam Cocktails

Chai Chocolate Truffles

Boasting all the warm, comforting flavors you love in a chai latte, these sweet-tooth-satisfying truffles are first rolled in cocoa powder, then adorned with gold dust for an extra-special finish.

Get the Recipe: Chai Chocolate Truffles

Creamy Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls

Stuffed with a hearty ricotta-mozzarella mixture studded with bacon, Giada's indulgent lasagna rolls are blanketed with a duo of sauces: one laced with pumpkin and another classically creamy.

Get the Recipe: Creamy Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls

Crispy Truffled Turkey

By spatchcocking her fuss-free bird, which simply means cutting out the backbone, Giada guarantees that the truffle-scented turkey will cook quickly in the oven.

Get the Recipe: Crispy Truffled Turkey

Slice-and-Bake Turkey Cookies

Follow Giada's lead and let little ones help you decorate these sweet turkeys. She uses packaged slice-and-bake sugar cookie dough to save time in the kitchen.

Get the Recipe: Slice-and-Bake Turkey Cookies

Stuffed Arancini

Giada fills each of her two-bite risotto balls with a piece of chicken sausage before breading them and frying them until they're deep golden brown on the outside and warm on the inside.

Get the Recipe: Stuffed Arancini

Cranberry Cosmo Punch

Lightly scented with the fall flavors of cinnamon and cloves, this party-ready punch is spiked with vodka and Triple Sec to create a next-level cosmopolitan cocktail. Perhaps best of all is that guests can help themselves to this big-batch recipe, so you don't have to shake up individual drinks.

Get the Recipe: Cranberry Cosmo Punch

Creamy Lobster Linguine

Giada builds flavor in her holiday-worthy pasta by starting the sauce with a base of smoky bacon and sweet sauteed shallots. While the cream and lobster add richness and luxurious bites, fresh herbs like basil and tarragon brighten up the dish.

Get the Recipe: Creamy Lobster Linguine

Roasted Fennel with Parmesan

Up your side dish game this holiday season with the help of easy fennel. Giada roasts the fennel with a nutty Parmesan topping before finishing the cooked dish with sprinkles of fresh fennel fronds and pomegranate seeds.

Get the Recipe: Roasted Fennel with Parmesan

Chocolate-Almond Cheesecake

With a buttery graham cracker-almond crust, a gooey center of chocolate-laced cream cheese and a crispy topping of sliced almonds and brown sugar, Giada's party-perfect cheesecake boasts layer upon layer of decadent flavor.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate-Almond Cheesecake

Citrus Berry Spritz

Berry-studded ice cubes make Giada's fizzy sippers, which she spikes with rose citrus vermouth, extra special.

Get the Recipe: Citrus Berry Spritz

Peppermint Patty Sandwich Cookies

Bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder form the base of Giada's rich cookies, which are filled with a buttery mixture featuring two kinds of peppermint: a bit of peppermint extract and chopped chocolate-coated peppermint candies. Finish with a quick roll in crushed candies for additional texture and welcome seasonal flair.

Get the Recipe: Peppermint Patty Sandwich Cookies

Dreamy Orange Mousse

Giada combines a sweetened blood-orange juice mixture with fluffy whipped cream to create an airy mousse, then tops it with crunchy gingersnap cookies to celebrate the tried-and-true pairing of citrus and ginger.

Get the Recipe: Dreamy Orange Mousse

Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Hazelnut Frosting

By starting with a store-bought cake, Giada saves time in the kitchen, but she makes the dessert her own by adorning it with a homemade frosting boasting chocolate chips and hazelnut spread. Top the cake with edible flowers for an extra-special finish.

Get the Recipe: Angel Food Cake with Chocolate Hazelnut Frosting

Pizza Grilled Cheese

At a party for Jade and her pals, these easy, speedy sandwiches combine two go-to favorites among kids: pizza and grilled cheese. Giada creates a three-cheese mixture laced with pepperoni and basil to create the melty filling, then dresses up the sandwiches with olive faces for an oh-so-cute finish.

Get the Recipe: Pizza Grilled Cheese

S'mores Popcorn

It doesn't have to be summertime to enjoy the flavor of your favorite campfire treat. Giada transforms the classic mash-up of drizzled chocolate, graham cracker crumbs and gooey marshmallows into buttery popcorn to create a sweet-salty snack.

Get the Recipe: S'mores Popcorn

Hot Chocolate Affogato

Traditional affogato recipes call for coffee or espresso to be poured over ice cream for a rich treat. Here, though, Giada swaps in rich hot cocoa instead, and then lets Jade and her friends finish their cups with seasonal candy canes or gingersnaps.

Get the Recipe: Hot Chocolate Affogato

Tortellini in Parmesan Brodo

The secret to Giada's savory soup is the pound of Parmesan rinds she simmers in the broth. As the soup cooks, the rinds soften and release their nutty flavor, which adds richness to the broth. Follow Giada's lead and opt for store-bought tortellini to save time in the kitchen.

Get the Recipe: Tortellini in Parmesan Brodo

Risotto with Clams

Every bit as indulgent as pasta with clams, Giada's creamy rice dish features two kinds of clams and comes together with a bit of Parmesan, a pat of butter and crispy pancetta for over-the-top decadence.

Get the Recipe: Risotto with Clams

Chocolate Candy Cane Tower

Giada's wow-worthy dessert starts with an unlikely ingredient: pancake mix. She adds cocoa powder and semisweet chocolate chips to it create the pancakes, which she layers with peppermint-flavored cream cheese frosting for impressive results.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Candy Cane Tower

Witches' Brooms

String cheese has never looked so good as it does turned into a broom's bristles in these savory snacks.

Get the Recipe: Witches' Brooms

Here's Looking at Boo Treats

With candy for eyes, these too-cute treats will be looking back at you while you munch on them.

Get the Recipe: Here's Looking at Boo Treats

Green Chicken Finger Sandwiches

A combination of crispy panko breadcrumbs and matcha powder lend both texture and color to Giada's fingerlike baked chicken tenders. As for the nails, look to sliced almonds to fill the bill.

Get the Recipe: Green Chicken Finger Sandwiches

Coconut Bones

Follow Giada's lead and start with store-bought pizza dough to save time in the kitchen when prepping this dessert. She knots the ends of dough pieces to create the bonelike joints before dusting them with a flavorful combination of coconut flakes and sugar. The bloody-good raspberry sauce on the side makes for easy dunking.

Get the Recipe: Coconut Bones

Want More of Giada's Holiday Handbook?

Check out Food Network's Giada's Holiday Handbook headquarters for more recipe inspiration.

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Giada's Holiday Handbook