My life with Giada, 5 dishes I've made recently

Giada at Home is pretty much my favorite Food Network show right now. I used to love anything Bobby Flay...but I've been away from cable for 2 years, so my tastes have changed. While I still hold a special place for him in my heart (he's so cute!), I find myself drawn to Giada's recipes. Here are a few I've made lately.

Penne in Almond Sauce
Both my husband and I LOVED this dish. We really enjoyed the flavors in the sauce and the surprisingly fun almond crunch. While the sauce itself is smooth, the almonds may definitely turn some people off because it's a whole different texture level for pasta.
The dish is relatively easy to make, I'd say a 3.5 out of 10. I had a small incident because I don't have a blender. I used a food processor instead, and it ended up making a huge mess. I made homemade rotisserie (style) chicken, rather than using store bought as the recipe directs. I also used mini-penne, and that was a great upgrade because the sauce was able to find its way into even more little crevices! I did not have any fresh basil available, so I omitted that without noticing a big difference. I also may have gone a bit overboard with the lemon zest, so the dish tasted very California-y :-)
The Penne in Almond Sauce is wonderful leftover too! My husband enjoyed eating it cold for lunch a few days, though I preferred it reheated. G ate a bit of the dish. I think the next time I'll make it, she'll like it even more because she's really become a big fan of pastas.

We had SO much leftover!

 Peach and Strawberry Crumble

We love fruit around this house, and peaches & strawberries are two of our favorites. When I saw this dish on Giada's show, I knew I had to try it. I altered the recipe by adding a bit more fruit, using a 9x9" pan, using salted butter, and subbing cornstarch for arrowroot (I looked for it, but never found it at Safeway).  This was such an easy recipe, but it does involve a food processor, so I'll give it a 2 out of 10.
The topping is really light and delicious, but for me, it's the juices of the fruit that make this dish so special. It tastes so summery; I could almost feel the peach juice dripping down my chin when we ate the crumble. The lemon juice and cornstarch really bring out the sweetness from the peaches and strawberries. I served it alongside vanilla bean ice cream, but I know homemade ice cream would be the perfect compliment for a summer time favorite.