November 9, 2007

Secret Sauce welcomes TODAY's very own Giada De Laurentiis to share the secret of creating Tiki Barber's favorite veal dish, Veal and Lemon Saltimbocca.

Says Giada, "I like the Italian whole tomatoes better than the American diced tomatoes. The whole chopped tomatoes melted into the sauce in a nice way. It also needed some wine to cut the flavor of the cream. ...Tastes much better with the wine!"

Try Giada's delicious dish tonight. Here's how:

Procedure:

• Place the veal chops on a work surface and season with salt and pepper. Place a slice of lemon on top of the chop. Top with two leaves of sage. Wrap the veal, sage, and lemon in a large piece of prosciutto and press to seal.

• Preheat the oven to 350°. Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the veal chops in the hot oil, lemon side down. Sauté until the prosciutto starts to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Turn the veal over and sauté for another 2 minutes. Transfer the veal to a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until medium-rare, about 10 minutes.

• Meanwhile, pour off the excess oil from the pan. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

• Add the chicken broth and reduce by half. Add the tomatoes, cream, salt, pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon finely chopped sage. Stir until combined and hot. Place the veal on top of the sauce to serve.

• Serve immediately.

Serves 4.
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes

Deglazing means "adding liquid to a pan to create a sauce from the meat juice cooked onto the bottom."

TODAY culinary contributor and host of Food Network's Everyday Italian, Giada De Laurentiis' passion for food began as a child when she learned to prepare recipes for her frequent family gatherings.

Born in Rome, Giada grew up in a large Italian family where the culture of food was a staple in and of itself. As the granddaughter of film producer Dino De Laurentiis, she learned to prepare many of the family's recipes as well as other Italian specialties.

Giada's passion for cooking flourished through professional training at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, where she specialized in both cuisine and pastry. Later, she moved to Los Angeles, where her experience included positions at the prestigious Ritz Carlton Fine Dining Room and Wolfgang Puck's Spago in Beverly Hills.

Giada is a private chef and caterer, as well as founder of GDL Catering in Los Angeles.

In addition to Everyday Italian, as the host of Behind the Bash, Giada takes viewers behind the scenes of six-figure weddings, high-roller Vegas soirées and Hollywood movie premieres to see what goes into creating the world's most spectacular parties. On Giada's Weekend Getaways, she heads to cities and towns that are ideal for a three-day, food-filled weekend.

Giada is the author of The New York Times' best-selling cookbook Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes and Giada's Family Dinners.

Get more recipes from Giada De Laurentiis on the web @ foodnetwork.com.