Lunch at Giada in The Cromwell, Las Vegas

I last left off in my Travel Tuesday posts with a little pretend trip to Europe in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip after my tour of the South End of the Strip and breakfast at Della’s Kitchen. Also here in this middle area of Las Vegas Boulevard was my favorite meal during my long weekend when I was here in Las Vegas: a lunch at Giada in The Cromwell.

You can tell she thought about every detail of the experience, even starting with the bottom of the escalators that take you to the second floor where the restaurant is located, to the long reception hostess area where you check in and see arranged shelves as if you were in someone’s home. Naturally some of those shelves include some Giada branded products and cookbooks.
The downstairs area where the escalators where take you up to the second floor of The Cromwell, where the Giada restaurant is located The downstairs area where the escalators where take you up to the second floor of The Cromwell, where the Giada restaurant is located The escalators take you up to the second floor of The Cromwell, where the Giada restaurant is located The escalators take you up to the second floor of The Cromwell, where the Giada restaurant is located

There are some cushioned seats and a PHOTO BOOTH in that waiting area. The photo booth is FREE, so take some photos if you are waiting! You can upload the photo booth strip directly to Facebook and Twitter or print them directly to photo strips as keepsakes.
The Photo Booth in the waiting area of the Giada - it's free, you should stop in before and after your meal The Photo Booth in the waiting area of the Giada - it's free, you should stop in before and after your meal

This is Food Network star Giada de Laurentiis’ first restaurant and the interior is large with big window views and terrace that look out across the street to the Bellagio fountains. Despite the size, at the same time it evokes a feeling like you are inside her home, with the same feel as the interiors she films her shows. It’s posh yet warm and homey.

And, very branded, from the G on the seats to the Giada on the placemats and more. The round light fixtures read one of her most famous quotes, which is an answer to how she eats so much great food and stays slim: “I eat a little bit of Everything and not a lot of Anything”.

When you first walk in, you can take a look at the big open kitchen. After you are seated, you might consider coming back to peer at the antipasti plates like I did.
A look at the big open kitchen inside Giada inside The Cromwell, Las Vegas A look at the big open kitchen inside Giada inside The Cromwell, Las Vegas A look at the big open kitchen inside Giada inside The Cromwell, Las Vegas A look at the big open kitchen inside Giada inside The Cromwell, Las Vegas

I was there for lunch. The complimentary bread service includes fresh Lemon Thyme flatbread fresh from that big wood oven you saw when you were walking in. It is served with pesto instead of butter – healthier and yet even tastier! I think at dinner the bread basket is filled out further with doughy thick focaccia and parmesan breadsticks.
Lunch menu at Giada in the Cromwell in Las Vegas, the bread service comes with lemon thyme flatbread and pesto Lunch menu at Giada in the Cromwell in Las Vegas, the bread service comes with lemon thyme flatbread and pesto

Many years ago, it was Giada who first taught me about burrata – I had never seen or heard of it while living in Chicago. As an homage to that, I ordered the Burrata with balsamic salt, olive oil, and microgreens.

OMG it was amazing. I’ve had burrata before, but the freshness of the burrata here combined with the simple but excellent oil and a touch of salt and those microgreens was the best way I’ve ever had burrata, ever.
Lunch menu at Giada in the Cromwell in Las Vegas, the Burrata with balsamic salt and the bread service comes with lemon thyme flatbread and pesto Lunch menu at Giada in the Cromwell in Las Vegas, the Burrata with balsamic salt

The Signature Cocktail at Giada is the G with Kappa Pisco, pineapple simple syrup, fresh lime, homemade apricot preserves, egg white and Angostura bitters. I was impressed with how even this cocktail was so strongly branded…
The Signature Cocktail at Giada is the G with Kappa Pisco, pineapple simple syrup, fresh lime, homemade apricot preserves, egg white and Angostura bitters The Signature Cocktail at Giada is the G with Kappa Pisco, pineapple simple syrup, fresh lime, homemade apricot preserves, egg white and Angostura bitters The G Cocktail, Lemon Thyme flatbread (served with pesto) and Burrata with balsamic salt.

For my lunch entree, I was tempted by the wood fired pizzas and pastas (one of the pastas is the Pasta of the Day, which changes daily), but ultimately picked out of of the half dozen sandwich options, the Lemon Pesto Grilled Cheese with heirloom tomatoes with prosciutto San Daniele and fried zucchini scapecce (or salad, but I went with the zucchini fries as my side, you get a choice of either). My rationale is the day I had this lunch, I was leaving on a plane that evening and I knew I could take the other half of this plate with me on the plane as my dinner. The prosciutto is optional so you could keep it vegetarian.
Lunch Menu at Giada in the Cromwell Las Vegas, Lemon Pesto Grilled Cheese with heirloom tomatoes with prosciutto San Daniele and fried zucchini scapecce Lunch Menu at Giada in the Cromwell Las Vegas, Lemon Pesto Grilled Cheese with heirloom tomatoes with prosciutto San Daniele and fried zucchini scapecce

Dessert was a Chef’s Choice Assortment of sorbet and gelato, one of which was an incredible toasted banana pine nut gelato.
Dessert of an assortment of Sorbet and gelato at Giada in the Cromwell, Las Vegas Dessert of an assortment of Sorbet and gelato at Giada in the Cromwell, Las Vegas

I was thrilled when I later opened my doggy bag with the other half of that grilled cheese and found an autographed photo of Giada in the bag too! Notice the check presentation too (along with the doggy bag and placemat). Even the paper towels for drying hands in the restroom was not missed in terms of detail.
Giada branding details with the doggy bag, check presentation, even the placemat at the table at Giada in The Cromwell, Las Vegas Giada branding details with the doggy bag, autographed photo that came with the doggy back, a paper towel from the restroom for drying hands, and photo strip from the complimentary photo booth in the waiting area

I was here for lunch, but could imagine with the views of the Bellagio fountain shows in the evening this restaurant could get super busy in the evening, so you want to try to make reservations (they are also on Opentable). The portions at this restaurant are reasonable, unlike most of Vegas so keep that in mind. The dishes are very flavorful, but they are at the same prices you would find anywhere on Las Vegas Boulevard for this class of restaurant, so you are paying for the high quality ingredients.

For me, service was very friendly and smooth where the dishes came out quickly for me and the others around me. We were checked on but left alone to enjoy the atmosphere with no pressure like we were in a friend’s living room in her oh, million dollar mansion in Los Angeles. When I’m back in town, whenever that is, I would definitely return and try Giada Las Vegas again.

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Butternut Squash Lasagna Recipe in Béchamel sauce

This recipe is my take on the butternut squash lasagna recipe by Giada de Laurentiis. The fact she includes amaretti cookies has always been very curious to me, so this has been bookmarked for a while. Now that the Indian Summer is over and it is cool and the leaves browning from their previous glorious colors of red, orange, and yellow and falling, this comfort dish moved up to the top of my list. It seemed appropriately perfect for a Sunday night dinner at my house as we were making plans for Thanksgiving. This dish yields about 8 servings.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, this will be the first of a series of posts of recipes I am going to cover on dishes to consider for Thanksgiving! They will all be vegetarian, so you might consider it for a side dish or if you have a vegetarian at your table like I do, be a way to provide something more hearty than the usual sides of rolls, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Check out my Recipes Index page for other dishes that I have covered in the past.

Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce

The original recipe calls for basil, but I love the taste of sage for fall, not to mention when I buy a bunch of fresh sage, I love just crisping them up in a brown butter sauce for a simple weekday dinner. So I switched out the basil for sage.

Also, the original recipe also instructs you to take a 2 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch cubes which are then tossed in oil on a skillet then boiled/steamed until the squash is tender. The whole end result is to make a squash purée though, and I just didn’t want so spend all that to clean and cut. So I just cut it in half and roasted it in the oven until it was soft and I could scoop it into the food processor. If you wanted more of a shortcut you could probably start out with frozen squash.

Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce

In retrospect, although the recipe calls for no boil lasagna noodles, at least with the way mine turned out they were not the texture I was looking for- they were still firm and very doughy. If I make this again in the future I would take the time to use regular lasagna noodles and boil them before the layering step.

To lower the fat, you could do a mix of skim or fat free milk instead of whole milk, but I think having some portion of creaminess is nice for the sauce, not sure you would get that with a 100% substitution. Giada calls for whole-milk mozzarella cheese, but I used Tillamook Part Skim shredded mozzarella, and you could do a variation of using skim ricotta, or Gruyere or whatever cheese you’d like. For gluten or paleo diets I’ve heard of using zucchini instead of the lasagna noodles, and you could even use scrambled eggs instead of the cheese, and she suggests spinach lasagna sheets!

The amaretti cookies add a hint of nuttiness and crunch to the butternut squash- amaretti cookies are almond paste cookies, so you could switch it out for just using nuts instead if you can’t find the cookies. Honestly, I think I would add more cookies!

Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce

Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 (~2-pound) butternut squash
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 amaretti cookies, crumbled
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup lightly packed fresh sage leaves
  • 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
  • 2 1/2 cups (10 ounces) shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
  • 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
Instructions
  1. First, making the squash purée. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Trim the stem part at the top and button, then cut the squash in half lengthwise. If you have a hard time cutting it, peel some of the skin. Scoop out the strings and seeds until the skin is clean and smooth. You can roast the seeds if you want, but you don’t need them for this lasagna. Rub each half of the squash flesh with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil,. On a pan lined with foil, place each half flesh side down for about 45 min or so, until the flesh is soft, so that you will be able to scoop them into the processor. Cool slightly and then transfer the squash to a food processor, since of course you don’t want to process hot food in there! Add the amaretti cookies and blend until smooth. Season the squash puree, to taste, with more salt and pepper. Set aside.
    Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce
  2. While the squash is roasting, this can be béchamel sauce making time. Melt the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the nutmeg. Cool slightly for at least 5 minutes.  As usual when blending hot liquids, when you transfer the liquid to the blender or food processor make sure you fill it no more than halfway (the food processor may have a marked liquid line). If you are using a blender, release one corner of the lid to prevent the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions! I didn’t have this problem because around this time I was processing the squash with the cookies, which gave time for the sauce to cool down some before getting to this part. Anyway, put half the roux in your blender, add the sage and blend until smooth. Return the now half a batch of sage sauce to the rest of the sauce in the pan and stir to blend. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Position the rack in the center of the oven and set the oven to 375 degrees F.
  4. Lightly grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread about a cup of the sauce over the dish, and arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom. Spread about 1/3 cup of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times.
    Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce
  5. Top with the rest of the sauce, and then tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna. Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.

This dish looks gorgeous with the colors- and I cursed that all I have is my point and shoot camera and the dark late October lighting because I don’t think these pics do it justice. I think it’s time to commit to making a light box/light tent with cardboard  and some white plates at least!

Every week until Thanksgiving I plan to post a recipe for a vegetarian dish that can served, so stay tuned! Have you ever had butternut squash lasagana? Did you have it with white sauce or marinara? And what do you think of the addition of amaretti cookies?
Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce Giada's vegetarian Thanksgiving side recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna in Béchamel sauce

Summary of the Vegetarian Thanksgiving Sides Series 2013:

Thanks for reading!

 

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