People love to hate on Giada's accent just as much as they enjoy criticizing Gwyneth's parenting practices. They're both polarizing characters, despite each woman's success in what seems like all of her endeavors — TV, movies, restaurants, cookbooks, lifestyle brands. Is the hate warranted? We decided to test see for ourselves, by way of carbonara.
Is pasta a fair test for how well you like a person? Maybe not. But a person's take on the classic Italian dish can very telling of his or her cooking style and personality, we say. Here's what we liked (and hated) about each:
GIADA'S RECIPE
BUY GIADA'S MOST RECENT COOKBOOK: Giada's Italy, $32; amazon.com
For a person famous for her Italian food, this recipe is in no way traditional. There's a lot going on, starting with a ton of cream. Don't worry, there are still eggs … 8 of them! She mixes the both ingredients together with a lot herbs then adds it to the pan with the cooked spaghetti, crispy pancetta, and shredded rotisserie chicken.
But it doesn't end there. All that pasta gets topped with lots of lemon zest and toasted walnuts. WALNUTS!
While I am usually not one for adding cream to the carbonara, one major advantage of adding it is that the eggs won't scramble, which can be a problem for carbonara-rookies. As for the chicken, lemon and walnuts, the Delish team was split. About half of us like the unconventional ingredients, the other half felt very strongly against them.
For this recipe, if you're a pasta purist and you don't think you'll like it, you're probably right.
GWYNETH'S RECIPE
BUY GWYNETH'S COOKBOOK: It's All Good, $17; amazon.com
This recipe very pleasantly surprised us. For a woman that has gotten flack for her children's low-carb diets, I would've thought it would be a healthy dairy-free zoodle situation. But it's beautifully carby! With thick bucatani noodles and lots of Parmesan.
There's also no cream. Her sauce depends entirely on eggs – 1 whole and 3 to 4 egg yolks. (We cooked ours with just 3 and it was plenty rich.) The eggs don't cook at all in a skillet. Instead, Gwyneth relies on the heat from the pasta. So here, the chances of scrambling the eggs is low too.
If you love traditional carbonara, you will love this recipe.
THE VERDICT
While some people preferred Giada's, about half the team hated it. However, nobody hated Gwyneth's. Hers was liked across the board. The fact that she's an Academy Award winner who felt the need to write two cookbooks could really annoy you. But I promise this pasta will not.
PIN IT FOR LATER:
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