Giada In Italy: Giada De Laurentiis talks about La Capannina restaurant in Capri

Welcome to the magical Isle of Capri. I've been coming here since I was a kid, and this visit is extra special. Jade and I are meeting up with family and friends. Chin-chin! Beautiful friends. To cook, laugh, It's gorgeous. Share stories. This was Nonodino's pride and joy. And honor my grandfather and his amazing life. Would Nonodino be proud? Yes. Join me for a taste of Capri. Yeah, baby! And a celebration of food, friendship, and family. Capri is a drop-dead gorgeous island off the coast of southern Italy. Known for the Faglioni, three massive rocks that rise dramatically from the sea. Fresh Mediterranean-style food and a unique sense of style. After all, this is where Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was first spotted in her signature capri pants. It's hard not to be swept away by the glamour and promise of what we Italians call la dolce vita. I've been coming to Capri a very long time. My grandfather has quite a history here in Capri. And we vacationed here a lot as kids. This is Jade's first time here, so I want to share all the places and foods that my grandfather shared with me. When I think of my grandfather and Capri, I think of seafood. I think of pasta. I think of lemons. And so I thought, I want to create a menu that has all of the elements of the first things I think of when I think of Capri. My Nonodino loved lemons, and so do I. So I'm making lemony crepes filled with sweet, creamy cheese. When he arrived in Capri, my grandfather always made pasta with olive oil. I'm dressing it up with peas and prosciutto. My mista salad is inspired by a stroll through the local market. And we'll kick things off with fritto misto, a fried seafood appetizer that my grandfather often enjoyed with a cocktail during Capri's aperitivo hour. The aperitivo hour is something that's very special to Italian culture. Jade and I just arrived in Capri, an island in southern Italy that's near and dear to my heart. We're here for a big family celebration to honor my grandfather. But for our first night, I'm treating Jade to a taste of everything I love about this magical island. All right, dude. You gotta get some stuff. One of the most exciting things when I come here is to be able to go shopping in the markets and just cook with local ingredients. I always make a mista salad, very simple salad, using all local ingredients from lettuce to fennel to pomodorini, little baby tomatoes, and making a simple garlic vinaigrette. Pizza at the mista is done. So pretty. I mean, Jade, this is why we come here. Okay, boo-boo. Are you hungry? Yeah. I'm hungry. It's perfect. Jade, look. Oh, my gosh. It's the Parmesan cheese, baby. When you're done, we can go upstairs and make some crepes for dessert. Cool. Chin-chin. To a good vacation. Capri is the land of lemons. And when life gives you lemons, you make a sweet and decadent dessert. Capri is heaven on earth. The stunning beauty has inspired artists and writers for centuries. They were one of the first ones to come to the island and then go out and spread the word. And a lot of it has to do with the surroundings, the colors. The way the light shines on the faglioni, on the sea. And I think that having spent so much time here as a child, there's a lot of inspiration that kind of bleeds into the food that I make. And I think this place has inspired a lot of what I do. Yeah, Mama. So today, I'm treating my family and friends to lunch. Salute. Chin-chin. Inspired by the magic of Capri. My grandfather loved spaghetti with clams and mussels at a restaurant in Capri called La Campanina. He would go there for that dish sometimes several nights in a row. In fact, my grandfather had his own special table where he held court and made deals over plates of mussels and pasta. Francesco! Our family friend, Francesco, is one of the owners and he'll be joining us for lunch. I can't wait for him to try my version of the popular dish. I wanted to sort of do a mash-up of different flavors inspired by that dish. So I did cozza al forno, mussels in the oven. You don't have to look very far in Capri to find inspiration. It's everywhere. You get some zucchini, I will get some pasta. How many? And with an abundance of fresh ingredients, it's fun to get creative in the kitchen. They grow a lot of zucchini here and because they have a surplus of them, they have to find creative ways to sort of use them. What I like is that I take the zucchini, poach them, season them and I put them in olive oil, good olive oil and at any point in time you have a vegetable side dish that is decadent and one of my favorite ways to eat a vegetable. For me, the Capri kitchen offers a blank canvas waiting to be filled with mouthwatering aromas and colorful dishes. I've got an exciting menu that offers a spin on some classic southern Italian flavors. It's here. It's coming. Eccola! Yes! Hello. Amore. Ivy! You look great. E Francesca! Hai portato i fiori? Si. Che belli che sono. Grazie. Wow. It's gorgeous. Thank you. Those mussels! No, not those mussels? Yeah. Oh my God. I used to love those mussels. Beautiful. And the view. The Faraglioni right there. I know, right? Is it not beautiful? Why don't I serve you guys the pasta first? Wow. So tomatoes, olives, salmon. They're pretty, right? They really look like flowers. Okay, so eat the cozze. Alright. Try that. Okay. Salute. Cin cin. And the beautiful Capri and the Faraglioni. And the Faraglioni. Beautiful friends. Thank you very much. Okay, yeah. Try the granita. Mmm. I know it's a little bit different. It's different, but it's good. You know what it reminds me? Really? When I was a kid, they used to do la passata di pomodoro. Right. The fresh tomato and then we drank it. But it's so good with it, that it's chilled. Right. It's cold. Yes. And the parsley. This is the way by hand. Yeah, you have to do it by hand. It's very good. And then I add the breadcrumbs. Thank you. And the parsley. And the crunchy bacon. Correct. Very good. And in America, we love ourselves a little bacon. What if you tried to put a little crispy prosciutto on your linguine with clams? Or the shallotelli with clams. There you go. I may try. Okay. Why not? Sure. So it's the Italian version of some bacon. Very good. In the mussels. Right. Why not? The tradition. Yeah, the cucumbers that you have. Oh, then I should try them. Yeah, they are. I like it. They are. It's like pickling. Yeah, it's like pickled cucumber. These are great. The fried ones are more popular. I think you will love this. It's a little bit different. These are really good. The pasta is very good. And the salmon is very good. Wow. Yes. Very good for bloody many. It's a very special day in Capri. My family is here to celebrate what would have been my grandfather's 100th birthday. And we can't celebrate 100 years without ravioli alla caprese. It's a signature dish on the Isle of Capri. Ravioli alla caprese. Something that is really of this island. There is a restaurant that was one of my grandfather's favorites called La Campanina. They taught me years ago how to make ravioli alla caprese. The dough is almost like clouds. And what I wanted to do was remake it with raffi because it was one of my grandfather's favorites. Easy, but special. Now, flip it over. Now, you take this little ravioli cutter. They're adorable. They're little. They're like little pillows. Make sure you pinch the edges of the dough really well so that the cheese filling doesn't just seep out into the boiling water. They don't cook long. Gently, eh? I'm going to help you pull them out. So when they come up, in theory, they should be cooked, right? Correct. Okay. Put a little bit of sauce here. Oh, look. She's going to grate some cheese. Don't go away. Stay put. Don't move. Voila. That is how they serve it. It is true. Okay. Ready? Okay. You go to that one. I'm going to go to this one. What do we think? Mm. That dough is good. Buonissimi. Would Nonno Dino be proud? Yes. I set up a big table overlooking the sea with the faglioni behind us, the family and friends Who wants some of this tiraffi? You want something to drink? I'm already drinking. Okay. I'll have two. No problem. I'll have two. Tiraffi. Get the bag. There's a local folk band called Xalapopolo. My grandfather is a local folk band and we're supposed to be and then we're going to be playing at the festival at the fair. We're going to be playing My grandfather loved them. So I thought it'd be fun to have them play at the party as well. And I think it really helped get everybody in the mood. I don't think it's going to get quieter than this. All right. Do you need some of that? No, thanks. Two. I'll get some of that. I got mine. Want a little bit of caprese? Caprese. OK. So I got the fish. OK. We made the dough today. Serafina made the dough. That's good. Yeah. Oh, grazie. Come here. Thank you. The patate. Word. One of your favorite dishes. So which fish is this that's so good? Spicola. Sea bass. Spicola. Good job. And to Nannolino. And to Papa. I'm sure he's here. He's here. Daddy. And he's smiling. 100 years. There we go. That was very cool. If you want to put a little limoncello with the granita. There you go, Mom. There we go, Francesco. Wow. It's really good. It's a very interesting combination. Salute. Here we go. She's like... My mom was a sailor She bathed me Over the hills In Sacramento and Te FPS Don't forget to hit subscribe. And, of course, ended with spectacular fireworks right in front of the Falleoni. And I think that it brought tears to many of us. we were able to recapture a moment in time. It's as if my grandfather was present. It's part of our culture, part of our familial passion, and holding on to the roots of what makes us who we are. Whoo! It's a rejoicing moment, a moment to celebrate, and great to be able to share that with Jade, and it was, um, spectacular. Whoo!