We Were There: Giada DeLaurentiis Book Signing

Giada DeLaurentiis came to town on Friday, March 30, and, for a huge fan like me, it was better than Christmas. She was signing copies and promoting her new cookbook, Weeknights With Giada, at Dave's Marketplace in The Crossing at Smithfield. The book signing took place at 4pm, and I had initially (and very naively) planned to arrive at 3:30. Luckily, I was informed that previous celebrity chef book signings at Dave's (which have included Mario Batali) had fans lining up at 8am, so if I had any intentions of getting a signed copy, I had better get there early. By the time I arrived at 2pm, the line was indeed significantly long. The very first group of women in line informed me that they been there since (sure enough) 8am.

In all the excitement of seeing Giada, I realized I had forgotten to bring a lunch to eat while I waited in line for two-plus hours and ... panic ensued. Well, I was glad I forgot, because Dave's makes an entire event out of these book signings. They try and make the long wait as enjoyable as possible for those standing in line, and enjoyable it was. Samples were passed out to everyone waiting in line, which included (my favorite) cheese from Narragansett Creamery, Butternut Squash & Cheese Ravioli, and these scrumptious little salmon cakes. Needless to say, I certainly had my fill of yummy passed appetizers. A raffle was drawn for Dave's gift cards. Time went by pretty quickly as I chatted with my fellow Giada loving comrades and wondered if every car that drove past me was her.

Finally, she arrived. Although I swore to myself I was not going to freak out and sweat profusely like my mother did the day she met Kevin Bacon on the Today Show, I totally had the same reaction. The line flew by as we entered the store, and soon enough, there I was standing right in front of her. As she signed my copy of her book, I muttered, "Eh, eh, I love you! Eh, eh, my whole family loves you!" to which she replied, "I hope you enjoy the book." From the sidelines, I then shamelessly snapped pictures of her and myself with her in the background. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day. I can't wait to try out Weeknights with Giada... and say "prosciutto" just like she does.