Real American Meals Features Veronica De Laurentiis

Home, Style — By Buddy Sampson on March 29, 2011 at 8:34 pm

“Real American Meals” Features Veronica De Laurentiis

This is the second part of The Scoop LA’s series on an exciting new cooking show, with the tentative title of “Real American Meals.”

Hosted by funny man Brian Herzlinger and Directed by Jay Black, the hilarious cooking show seeks to go outside the box and norm of the usual cooking shows presented on television, such as The Food Network, by going into different families’ homes and not only exploring recipes, but the rich tradition of families at dinner tables, revealing not only valued family recipes, but their culture as well. The brainchild of Joanna Le, the show’s creator, “Real American Meals” went into the home of Veronica De Laurentiis, who is married to one of the show’s producers, Ivan Kavalsky.

Also produced by Suzanne De Laurentiis Productions, “Real American Meals” took their cameras into Veronica De Laurentiis’s kitchen and The Scoop LA was there to witness it. Herzlinger, once again (see our first Scoop LA article) was in rare form, acting as kitchen helper. “You’re a good helper,” said Veronica DeLaurentiis, talking to Brian, who acts as comic foil in the series. He responded, “Thanks, I’m good at handling a noodle.” You must tune into the show when it finds its way on television to hear more of Brian’s very funny lines. Veronica De Laurentiis, who was born in Rome, Italy, demonstrates her talent in the kitchen in this episode. But there is a lot more to Veronica. The dynamic actress and author is a Hollywood icon. The daughter of Silvana Mangano and legendary film producer Dino De Laurentiis, she was featured at age 18 in the movie “Waterloo,” which featured Rod Steiger and Christopher Plummer. Currently a working actress, Veronica is a best selling author, penning a memoir, Revoglio La Mia Vita (Claim My Life) which made the Italian best sellers list within a week of its release. Her critically acclaimed second book, Riprenditi La Tua Vita-Le otto chiavi di Veronica (Claim Your Life-Veronica’s eight keys) was published in 2009. During the taping of the TV show, we were able to speak to this incredible lady regarding her second book. “Once you accept yourself and love yourself, things change,” said Veronica DeLaurentiis. “I am the living proof that this is possible.” Veronica, who also opened a foundation for abused women in Italy, urges people to look in the mirror everyday and tell yourself, “I love myself.” Talking with this lady immediately galvanizes and inspires. She is truly one of the most incredible women we’ve met and featured in our pages. You may be familiar with Veronica De Laurentiis’s daughter, Giada, who is the host of the Food Network program “Giada at Home.”

But Veronica De Laurentiis is fantastic in the kitchen as well. “I am not a chef,” she laughs. “I improvise when I cook. I see what’s in the refrigerator and I do variations of it.” Once a month, she finds the time to keep her rich Italian family heritage alive by gathering members of the family together, cooking for them and breaking bread. During the taping of “Real American Meals,” Brian Herzlinger flubbed his lines (some people on set think he did it purposely to get several laughs, which he did) and each time he did it Veronica executed her lines perfectly each time, a true sign of a seasoned and veteran actress. Look for wonderful things from this incredible actress, author and activist and best of all, person.

And look for “Real American Meals” on your television soon. Their tagline is “Forging the Next Generation of Real American Meals.” It is destined to become a major hit.