Fourth Of July Recipes - Giada de Laurentiis Dishes On What You Need To Make Your BBQ Sizzle: From Music to Cocktail & Everything In Between

Anyone who's anyone knows who Giada de Laurentiis is, well that is if you're like us and watch nothing but the Food Network. With the Fourth of July coming up and everyone throwing their own Barbeques who better to get some tips from than the master chef herself.

The Emmy-winning chef talked to E! News to give some advice on what you'll need to really make your cookout sizzle this holiday weekend.

As far as the essentials that you'll need, Giada says that it's all about the grilling tools.

"I've definitely got my grilling tools because the Fourth of July for me is all about grilling," the brunette beauty states. "Then I always like to make some version of a pasta salad that can sit and can be served with any kind of meat or fish that I want to BBQ.

We're guilty of have an extreme sweet tooth, so what does Ms. de Laurentiis recommend for dessert?

"I love my strawberry jam crosata. It's just an Italian pie that you don't need any kind of baking dish to make," she explains. "I take a little dough-any kind of pastry dough that you like-and then I make a jam. In the summertime strawberries and tomatoes are very, very flavorful because they're in season, so I cook them down with a little bit of agave and a little lemon juice and I create a jam. Then I spread the jam down on the pie dough and bake it off and then top it with fresh strawberries and some mint. It's just fantastic."

And it's not the 4^th without some booze, are we right? So what kind of cocktails does Giada think should be on everyone's must have list?

"I always have some kind of cocktail, and I usually make a version that's virgin and then one with alcohol for fun," she reveals. "You know I love bellinis. So I purée different fruits like blueberries or peaches, and then I have a little bottle of Prosecco and let everybody make their own bellini. And for my daughter, I use the same puréed fruit and I add some sparkling water to make it fun and kind of effervescent for her."

Speaking of her daughter she also says that you got to make the cookouts not just fun for the adults but for the kids as well.

"My daughter is into anything in a cupcake form, so in an effort to try to get her to eat something savory and not just sweet I make mac and cheese cupcakes," the chef says. "I keep them on hand for her to pop in her mouth. The idea being that I just cook off a little bit of pasta and a little bit of meat, whether it's chicken or fish or beef, add some broccoli and a couple of different kinds of cheese and I put them all in muffin cup and bake them."

And what would a party be without a little music? The reality host reveals her top three cooking songs at the moment.

"A Sky Full of Stars" by Coldplay,
"Lovely Day" by Bill Withers, and
"Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars."