Ingredients

　　1 cup sugar

　　1 packed cup fresh mint leaves

　　In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, 1/2 cup water, and mint leaves over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool for 20 minutes. Strain before using.

　　Giada at Home by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2010 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.