Home > Media > Books > Ina Garten - The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Secrets from the East Hampton Specialty Food Store for Simple Food and Party Platters You Can Make at Home
Ina Garten - The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Secrets from the East Hampton Specialty Food Store for Simple Food and Party Platters You Can Make at Home
nollequeen's Full Review: Ina Garten - The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Secre...
My hero worship of Ina Garten began with her first book, “The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.” As I stated in a recent review, entitled “I Wanna Be Ina Garten,” http://www.epinions.com/content_126284238468, I think “the Contessa” represents a fantasy/ideal lifestyle for professional women in their 40’s and 50’s. Ina has what I want: lots of time to make beautiful yet casual food and enjoy it with her equally free and relaxed friends in fabulous settings in the Hamptons.
Myself, I work full time as a public defender and race home everyday to pick up my three year old from daycare and run around like a crazy person every night to try to get dinner on the table for him and hubby before we all get too crabby to enjoy it. On the weekends however, I can and do make the incredible “Banana Crunch Muffins” from the “Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.” The recipe for these muffins alone makes the cookbook worth getting. With a cup of coffee in one hand and a Banana muffin in the other, I can almost smell ocean and hear the cry of gulls from the Hamptons echoing in my kitchen window.
According to the Forward, Ina herself walked away from the madness of the workday world to open her shop “The Barefoot Contessa.” “…I had no idea what I was getting into. In 1978, I was working in the White House on nuclear energy policy and thinking there’s got to be more to life than this. I came across an ad in the New York Times “Business Opportunities” section for a specialty food store for sale in the Hamptons, so I decided to investigate…So my husband, Jeffrey and I drove up to see the store…I had no idea how to run a business or how to buy food wholesale, but I knew this was for me…To my shock, the owner called the next day and said, “Thank you. I accept your offer. Yikes!”
She may not have known how to buy wholesale, but she certainly did know how to cook because the recipes in the book, which represent the best of the “carry away” food from her store, are to die for.
Roasted Red Pepper Spread which is listed as an appetizer, but could easily become a lunch entrée, is incredibly easy to make, yet looks and tastes like something made by a caterer. Red peppers, onions, garlic and eggplant are cut into big chunks and roasted with a coating of olive oil and kosher salt for about 45 minutes. The first time I made this, I put it all in the food processor still warm and my husband and I actually stood at the kitchen counter and scarfed most of it down with pita bread while it was still in the processor. It was that good.
Roasted Brussels are our new favorite veggie. As a kid, I absolutely HATED brussel sprouts, loathing both their gakish texture and the way their cooking made the house smell. Thanks to this recipe, both hubby and I actually crave them (the three year old still doesn’t want any part of them, but that’s to be expected).
The book itself is quite attractive and would qualify for coffee table status, with its lavish and colorful photographs of the food. The text is pretty interesting too, providing insider tips to throwing a good dinner party. My favorite, which seems pretty obvious, but never managed to occur to me, “The right seating plan can make a good party better. With a rectangular table, I put the most outgoing talkers in the middle, facing each other. This keeps the party from fracturing into two groups at opposite ends of the table…Next, make the meal very simple, if you are jumping up and down to change plates or finish the cooking, your guests will feel awkward.”
There is also some very useful information (it was news to me anyway) on how to plate a dessert, fruit or cheese platter to look fabulous (very easy too, who knew?) which is very good for when you need to bring a dish to someone else’s house, but only have time to run to the store and assemble something quick.
My sister in law, who was over for breakfast last weekend, sat down at the kitchen counter and paged through the book (she’s a big fan of the t.v. show) for quite a while. When she was done, she looked up and said, “I’m going to buy this book before the week is out.” I started laughing, because she too is a member of the “Contessa” demographic, but I am starting to wonder if there isn't something more subliminal going on...
For more than twenty years, Barefoot Contessa, the acclaimed specialty food store, has been cooking and baking extraordinary dishes for enthusiastic c...More at CHEFS Catalog
Entertaining - General Cooking & Cookbooks - A conventionally organized cookbook with unconventional delicious food. The author shares all of the many...More at Barnes and Noble
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