Modern Comfort Food: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten
$35.00
Product Details
Web ID: 117751504 years ago
from Houston Tx
Uninspiring Recipes
Most recipes are nothing new and very unhealthy! BC is all about the $$$ and not a nice person, considering what she did to the Make-a-Wish candidate!!!
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
4 years ago
from Kansas City
comfort fit for a contessa
A new cookbook from Ina Garten is always a reason to celebrate, but for her to take on comfort food at a time like this is simple perfection. Garten is the Barefoot Contessa, a part of Taylor Swift’s posse, and the woman who welcomed this year’s pandemic by making a cocktail big enough for a bachelorette party. And now she has a gift for all of us, recipes of comfort food, updated with new flavors and twists but still with her carefree elegance. How could she know how badly we would need this cookbook in 2020? She starts us off with cocktails, because of course she does. There is a Hot Spiced Apple Cider, Ultimate Bloody Marys, and Pomegranate Gimlets along with some nibbles to get the party started. You can try the Warm Spinach & Artichoke Dip, Fresh Crab Nachos, Cacio e Pepe Cheese Puffs, or Grilled Oysters with Lemon Dill Butter. And with all these great party recipes comes more of the ingredients you can use for a great party—tips for serving and decorating that will help put guests at ease and encourage conversation. Then it’s on to lunch. Whether it’s a soup like the Chicken Pot Pie Soup, Baked Fish Chowder, or Maine Lobster Stew or a sandwich like her Ultimate Tuna Melts, Lobster BLTs, or Cheddar and Chutney Grilled Cheese, these recipes will comfort you and give you what you need to get through the rest of your day. With dinner, the Contessa offers up hearty meals of updated classics, like the Tuscan Turkey Roulade, Skillet-Roasted Chicken and Potatoes, Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas , Baked Cod with Garlic and Herb Ritz Crumbs, Fresh Crab and Pea Risotto, or Truffled Mac and Cheese. Offering up modern takes on some of her favorite sides and vegetables, there are Roasted Broccolini and Cheddar, Charred Carrots, Cheddar and Scallion Creamed Corn, Celery Root and Cauliflower Puree, Provencal Zucchini Gratin, Emily’s English Roasted Potatoes (recipe courtesy of actress Emily Blunt), and Outrageous Garlic Bread. Because you always need Outrageous Garlic Bread. And then there are the desserts! Peach Almond Torte, Milk Chocolate Oreo Ice Cream, Black and White Cookies, Bittersweet Chocolate Cake, Giant Crinkled Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Tuscan Baked Apples, just to name a few. And to get an idea of how Garten comes up with her recipes, she tells the story of her Boston Cream Pie recipe. She tried for years to get it right, but it just wouldn’t come together. She could get all the individual components to taste the way she wanted them, but when she put the cake together, it just wasn’t right somehow. It wasn’t until she was asked if any recipe had eluded her and she admitted to her problems with her Boston Cream Pie that pastry chef Christina Tosi piped up with what turned out to be the answer. And that recipe is included here too (along with Tosi’s advice that worked). And how better to end this than how you start the day—with breakfast. Garten herself talks about how rarely she raises her breakfast game, but lately she has, and she includes her new favorites like Smashed Eggs on Toast, Whole-Grain Breakfast Bowl, Breakfast Tacos, Apple Cinnamon Dutch Baby, Waffle Iron Hash Browns, Vanilla Cold-Brewed Ice Coffee, and the Bacon, Egg and Cheddar Sandwich that she is loving right now. Throughout Modern Comfort Food, Garten talks about her favorite ingredients, and she names names. She shares her favorite brand names from the grocery store as well as some of her favorite high-end ingredients and where she finds them. Because she is a chef who understands the importance of a good grocery store shortcut, and there is no shame in that. The reason we love Ina Garten is that she is a master of elegant entertaining with grace and great taste, and she lets us in on her secrets. And after spending decades entertaining and helping others do the same means that she knows all the tricks to adding great taste to the food and to the party with the least amount of effort, and she spills the tea for us. How easy is that?
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
4 years ago
Barefoot Contessa bringing the comfort!
Barefoot Contessa is one of my favorites and I think her cookbooks perfectly evoke the same feeling that emanates from the show. Modern Comfort Food does not disappoint and its timely arrival in the midst of a pandemic before winter starts has me dreading the immediate future a little less. Ina Garten's recipes have always been approachable to me and this cookbook remains consistent with that. It's the kind of food you can eat every day, but also feel good about serving to guests. The kind of dishes you can spend a good chunk of your afternoon making a bunch of because they're just that easy to understand and throw together. Her "store-bought is fine" attitude regarding possible shortcuts is always so comforting (a few recipes definitely take advantage of that!) and along with her fool-proof steps, makes the whole process less stressful! I also feel validated by her list of "good ingredients" since I already have most of the items in my pantry! The book is broken up into sections of cocktails, lunch, diner, vegetables & sides, dessert, and breakfast with a very much appreciated list of the recipes to start each chapter. While I love Ina and her recipes, however, I do prefer my cookbooks to have a bit more cohesion and variety that makes it easier to put a large spread of complementary dishes together. Also, while approachable and great for everyday cooking, I would not say this cookbook is something a seasoned and experimental cook would find useful. I’ve received a free copy from Clarkson Potter in exchange for a free and unbiased review.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
5 years ago
Delicious Recipes
This book was so great! The recipes definitely fit the title of this book. I love that there were a great variety of different recipes featured for cocktails, lunch, dinner, vegetables and sides, dessert and breakfast. I have made some of the lunch and dinner recipes and they tasted so delicious. I plan on making the breakfast and dessert recipes next. I've received a free copy from Clarkson Potter in exchange for a free and unbiased review.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
5 years ago
from East Norriton Pa
Great cookbook
I love Ina and her show and cookbooks. I have them all and love the recipes. Her newest cookbook is a wonderful collection of recipes that are very comforting and delicious. I have read the cookbook cover to cover and just ordered ingredients to make several dishes. I know they will be wonderful. I can’t wait to tomorrow to start cooking
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
5 years ago
Reliable Recipes
If you are a fan of Ina Garten, then you will love this book. As in her previous the recipes are well tested, yielding reliable results; you cook them with confidence that they will turn out well. The directions are easy to follow, but the recipes aren’t always “easy”, which is to say that some have a lot of steps; however, the clear writing style and detailed steps walk all level of cooks through the recipes. The focus of this book is, as the title says, Modern Comfort Food. Garten takes familiar tastes/recipes and gives them new twists. Chutney is an update to grilled cheese, spinach & artichoke dip has caramelized onions, and there’s a pizza with bèchamel and brussel sprouts. Two of the recipes I’ve made, the Spaghetti Squash Arrabbiata and the Breakfast Tacos, were both delicious. The arrabbiata sauce in particular was a winning recipe, and made enough that I had some leftover for other dishes. Warming corn tortillas on one side, then flipping them and topping with shredded cheese, made the perfect base for the breakfast tacos. There are what I regard as hallmarks of Garten’s books, not-healthy quantities of some ingredients (stock up on butter - for example, the puréed potatoes call for ½ lb (2 sticks) for 4-6 servings of the finished dish) and the long length of many of the recipes in the book. The butter (and in several recipes, cream) and the seeming extra ingredients (15 ingredients for roasted sausages with peppers and onions) lead to delicious results. These two factors put this book in the category of ones I want in my cookbook library to pull out when I want something I know will be delicious, is a splurge health-wise, and may take some seeming extra time to put together. I won’t be cooking from it every night, but when I do want some comfort food, this will be a turned to resource. I've received a free copy from Clarkson Potter in exchange for a free and unbiased review.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
5 years ago
from Portland, OR
Excellent Timing!
Could the timing be any better for Ina Garten to come out with Modern Comfort Food? This is a collection of recipes sure to make your belly happy, without requiring you to purchase special equipment, obscure ingredients, or an expensive culinary education. The recipes are clearly written and approachable, sometimes calling for convenience products like store bought puff pastry or canned black beans, although you could certainly make your own from scratch if you preferred. The Apple Cinnamon Dutch Baby is a wonderful, memory making breakfast dish. Waffle Iron Hash Browns are a delicious way to utilize my often neglected waffle iron. Creamy Tomato Soup brings back Saturdays to me, only kicked up a notch with the addition of Cheddar & Chutney Grilled Cheese. Tuscan Turkey Roulade is a brilliant idea, bringing turkey to the table any month of the year. The Banana Rum Trifle is another on the list of hits. I've received a free copy from Clarkson Potter in exchange for a free and unbiased review. Thank you for this addition to my collection. Modern Comfort Food is the right book at the right time!
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
5 years ago
from New Mexico
Reliable, as always!
As usual, this is a go-to cookbook for the perfect dinner party, be it an elegant affair or something cozy and casual! The recipes on a whole are a little richer than what I tend towards on a daily basis, but are perfect for entertaining. Like many of Ina’s other books, Modern Comfort Food covers everything from prep-ahead cocktails to appetizers, mains, sides, desserts, and even breakfast. I love that I can just pick something from each category and know that I will have a crowd-pleasing dinner on the table in no time! I’m especially excited about some of the modern upgrades to classic dishes like Warm Spinach & Artichoke Dip, Spicy Pimento Cheese Spread, and Skillet-Roasted Chicken & Potatoes. Ina also includes a variety of unique and innovative takes on recipes like nachos (yes, using fresh crab!), tuna melts, kale salad, polenta (made with fresh corn), pizza (with pancetta and Brussels sprouts, oh my!) and spaghetti carbonara (loaded with spring veggies). With beautiful photos for inspiration, and easy-to-follow instructions, I will be able to mix and match endless dinner combos. Thanks, Ina! Please note: I’ve received a free copy from Clarkson Potter in exchange for a free and unbiased review.
Recommends this product
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com