The blurb in this book states: “ For more than twenty years, Barefoot Contessa, the acclaimed speciality food store, has been cooking and baking extraordinary dishes for enthusiastic customers in the Hamptons.” This book then, is based on the most popular recipes from this food store and is not, as I had thought, based on the television series of the same name. In the latter, I found Ira Gartner’s recipes to be sufficiently exciting and innovative to want to find them again in such a book. However, this book was published in 1999 and would have been before her TV series had started but this distinction was not clear when ordering it.
Most of the recipes are just too simple, and could be found anywhere else and even are ones which one would already have in one’s own cooking repertoire. For example a chicken is simply cooked with lemon juice , olive oil and thyme. And do we really need to know that for “roasted carrots” we just have to add a touch of garlic and dill. An orange yoghurt needs – well some orange zest in it Tomato soup: not much of a surprise there either – cherry tomatoes plus tinned ones, with a couple of herbs added. A recipe for a potato salad can be found in any cookbook. Parmesan croutons: one doesn’t need a whole page to tell us that you need, bread, olive oil, salt and parmesan cheese! There are two whole pages on a fruit platter, one of them with an illustration and the other with the “recipe”. A fruit platter tells its own story – you just need to choose a variety of fruit, and one doesn’t need any guidance to do that. There is a beautiful photo illustrating this, which would have contributed to the book being the price it is, illustrations appearing on virtually every page of the book.
These are just a few examples among many, and one is left asking oneself "so what’s new?”. Her TV series showed much more exciting dishes which were also rather more complicated – a soufflé being one of them, which I had hoped to find in this book, along with a few others which I found innovative and unusual.
All these recipes then are ones which the eponymous food store would have provided and thus by the very nature of it being a “food store” meant the recipes had to be relatively easy to produce with a need for the either being cooked very rapidly for a customer, or pre-prepared. No one is going to find any of these recipes particularly new and it is certainly over-priced for telling us a lot of things with which we are already familiar. Having said that, for a first-time cook the book could, nevertheless, be useful.
I have not entirely given up on Ira Gartner, and might even order her “Cooking for Jeffrey” cookbook. I should imagine that this book would provide recipes for just two to four people, instead of the large numbers (i.e. 8-10) that most of the recipes cater for in this volume, but above all, hopefully will contain recipes from her TV series, which, to use her favourite word, sound really "deelicius".
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The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook Hardcover – 15 April 1999
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Ina Garten
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Ina Garten
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Product details
- Publisher : CROWN; 1st edition (15 April 1999)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0609602195
- ISBN-13 : 978-0609602195
- Dimensions : 19.81 x 2.29 x 26.16 cm
-
Best Sellers Rank:
218,229 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 44 in New England Food
- 83 in Blender Recipes
- 158 in Brunch & Tea Cooking (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
Product description
Review
"I enjoy Barefoot Contessa both for its presentation, which is just about the best I've ever seen, and also because the food tastes like home cooking--because it is. I'm drawn in as much by its personality as I am by what they have to offer."--Steven Spielberg, director, DreamWorks SKG "Like Ina Garten herself, this stunning, lively new book is about style, simplicity, comfort, and good times among family and friends. Her natural approach to food is frank and forward, and you are sure to treasure each tip, each story, each recipe."--Patricia Wells, author of At Home with Patricia Wells: Cooking in Provence "No store more fully embodies the easy, stylish elegance of the Hamptons than Barefoot Contessa. And no one understands what successful entertaining is all about better than Ina Garten. Born of retailing, her wonderful accessible recipes have been tested on you and me for a very long time and they really work. Bravo!"--Eli Zabar, owner of E.A.T., The Vinegar Factory, Eli's Bread, Across the Street, and Eli's Manhattan
From the Back Cover
For more than twenty years, Barefoot Contessa, the acclaimed specialty food store, has been cooking and baking extraordinary dishes for enthusiastic customers in the Hamptons. For many of those years, people have tried to get the exuberant owner, Ina Garten, to share the secrets of her store. Finally, the energy and style that make Barefoot Contessa such a special place are shown here, with dozens of recipes and more than 160 breathtaking photographs, in The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.
Ina's most popular recipes use familiar ingredients, but they taste even better than you would expect. Her Pan-Fried Onion Dip is the real thing, with slowly car-amelized onions and fresh sour cream. Tomato soup is created from oven-roasted tomatoes and fresh basil to intensify the flavors. Meat loaf is as good as your grandmother's, but it's healthier because it's made with ground turkey and fresh herbs. The light and flaky Maple-Oatmeal Scones are baked with rolled oats, whole wheat, and real maple syrup. Now these and other famous Barefoot Contessa recipes can be prepared at home.
Ina says that before she owned a specialty food store she often spent a week making dinner for six friends. Her experience at Barefoot Contessa has given her hundreds of ideas for creating wonderful parties in a few hours. And they're all in this book. Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce can be stored overnight in the refrigerator and sauteed just before the guests arrive. Cheddar Corn Chowder can be made days ahead, reheated, and served with a salad and bread for a delicious autumn lunch. The ingredients for Grilled Salmon Salad can all be prepared ahead and tossed together before serving. The batter for theRaspberry Corn Muffins can be mixed a day before and popped into the oven just before breakfast.
Ina Garten teaches us how to entertain with style, simplicity, and a relaxed sense of fun. There are notes throughout the book for giving cocktail parties, lunches, and dinner parties where everything is done before the guests arrive. And there are easy instructions for creating gorgeous party platters that don't even require you to cook!
With Ina Garten and The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, you have the perfect recipe for hosting parties that are easy and fun for everyone--including the cook.
Ina's most popular recipes use familiar ingredients, but they taste even better than you would expect. Her Pan-Fried Onion Dip is the real thing, with slowly car-amelized onions and fresh sour cream. Tomato soup is created from oven-roasted tomatoes and fresh basil to intensify the flavors. Meat loaf is as good as your grandmother's, but it's healthier because it's made with ground turkey and fresh herbs. The light and flaky Maple-Oatmeal Scones are baked with rolled oats, whole wheat, and real maple syrup. Now these and other famous Barefoot Contessa recipes can be prepared at home.
Ina says that before she owned a specialty food store she often spent a week making dinner for six friends. Her experience at Barefoot Contessa has given her hundreds of ideas for creating wonderful parties in a few hours. And they're all in this book. Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce can be stored overnight in the refrigerator and sauteed just before the guests arrive. Cheddar Corn Chowder can be made days ahead, reheated, and served with a salad and bread for a delicious autumn lunch. The ingredients for Grilled Salmon Salad can all be prepared ahead and tossed together before serving. The batter for theRaspberry Corn Muffins can be mixed a day before and popped into the oven just before breakfast.
Ina Garten teaches us how to entertain with style, simplicity, and a relaxed sense of fun. There are notes throughout the book for giving cocktail parties, lunches, and dinner parties where everything is done before the guests arrive. And there are easy instructions for creating gorgeous party platters that don't even require you to cook!
With Ina Garten and The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, you have the perfect recipe for hosting parties that are easy and fun for everyone--including the cook.
About the Author
In 1978, Ina Garten left her job as a budget analyst in the White House to pursue her dream- operating a specialty food store in the Hamptons. Twenty years later, Barefoot Contessa is celebrated for its stylish charm as well as its delicious food. Ina lives in East Hampton, New York, and Southport, Connecticut, with her husband, Jeffrey.
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Customer reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
971 global ratings
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Corderoy Joan Ann
2.0 out of 5 stars
Underwhelming!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 October 2018Verified Purchase
6 people found this helpful
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Hussein Kanji
2.0 out of 5 stars
The kind of cookbook if you’re a suburban 1950s American housewife
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 August 2020Verified Purchase
These recipes are incredibly basic. Most of the savory recipes rely on salt, pepper and garlic. The sweet recipes rely on sugar and a LOT of butter. There is a Szechuan noodle recipe that uses spaghetti and sherry (hah!). There is another dish that is just a bunch of roasted vegetables stacked on top of each other. I would say this is a WASP cookbook suited for people who have never traveled the world, and are terrified of all the flavors out there. I’m regretting this purchase after hearing people rave about it.
One person found this helpful
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CarefulandGreen
3.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful design and photographs but v v few recipes for veggies and vegans..
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 July 2019Verified Purchase
Haven't been able to use it very much... most of the recipes are no good for people who eat vegan food.. a pity

Margot P
5.0 out of 5 stars
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 February 2018Verified Purchase
There is nobody quite like the Barefoot Contessa
One person found this helpful
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Zareena Asghar Khan
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth buying
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 November 2019Verified Purchase
Good recipes. Simple to follow
One person found this helpful
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