[.ca] The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook (ISBN 0609602195)

From Amazon.com:
Lauren Bacall gets cranky when Barefoot Contessa, an East Hampton specialty food store/institution for more than 20 years, is sold out of Indonesian Ginger Chicken. She can now thank her lucky stars that exuberant owner Ina Garten has written The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and included this recipe. Ms. Bacall is sure to be pleased to discover how easy it is to achieve such fantastic flavor. Simplicity is something of a bottom line at Barefoot Contessa. "Food is not about impressing people," Ina Garten says. "It's about making them feel comfortable." Aimed at the cook who intends to entertain, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook draws on Garten's experience as a caterer, as well as her knowledge of what customers really want to eat when they arrive at her shop. She has culled her favorite recipes and has included timesaving tips, always striving for ease and simplicity. Neither cooking nor entertaining should be a chore, according to Ina Garten, and her lovely cookbook is a case in point. This is an intensely illustrated cookbook that shows the foods to best advantage (and makes it a lovely gift book). Presentation counts for a great deal, and Garten's food styling adds to any food platter. But just as relevant are photos that bring in the spirit of fresh, locally grown produce. There's the local poultry producer proudly holding a laying hen in case anyone should wonder where the eggs come from. Starting with appetizers, Ina Garten isn't afraid to include such basics as hummus and guacamole: she knows from experience that her versions make a profound impact. There are French Onion Soup and Corn Cheddar Chowder, Baked Virginia Ham and Salmon with Fennel, Roasted Carrots and Caramelized Butternut Squash--and then one killer dessert after another. Included, too, are some breakfast specialties. Any upscale bed and breakfast could have this book in the kitchen and get rid of all others. This isn't a cookbook about getting outrageous with food. The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook is about warming the hearts and souls of your guests with familiar food raised to a gourmet level. --Schuyler Ingle

Nice recipes, but impractically rich:
There's no doubt that Ina Garten's recipes are almost universally delicious. Every single item I've tried from this book has been a hit. A big but, however: These things taste so great because they contain WAY more fat and sugar than the everyday versions of the dishes. This is standard practice in the restaurant/catering industry, but there is a reason that gravy at your favorite restaurant tastes so much different from your grandma's. Granny didn't load hers up with a cup of whipping cream on top of a heavy butter/flour roux. Where the standard "Joy of Cooking" recipe for an item might call for whole milk, Ina uses heavy cream. Where Fannie Farmer wants 2 tablespoons of butter, Ina uses half a cup. Please explain to me why mashed potatoes need heavy cream, butter and sour cream. I'm far from a dietary scold, but this book has to be used as for special occasions only. Live on a day-to-day diet of these recipes, and you're going to end up looking like their author.

Barefoot Contessa is the BEST!:
With an extensive cookbook collection, it is rare for me to make more than one or two recipes out of a single cookbook. This book would have to be the exception to that rule. I would highly recommend this book to any of you. I have a large family, the recipe sizes do not intimidate, and do not require doubling for our family gatherings. Ingredients are high quality, and fresh. I have made the Pecan Squares and taken them to work, handed out the recipe to nearly everyone. The Maple Oat Scones have been made approximately a dozen times, and are always a hit! Veggies roasted in the oven? Incredible. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.

AN INDISPENSABLE KITCHEN REFERENCE:
For those who haven't had the pleasure of shopping at Ina Garten's specialty food store in the Hamptons The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook delivers - literally. Some 160 gorgeous photos plus Ina's favorite recipes fill the 252 pages of this indispensable kitchen reference. As Martha Stewart writes in her Foreword, Ina is unique. "There is a freshness in cooking, a total lack of finickiness, a reliance on the freshest and best, and a casualness that I know will be appealing to everyone who uses her book." How true! Ina stresses freshness, noting that after several weeks in Provence where she found radishes and carrots with "soil still clinging to them," she determined to base her cooking on ingredients from local sources. A lesson for us all. Hosting a cocktail party, she decided, was not much fun if she spent all of her time running back and forth to the kitchen to get hot hors d'oeuvres out of the oven. So, she does everything possible to be sure that she does not leave the room. For instance, she has a table with all the drink fixings on it, and appetizers that can be served at room temperature so everything is either out or ready to pass when the first guest arrives. Thus we find common sense and uncommonly good appetizers from Roasted Eggplant spread to Guacamole to Smoked Salmon Sandwiches. Her soups are splendid, most of them starting with sauteed onions "to give a sweet, rich flavor to the stock." Parker's Split Pea Soup, which Steven Spielberg said tasted just like his mother's, is rich, hearty and beautifully presented topped either with toasted croutons or diced smoked ham. The joy Ina finds in cooking is evident in all of her dishes. She's a cook who makes simple food very, very special. Highly recommended. - Gail Cooke

Beautifull book:
Love this book; I'm a big fan of the barefoot Contessa. The recipes are simple and Delicious. I would recommend it to everyone. I already gave this book as a gift to 2 of my girlfriend and there were delighted! I also bought Simple and Simply Delicious by Sylvie Rocher ...Great book. Simple and Delicious recipes

Awesome!!:
This is definitely a must have for any kitchen or coffee table. The recipes are delicious!! The pictures are beautiful. She is absolutely awesome!!