Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust [Hardcover]

Ina Garten (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 30, 2012

Millions of people love Ina Garten because she writes recipes that make home cooks look great; family and friends shower them with praise and yet the dishes couldn’t be simpler to prepare using ingredients found in any grocery store. In Barefoot Contessa Foolproof, the Food Network star takes easy a step further, sharing her secrets for pulling off deeply satisfying meals that have that “wow!” factor we all crave.

Start with delicious Dukes Cosmopolitans made with freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus Jalapeño Cheddar Crackers that everyone will devour. Lunches include Hot Smoked Salmon, Lobster & Potato Salad, and Easy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons, all featuring old-fashioned flavors with the volume turned up. Elegant Slow-Roasted Filet of Beef with Basil Parmesan Mayonnaise and show-stopping Seared Scallops & Potato Celery Root Purée are just two of the many fabulous dinner recipes. And your guests will always remember the desserts, from Sticky Toffee Date Cake with Bourbon Glaze to Salted Caramel Brownies.

For Ina, “foolproof” means more than just making one dish successfully; it’s also about planning a menu, including coordinating everything so it all gets to the table at the same time. In Barefoot Contessa Foolproof, Ina shows you how to make a game plan so everything is served hot while you keep your cool. There are notes throughout detailing where a recipe can go wrong to keep you on track, plus tips for making recipes in advance. It’s as though Ina is there in the kitchen with you guiding you every step of the way.

With 150 gorgeous color photographs and Ina’s invaluable tips, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof is a stunning yet infinitely practical cookbook that home cooks will turn to again and again.
 
 

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Featured Recipe from Ina Garten: Sticky Toffee Date Cake with Bourbon Glaze

Makes 1 cake

For the cake

• ¾ pound dates, pitted and chopped
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¹⁄³ cup granulated sugar
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1½ tablespoons baking powder

For the sauce

• 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons good bourbon, such as Maker's Mark
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Sweetened whipped cream, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 x 2-inch round cake pan.

Place the dates in a deep saucepan with 1¾ cups of water. Bring to boil, stirring a little to break up the dates. Allow to simmer for 1 minute. Off the heat, stir in the baking soda (it will bubble up!). Set aside.

Meanwhile, in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla, scraping down the bowl. (The mixture may look curdled.) Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer still on low, slowly add it to the batter. With the mixer on low, add the hot date mixture in two batches to the batter, scraping down the bowl. The batter will be runny but don't worry! Stir in the baking powder, which will also bubble up. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Meanwhile, combine the butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 minute. Off the heat, stir in the bourbon and vanilla and pour into a 2-cup heat-proof glass measuring cup. Set aside. As soon as the cake is done, poke holes all over it with a toothpick. Pour three-quarters of the sauce evenly over the cake while still warm and allow it to soak in for 30 minutes. Turn the cake out bottom side up onto a flat serving plate and pour the remaining sauce on top. Cool completely.

Serve at room temperature with sweetened whipped cream.

From Booklist

How many magazine, newspaper, and book recipes have resulted in major dining disasters, or at least less-than-optimum visual and tasty delights? Not content to rely on titles alone, nationally known cook and TV host Garten, aka the Barefoot Contessa, carefully counsels reader-chefs on turning out perfect dishes and menus every time. Each page, if not featuring a list of foolproof techniques and tips, includes all the right directions as well as photographs. Just a sampling of the ideas that make her 100 dishes work: freeze cookie dough but not already baked cookies; when a dish specifies fleur de sel, don’t use kosher salt; avoid serving appetizers on Thanksgiving, but do cook in abundance, so that guests go home with leftovers. Her treats, as always (and like her packaged mixes), are stomach pleasers: mustard and gruyère batons, lobster mac and cheese, salted caramel brownies, and cinnamon baked donuts, among others. --Barbara Jacobs

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; First Edition edition (October 30, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780307464873
• ISBN-13: 978-0307464873
• ASIN: 0307464873
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 0.9 x 10.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (452 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Quick & Easy
  • #8 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > U.S. Regional

More About the Author

In 1978, Ina Garten left her job as a budget analyst in the White House to pursue her dream of operating a specialty food store in the Hamptons. She is a frequent contributor to major national magazines and writes a recurring column in O Magazine. Her new television series on entertaining can be seen on Food Network. Ina lives in East Hampton, New York, and Southport, Connecticut, with her husband, Jeffrey.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

204 of 211 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ina at Her Best November 1, 2012

By bakerbronte

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I own all of Ina Garten's cookbooks. I am amazed by how simple she makes cooking seem and every year around Thanksgiving, I start sorting through her recipes and planning my Thanksgiving menu. She delivers top notch results without much fuss, and I think she is probably my favorite long time Food Network personality.

Foolproof is a cookbook that seems to revolve around mistake proof entertaining. When Ina says "foolproof" she doesn't mean a recipe has only five ingredients or that it has only three steps. Ina means she has an ingredient list with easily obtainable ingredients and steps that appeal to your common sense so that you don't worry about whether the recipe will turn out. She tells you what to look for so that you know when each recipe is perfectly done.

She lists ten foolproof tips for cooking. Other chapters include: cocktails; starters; lunch; dinner; vegetables; and desserts. She also gives you 12 foolproof tips for table settings with photographs which help you out if, like me, making a table setting look polished but simple is something you need a little help with. She finishes the book with a foolproof index of menus for special occasions which cross references with special dishes from all of her cookbooks.

She does repeat foolproof recipes from her previous books such as her standard chicken stock, but the book is mostly comprised of new material. I have seen some complaints that some of her ingredients are just too much of a splurge. I like to look at her recipes from a couple of perspectives. She lives in the Hamptons, and ingredients such as lobster are a local, easy-to-obtain natural part of her repertoire. Also, these recipes seem to mostly have an emphasis on entertaining and many of us don't mind splurging a little for a special occasion. She typically will tell you where to source the occasional not so common ingredient such as truffle butter. I'm not certain why anyone would expect budget recipes out of someone who has never been known for them at any point in her career.

This cookbook is the same sturdy hardback that the rest of her classic cookbooks are fashioned in. Her cookbook has wonderful photography and stays open with no help, a real perk if you like to actively cook or don't own a cookbook stand.

I enjoy all of Ina's recipes but have always felt she has a rare gift to make vegetables shine. Her sweet potato puree is very simple to prepare but is full of nice nuances in flavor. I have been using her roasted carrot recipe for over a year now and am delighted to see that she has mixed it up with a recipe for braised carrots and parsnips.She presents a mashed chickpea recipe that is yummy. I will be serving up her chocolate chunk blondie recipe regularly (a neat twist on the chocolate chip cookie). The raspberry shortbread bars are buttery, flavor-filled, and exceptional. Expect food that you turn to when you want to make a delicious impression at a holiday dinner, special occasion, or because you love impressing friends and coworkers with yumminess.

I think her cookbooks consistently get better and become more user friendly with each book. I am excited to test drive this book throughout the holiday season.

116 of 127 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Just in Time for the Holidays, Recipes You Can Really Use! October 30, 2012

By Debra Eve

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book focuses on fall entertaining with a Mediterranean flair, my favorite season and cuisine style, and includes several holiday recipes. I enjoy cooking from scratch with fresh ingredients and lots of olive oil, but appreciate the good shortcut. Here's a few quick recipes I've tried:

Spanish Pea Soup with Crispy Ham: Made with frozen peas and Spanish serrano ham or prosciutto, it's quick, savory, comfort food.

Endive, Orange & Roquefort Salad: I love good vinaigrette! This one has orange juice and zest, perfect with the roasted walnuts and roquefort.

Lobster Corn Fritters: My favorite restaurant used to serve rock shrimp fritters and in all honesty, I substituted shrimp here because I miss them so much. I can only imagine how amazing these are with lobster. Surprisingly easy. In fact, the most complicated recipe in the book is a two-page Jambalaya.

For the holidays, Ina's included Balsamic-Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Orange-Braised Carrots & Parsnips, Truffled Mashed Potatoes, Mushroom & Leek Bread Pudding (which she recommends instead of stuffing, so it won't get soggy), and what looks like a truly foolproof turkey recipe. A couple of beautiful fish recipes too: Sicilian Grilled Swordfish and Salmon with Melting Cherry Tomatoes.

The desert photos made my mouth water and the classics are all there: Ultimate Pumpkin Pie with Rum Whipped Cream, Pecan Sandies, Perfect Pound Cake, plus something called Chocolate Peanut Butter Globs (too much).

This is just a sampling, so it looks like I'll be in the kitchen this weekend. Can't wait! Based on the book's quality, a complete read-through of all the recipes, and my few try-outs, this just might be my favorite outing of The Barefoot Contessa series.

87 of 99 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "A PRACTICAL COOKBOOK, PACKED WITH DELICIOUS RECIPES AND HELPFUL TIPS!" October 30, 2012

By Geraldine Ahearn TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Ina Garten is nationally-known as a cook and TV Host, who became successful for her specialty food store in the Hamptons, and her TV series. While living in Long Island, New York, 45 years, I followed her footsteps in her lifestyle through Reviews and praise. May I add, to be successful in the Hamptons, one requires Outstanding Reviews with a Great reputation indeed! "BAREFOOT CONTESSA FOOLPROOF" is remarkable and delightful. A fun-filled cookbook, packed with delicious recipes, and invaluable cooking tips. In addition, the author provides 150 colorful, stunning photos that aim to please. Ina Garten guides you through Foolproof plans to keep the food hot for serving, fabulous lunch and dinner recipes, tasty delights, and mouth-watering desserts. My favorite recipes are her lobster and potato salad, and her sensational brownies. However, there is a huge selection for dinners, cakes, sauce and more. She offers recipes on seafood, beef, salads, and yummy treats. Each recipe is simple, and easy-to-read. A wonderful gift idea for any cook. Highly Recommended!