Hearty boeuf Bourguignon served in deep bowls over a garlic-rubbed slice of baguette toast; decadently rich croque monsieur, eggy and oozing with cheese; gossamer crème brulee, its sweetness offset by a brittle burnt-sugar topping. Whether shared in a cozy French bistro or in your own home, the romance and enduring appeal of French country cooking is irrefutable. Here is the book that helps you bring that spirit, those evocative dishes, into your own home.
What Ina Garten is known for—on her Food Network show and in her three previous bestselling books—is adding a special twist to familiar dishes, while also streamlining the recipes so you spend less time in the kitchen but still emerge with perfection. And that’s exactly what she offers in Barefoot in Paris. Ina’s kir royale includes the unique addition of raspberry liqueur—a refreshing alternative to the traditional crème de cassis. Her vichyssoise is brightened with the addition of zucchini, and her chocolate mousse is deeply flavored with the essence of orange. All of these dishes are true to their Parisian roots, but all offer something special—and are thoroughly delicious, completely accessible, and the perfect fare for friends and family.
Barefoot in Paris is suffused with Ina’s love of the city, of the bustling outdoor markets and alluring little shops, of the bakeries and fromageries and charcuteries—of the wonderful celebration of food that you find on every street corner, in every neighborhood. So take a trip to Paris with the perfect guide—the Barefoot Contessa herself—in her most personal book yet.
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Ina Garten's much loved cookbooks, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Parties!, and Barefoot Contessa Family Style, offer relaxed yet stylish dishes that don't tax the cook. Her food works wonderfully for entertaining but shouldn't be limited to such times. Barefoot in Paris finds Garten (almost inevitably) in France, "translating" native dishes for the American home cook. The result is rewarding, and should get those reluctant to "cook French" to do just that. Covered are classics like Celery Root Rémoulade, Boeuf Bourguignon, and Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic, but also "newer" dishes like Zucchini Vichyssoise and Avocado and Grapefruit Salad. If Garten ranges wide from typical Parisian fare--in, for example, recipes like Rosemary Cashews, Tomato Rice Pilaf, and a distinctly American Brownie Tart--these nonetheless embody the French approach. Her sweets, including the likes of Peaches in Sauternes, Plum Cake "Tatin," and an exemplary Crème Brûlée, are particularly tempting. Included also are asides like "About French Table Settings," and "If You're Going," a resource guide, that, practicality apart, give readers a sense of French culinary life. With color photos, this is winning addition to the Barefoot collection. --Arthur Boehm
Review
"Beloved all over the planet (not only for her food), Ina Garten has become the inspiration in the kitchen for so many of us. Her ease, warmth and grace make her shows as delectable to watch as her food is to eat." Gwyneth Paltrow
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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.
There is not much that I can add to the reviews already written, but as an admitted Francophile, I wanted to put my 2 cents in. As all have stated, this is an incredible book, not just of French cooking, but a slight peek into the French way of living and thinking. Obviously, Ina loves Paris, and all that is French, and you get that feeling as she deviates from strictly recipes, and goes into the various nuances of French life.
Those nuances are scattered throughout the book and peppered (no pun intended) in the introductions to her recipes. The photography and food styling is excellent as usual, and as long as you aren't expecting a Jacque Pepin or Julia Child style of French cooking, then you will enjoy Ina's more simple, peasant-style fare. She talks about the visual preparation of the French table and all the ways that you can make your dining experience as simple, fresh, and carefree as the dishes. And for those who are fellow "Parisians", she guides you through the streets and markets of Paris and gives you a tour of sorts, of that magical city.
INTRODUCTION
TO START: All about French wines Raspberry Royale Kir Cassisa l'Eau Cheese Straws Blioni with Smoked Salmon Cheese Puffs (Gougeres....ummmmmmmm!!!...) Rosemary Cashews Radishes with Salt and Herbed Butter Potato Chips
LUNCH: French Table Settings Croque Monsieur Blue Cheese Souffle Salad with Warm Goat Cheese Eggplant Gratin Pissaladiere (a French pizza of sorts) Goat Cheese Tart Scrambled Eggs with Truffles Herbed Baked Eggs Spinach in Pastry Puff Mussels in White Wine Seafood Platter (with mustard sauce, cocktail sauce, mignonette sauce)
SOUP and SALAD: All about French flowers Winter Squash Soup Provencal Veggie Soup (and homemade chicken stock, and pistou) Zucchini Vichyssoise Seafood Stew (and seafood stock) Lentil Sausage Soup Brioche Loaves Celery Root Remoulade Endive, Pear, and Roquefort Salad Avocado and Grapefruit Salad Fennel Salad Warm Mushroom Salad Green Salad Vinaigrette
DINNER: All about French cookware (this was a blast; will make you want to visit!) Lemon Chicken with Coutons Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic (this was very mild in flavor) Roast Duck Chicken with Morels Loin of Pork with Green Peppercorns Boeuf Bourguignon Filet of Beef au Poivre Steak with Bearnaise Sauce Veal Chops with Roquefort Butter Roast Lamb with White Beans Rack of Lamb Persillade Roasted Striped Bass Scallops Provencal Salmon with Lentils
VEGETABLES: About French cooking classes Asparagus with Hollandaise Vegetable Tian Zucchini Gratin Tomato Rice Pilaf Roasted Beets Matchstick Potatoes Brussels Sprouts Lardons Cauliflower Gratin Morocccan Couscous French String Beans Sauteed Wild Mushrooms Potato Celery Root Puree Carmelized Shallots Garlic Mashed Potatoes Herbed New Potatoes
DESSERTS: About French cheese Meringues Chantilly Plum Raspberry Crumble Ile Flottante Lemon Meringue Tart (and lemon filling) Pear Clafouti Coeur a la Creme with Raspberries Raspberry Sauce Creme Amglaise Baba au Rhum (rum-soaked doughy pastries with shipped cream; sooo good!) Elephant Ears (very light, flaky, and delicate) Mango Sorbet Ice Cream Bombe Plum Cake Tatin Chocolate Orange Mousse Brownie Tart Pain Perdu Peaches in Sauternes Coconut Madeleines (dip the ends in chocolate!) Strawberry Tarts Pastry Cream Profiteroles (the ultimate elegant French dessert!) Chocolate Truffles Creme Brulee
RESOURCES: French ingredients to try French cookware you'll want to have Going to Paris? Then here's your guide with every place you'll want to visit to make your journey magical and complete (the best part, Ina!!!) Credits and Index Conversion Chart
The Barefoot Contessa cookbooks (I own all of them) can always be counted on if what you seek is a guaranteed "hit." Ina Garten's new book contains some of those. But, it seems to me that the book was rushed to press, because this book contains numerous oversights and glitches. I am a very experienced and confident home cook, and the "Ile Flottante" (floating island) recipe, for example, had me on my knees in despair. The intro assures us that it will be "worth every minute it takes to make." I lost track of the minutes it took to make this thing. The directions for making the caramel were so vague that my first attempt resulted in what I later learned is known as "crystallized" sugar. So, I turned to my faithful "Joy of Cooking" for clearer directions on how to make caramel (it's enormously nuanced, and definitely doesn't belong in a book that calls itself "easy.") Then, the meringues were supposed cook in 20 minutes. I have a brand new oven and an independent over themometer, and these took a good 40 minutes. The recipe says to "set aside" the caramel, which you later pour over the merigues--well, my caramel sat for about an hour, and when I went to pour it it was hard as a rock. Etc. Etc. She writes that her Moroccan Couscous is easy to reheat--but fails to explain how to reheat it without drying it out. The salmon with lentils recipe fails to mention when you add the lentils. Do you see what I mean? There are numerous oversights of this nature, making this a perilous book for any but an experienced cook. Glossy photos and a $35.00 sticker price cannot overcome sloppy basics. You can do better, Ina!
Ina Garten has given us a new book on `cuisine bourgeois', and one immediately wonders if the world really needs another book on everyday French cooking, since we already have great works from Julia Child and Elizabeth David, excellent works from Patricia Wells and Richard Olney, and hundreds of others, including an excellent volume from Garten's mentor, teacher Lydie Marshall, author of the excellent book `A Passion for My Provence'. The questions become doubly appropriate with the recent appearance of Food Network colleague Tony Bourdain's really excellent book of bistro recipes, `Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook'. To complete the picture of my general skepticism about book is the fact that Ms. Garten's book lists at a higher price than Bourdain's book, yet it has substantially fewer recipes and none of Monsieur Bourdain's really excellent tutorials on cooking technique. Yet, here is the key to Ms. Garten's enterprise and audience.
Ina Garten has no intention of emulating Julia Child in her writing or even in her TV shows. She is squarely in the tradition and style of Martha Stewart. Like Stewart, she started in the culinary business as a caterer and she was, for many years, a major contributor of culinary material to Martha Stewart's magazine. All you need to do is compare the design of Garten's books with either Bourdain's book or even Julia Child's books, and the difference is evident. Bourdain limits himself to pictures of dishes and series of pictures illustrating culinary techniques. Garten pictures lots of dishes, but she also pictures lots of pottery, table settings, and flowers as well. Each chapter has a prelude on marginally culinary matters.... The brief chapter on wine is excellent, but it could have been lifted straight out of `Martha Stewart Living' as `Wine and Food Pairings 101'. Other prefatory essays cover flower arranging, table settings, cooking schools in Paris, and cooking equipment stores in Paris.
All this means is that Ina Garten's books are as much about lifestyle as they are about cooking, and Ina will probably be the very first person to agree with this statement. And, this is a perfectly legitimate enterprise. In fact, although Jamie Oliver is an exceptionally talented chef (whose passion and skill with food may even put Bourdain in the shade) writes books that are as much about lifestyle as they are about cooking. It's just that it is a different lifestyle than the one being celebrated by Ms. Garten.
I believe the recipes in all of Ms. Garten's books are very good for the home cook. As she says in many of her books, these recipes were done for 60 servings a day at her shop, `Barefoot Contessa' so they had to be simple and they had to be good. This doesn't mean I didn't find a few oddities here and there, especially in her headnotes to some recipes. One puzzling comment was her apologizing for using cremini mushrooms as an unusual ingredient in a recipe, when I can find cremini mushrooms in every larger food store in the Lehigh Valley, including ones which make no pretense to carrying gourmet ingredients. A few pages later, she uses celery root, fennel, morels, and Belgian endive in recipes. All of these ingredients are either hard to find or expensive. Another puzzle is her blanching thinly sliced fennel bulb for a fennel salad. Neither Marcella Hazan nor mentor Lydie Marshall blanches fennel for their several salads that use this ingredient. I know exactly why Garten does it, because I considered doing the same thing when making Mme. Hazan's fennel salads, but I just couldn't bear giving up the fine crunch of raw fennel. The solution is to slice very, very thinly and possibly to salt the fennel and let set as you do for cabbage in making cole slaw.
Another oddity with Ms. Garten's recipes is that although she emphasizes easy recipes, her Moules Marinieres (Mussels in White Wine) recipe has many more ingredients and a slightly more complicated procedure than Tony Bourdain's recipe for a dish of exactly the same name. Personally, I would go with Bourdain's recipe as it adds the wine right after cooking the shallots in butter in order that the wine will deglace the pot and almost all alcohol will cook off before more ingredients are added to the pot. Ms. Garten uses the very understandable technique of mixing olive oil with the butter for the initial sautee, and the wine is added mixed with water, tomato, and spices. Bourdain's recipe is simpler, but requires just a little more attention and skill to attend to the hot butter and add the wine before it gets too dark. An even more interesting comparison between Garten and Bourdain is with their boeuf bourguignon recipes. Garten complains that traditional recipes that keep the dish in the Dutch oven on the stove for three hours, the meat comes out dry and the veggies mushy. I have seen this happen and it doesn't surprise me that Garten is wary of it, as her instructions are to barely cover the meat with liquid and bring to a boil, then into the oven for 75 minutes. Thus, she is treating the dish like a braise while Bourdain, who simmers the dish gently on the stovetop for 120 minutes, treats the dish more like a stew, with strong admonishments to check the dish every 20 minutes for sticking. Again, Bourdain's recipe has fewer ingredients and is somewhat simpler, as it doesn't require the oven or a step to burn off the alcohol.
This is not to say Garten's recipes are not as good as Bourdain's. Only that the two authors have two different audiences. Garten is writing for the virtual tourist in Paris and the seeker of advice for entertaining in the Parisian style. Bourdain is writing for cooks. I have done several recipes from Garten's books, including this one, and I have never been disappointed.
Highly recommended for a virtual taste of the Parisian lifestyle.Read more ›
