The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten

The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook Reviews

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  Darth J

  
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  Jean

  I love a simple well-tested cookbook. Preparations had the right amount of details and shortcuts where appropriate. Ina knows how to take care of her home cooks.
  
  Here are the dishes I've tasted and the cookbook club cooks who made them:
  
  
  Sheela - Lobster Salad in Endive: You can't go wrong with quality lobster. No leftovers with this one.
  
  Molly - Rosemary White Bean Soup: Pureed and delicous. Really an amazing soup and surprisingly right for a summer's evening.
  
  Gretchen - Grilled Tuna Nicoise Platter: Very beautiful presentation and quite delicious. I still dream about the french potato salad and that heavenly vinaigrette. I was grateful for the leftovers. They made me happy.
  
  Me - Fresh Fruit Tart: Ina can turn anyone into a baker with her simple and well-tested recipes. I looked like a star with this one. My first pastry cream. The crust was more of a shortbread than a pie crust and was challenging to cut and present.
  
  Additional thoughts:
  I've made the Key Lime curd tart on a couple occasions and it is always a star in the center of the table. Key lime never lets me down.
  
• 
  Colleen Chi-Girl

  I thought I'd write a quick review that I apparently missed writing when I first bought this gem of a cookbook. It was my go-to cookbook for the soups, side dishes, and desserts, which is what I enjoy making. But I remember her maple scones the most and the corn chowder. Since this first cookbook, she has published many others that might be even better!
  
  My two favorite recipes remain: her brownie recipe (!) and her Lemon Bars w/a shortbread crust (!!).
• 
  Holly

  Listen, the woman knows her way around the kitchen and she's not afraid of a stick of butter, which I like in a chef.
  
  Paula Deen doesn't skimp on the butter either, but usually whatever she is cooking ends up getting deep fried and then used as a delivery system for some kind of mayonnaise product too -- and I just can't hang with that.
  
  Whereas Ina will definitely butter you up, she at least has the common decency throw on some fresh herbs and add some roasted vegetables so even your cholesterol feels like good and evil have once again been righted in the world.
  
  Less guilt is all I'm saying. Less guilt.
• 
  Amanda

  During a particularly challenging time in my life, I found and fell in love with Ina. Many of her recipes are staples in my cooking repertoire, and I have yet to find a Barefoot Contessa cookbook that I don't thoroughly enjoy. Great for ANY kitchen and cook!!!
• 
  Holly

  The recipes in this book turn out perfectly EVERY time and I've made over half of them. Buy it.
• 
  Reen

  Love Ina!
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  Sandi

  I have a few confessions to make. I love cooking. I love baking. I love discovering new recipes. I love cookbooks. Perhaps the most surprising confession? I rarely will buy a cookbook.
  
  I borrow many (many) cookbooks from the library, finding a recipe here, a recipe there. However, very few cookbooks engage me enough to want to own the book forever and try the majority of recipes between its covers.
  
  Family, friends and colleagues regularly share recipes with me, which I love. Sometimes I use good old Google to locate a recipe, especially if I’m trying to finish up something or other that is lingering in my pantry. There is an exception to my cookbook buying “rule”, well, a couple really. One exception is the cookbooks of Ina “The Barefoot Contessa” Garten.
  
  Read the rest of my review and see which of Ina's recipes is a "must try" (there are so many!!) on my Bake the Cake blog.
  https://bakethecakedotblog.wordpress....
• 
  Bandkh

  I love this book. Everything I've made from it has worked. The dishes are accessible if a bit old fashioned, but don't let the "old fashioned" comment put you off. By "old fashioned" I mean comfort food, probably too high in calories to eat every night but delicious none the less. This lady knows her stuff and her recipe writing style is friendly and chatty. As for the recipes themselves, her Cheddar Corn Chowder has warmed us on many a cold night, her Roasted Brussels Sprouts finally convinced my family that these much maligned vegetables are not meant to be eaten as a punishment and her Maple-Oatmeal Scones made me a favorite invitee to any "bring a plate" function. Did I say I love this book?
• 
  Kate

  Sometimes I like to read a cookbook cover to cover and tab all of the recipes that inspire me. This one ended up with a lot of tabs. I love our collective aunt Ina’s approach: imbuing a few fresh ingredients with interesting texture/flavor combinations that I wouldn’t necessarily have thought of myself.
• 
  Sungyena

  Ina Garten is the most comforting and the perfect source of kitchen coddling that I need in 2021. “We are all taught to dress with an interesting assortment of textures - a silk blouse with a wool skirt and chenille sweater, for example. I think of mixing vegetables with the same eye for color and texture.” For a 22yo book, still holds up!
• 
  Robin

  Gotta love the Contessa! Simple, accessible ingredients, delicious food -- full of the love of feeding loved people.
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  Jennifer

  I’d long wanted my own copy of this well-known and much-lauded cookbook. Reading it cover to cover did not disappoint one bit. I am already eager to try several of the recipes, with a few adjustments and clever twists from Ina’s more recent cooking shows. I don’t collect cookbooks as a rule, but this was one I’d heard was fun to read and had beautiful pictures. All true, and will be a resource I keep close at-hand in my kitchen for every season.
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  Jan Hewitt

  Still go back to this one, the coconut cupcakes are the best!
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  Jeanette Durkin

  Fantastic book!
  
  This is a great cookbook! It's filled with lots of delicious sounding recipes and pictures, which I love! I will definitely be trying some of these recipes!
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  García Galván

  So many delicious recipes in a simple book like this, without a doubt the author is a magnificent cook. Congratulations.
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  Kristen

  I read this the whole book, but have not read/tried every recipe. The stories themselves are just ok, but the recipes are where it's at! Kitchen Clambake is one of my favorites. You can tell this is her first book as it seems a little dated, but I think she is amazing.
• 
  Melani

  This one is a great one. The cheddar corn chowder is A+++ delicious and I make it quite often. I have opened this book many times, sometimes just to look at the pictures and sometimes because I actually want to cook something from it. It's a well loved, and well used book in my collection.
  
  My one complaint about this book is the amount of food the recipes make. I frequently halve them and have more then enough for four people, and since it's just me I always have a ton of leftovers. I think the above mentioned corn chowder serves 20 in the book? It's some crazy ridiculous number like that. It's obvious to me that she just took the recipes from her catering/restaurant days and didn't modify them much for the home cook. It's not a problem exactly, but it does bump this one down to four stars.
• 
  Susan Ciliberti

  I found many recipes that were upscale versions of basic traditional foods - such as French Potato Salad and Grilled Lemon Chicken with Satay Dip. Many interesting options and they are not overly difficult. One of my favorite sections was the breakfast muffins and scones. I am looking forward to making several of these recipes. There are many photos which make the dishes even more tempting to make - like the Fresh Fruit Tart. I enjoyed this cookbook very much.
• 
  Sharon Huether

  The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook By Ina Garten This is a beautifully illustrated cookbook. The colored pictures have really helped my in food presentation. I continue to make the home made granola receipe, it's very good. I've watched Ina on the cooking channel, so having her cookbook is fun.
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  Brooke

  Tried another Ina book thinking her original would be better, but still felt very fancy. Good ideas for a dinner party but not for working parents trying to get dinner in the table.
  
  Made the Rosemary Cannelli Bean soup but was accidentally a Thyme Great Northern Bean soup. The tomato basil soup is a favorite when I can find basil.
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  Laurie Walker

  Eveything I have tried from this book is delicious ... smoked salmon tea sandwiches, gazpacho, even roasted carrots ... who knew? Tonight I am making the lime curd tart. I had borrowed this book from the library so many times that my librarian suggested it was time to buy my own copy. Glad I did.
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  Lucie Moulton

  I own over a hundred cookbooks as a 👩🏼‍🍳. I consult them regularly for inspiration mostly. I return again and again to the simplicity and fresh flavors of TBC. These books were part of my culinary collection early on, and I frequently refer back to the recipes.
• 
  Gr(Ace)

  Some delicious recipes, but they do take forever to make. 2-3 hours each. Simple ingredients and steps though!
• 
  Alison

  Great recipes, easy to follow instructions - everything she makes is incredible!!